Stanford football elects its captains for matchup vs. Louisville

One player from each unit will represent the Cardinal on Saturday as they look to win their first home FBS game of the Troy Taylor era

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) reaches out to stiff arm Stanford linebacker Gaethan Bernadel (0) during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For one final time in 2024, the Stanford Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC) will play at home against Louisville, and currently on a six-game losing streak, the stakes are higher than ever. Facing a red-hot team, the Cardinal know that a tough challenge lies ahead but after coming off of a bye week, they will have fresh legs. While a bowl game is not in the cards anymore for this year, winning still remains a top priority as the Cardinal look to prove that they can compete against even the toughest ACC teams. 

Not naming season long captains this year, the Cardinal have instead opted to have new guys be captain each week, with the announcement of who will receive the honor being revealed a couple days prior to gameday. This week, the Cardinal announced that quarterback Ashton Daniels, linebacker Gaethan Bernadel and long snapper Peyton Warford will serve as the team’s captains for the final home game of the year.

Daniels, the primary starting quarterback for a majority of the season, has shown flashes of promise, having thrown for 1, 011 yards and six touchdowns, while also leading the team in rushing with 481 yards and having found the end zone twice on the ground. However, he has had issues protecting the ball as he has thrown eight interceptions in eight games played. In the team’s most recent game against NC State, Daniels went 6-for-8 with 70 yards before coming out of the game in favor of Justin Lamson. Only a junior, it is expected that Daniels will come back next year and fight to continue on as the Cardinal’s starter.

Once again, the linebacker duo of Tristan Sinclair and Bernadel lead the team in tackles, with the two of them currently having 129 tackles between the two of them, with Bernadel’s 64 tackles on the season only one behind Sinclair’s 65. Against NC State, Bernadel had his best game of the season as he finished with a season-high 13 tackles, with 10 of them being assisted, and being a key force on the defensive side of the ball once again. Transferring from FIU prior to the start of the 2023 season, Bernadel has quickly become a major core player for Stanford.

Spending his freshman season in 2022 at Northwestern, the former Saint Francis High School standout returned home to play for the Cardinal last year, becoming the starting long snapper the minute he stepped on campus. Since then, he has been a consistent presence in the special teams room, not only further helping Joshua Karty evolve into the NFL draft pick that he became, but has been instrumental in helping new starting kicker Emmet Kenney have the season he has had.

The Cardinal will come off the bye and return home ready to go, with sights set on pulling off the miraculous upset to snap their skid. Getting another early kickoff, all eyes will be on those guys as they represent their program and lead their guys out into battle. Kickoff will be at 12:30 p.m. (PT) and will air on ESPN and the ACC Network.