Stanford football falls short in loss to Virginia Tech

In the first ever ACC home game at Stanford, the Cardinal fell short against a tough Virginia Tech team.

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Sam Brumfield (3) sacks Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) during the third quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The first ever home ACC game for Stanford did not go the way that they expected it to. In what was a very hot Saturday afternoon at The Farm, the Cardinal (2-3, 1-2 ACC) hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies (3-3, 1-1 ACC) in their first home game in three weeks, but came up short in the 31-7 loss.

Without quarterback Ashton Daniels, who was out due to an injury, the Cardinal turned to Justin Lamson who held it down, going 13-for-24 for 103 yards while also throwing an interception.

“I think Justin is a gritty, tough kid,” head coach Troy Taylor said after the game. “He'll give you everything he possibly can. I know he didn't play probably his best, but I thought he gave it all and left it all on the field. When you come up short, you certainly can sense that we needed to play better in all three areas. He would have liked to have played better, but I thought he was tough and gritty.”

The scoring started with a nine yard touchdown pass from Virginia Tech's Kyron Drones to Stephen Gosnell with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter. The Hokies were then able to take complete control of the game, never once trailing, and took home the victory to snap a two game losing streak.

After both sides tightened up and played good defense, the Hokies then extended their lead with 1:54 left in the first half when running back Bhayshul Tuten carried the ball seven yards into the end zone after a good drive from the Hokies and after the successful PAT from kicker John Love, the Cardinal found themselves down 14-0.

Choosing to defer, the Hokies got the ball to start the second half and started fast, with receiver Da’Quan Felton catching a 55-yard touchdown from Drones to extend it to 21-0. However, the Cardinal would get on the board later in the third quarter. With one minute left, Elic Ayomanor caught a touchdown pass but instead of it being thrown by the quarterback, running back Micah Ford threw the TD out of the wildcat formation.

“Yeah, we just felt like we tried to utilize him in this game as one of our weapons,” Taylor said. “He's a versatile guy, obviously he can throw it and run, smart kid, so we thought we'd try and expand (our offense) and give ourselves a chance.”

In the fourth quarter, Drones added one more touchdown to the Hokies scoreboard, driving the Hokies down the field before running the ball in himself for a two yard score with 7:28 left in the game. Josh Love then made a 46-yard field goal to make it 31-7, sending the Hokies back to Blacksburg with a win.

Defensively, the Cardinal saw a handful of standout players, but particularly got big plays out of linebacker Tristan Sinclair led the team with 12 tackles, making six solo and a half tackle for loss. Gaethan Bernadel, Sinclair’s linebacker partner, was tied for second with safety Scotty Edwards with 10 tackles.