Takeaways from Stanford's loss to Virginia Tech

Coming home after two straight games on the road, the Cardinal gave everything they had, but it ultimately wasn't enough as a strong Virginia Tech team was able to go back home with the victory. But what did we learn about Stanford in this game? Let's take a look.

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) runs the ball against Virginia Tech Hokies safety Quentin Reddish (21) during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

In their first home game in three weeks, the Stanford Cardinal (2-3, 1-2 ACC) fell 31-7 to Virginia Tech, extending their losing streak to two. The result may not have been in the Cardinal's favor, but in a game against a tough team like the Hokies, they were able to grow and improve in a variety of ways. Here are five takeaways from Stanford's game against Virginia Tech and what was noticed on the field this weekend.

Struggles in passing game really hurt the offense

While the Cardinal were certainly tasked with facing a tough defense in the Hokies, one theme of the game was their inability to get anything going in the passing game, with starting quarterback Justin Lamson managing only 107 yards passing while going 13-for-24 and throwing an interception, forcing the Cardinal to become more of a one dimensional team.

“Yeah, we just never had any big plays, really,” head coach Troy Taylor said. “If you look down, it was kind of trudging along, and we took shots. Part of our plan was to be able to run the football. We knew that was going to be important and then be able to take shots down the field. We didn't connect on those shots, so we either misfired or didn't catch the ball or didn't protect well. You're going to have to have big plays against a team like that. It's going to be hard to go six, seven, eight yards at a time, and at the end of the day, we didn't do enough offensively to create some space and some big plays. We had some opportunities there, but we didn't play well enough in all three phases. I know the defense did some good things, but really in all three phases they outplayed us.”

With the ACC loaded with talent, scoring only seven points is not going to win very many games. But if Stanford is able to quickly fix the miscues for this coming week and bounce back with a better showing, then it can get its season back on track and rise in the standings.

Stanford is feeling the challenge of the ACC, but are embracing every chance to improve

With teams like Clemson, Louisville, Florida State and Miami in the conference, the Cardinal knew what they were walking into when they got the invite to join the ACC. And through the first three games of conference play, the team now fully understands exactly how good the ACC truly is. Those types of games are what make a program better, something that the Cardinal are embracing each and every day.

“Yeah, it's a really tough conference,” Taylor said. “Syracuse, obviously, is a really good football team, and then Clemson is always one of the most elite teams in the country. This (Virginia Tech) was a good football team, and they could have easily been undefeated. It's a tough conference, it's a tough schedule, but that's what we want. We've got to lick our wounds and then go to South Bend and play another great football team. It's a challenge, but we love being in the ACC. This is a great conference.”

Each and every game is a new experience for the Cardinal and for a team that has had very strong historical success in the Pac-12, the opportunity to get even better and potentially become that same type of team in this conference is something that the program will continue to embrace and take full advantage of.

Ashton Daniels was available to go, but Lamson’s week of practice earned him the start

Against Clemson, starting quarterback Ashton Daniels went down with an injury in the fourth quarter, forcing him to come out and not return. Going through the week with his status uncertain, things became more clear on gameday when Daniels suited up and warmed up prior to kickoff against the Hokies.

However despite being dressed and ready to go, Daniels instead did not see the field all game long, with Lamson handling the snaps at quarterback. The reason for that was given by Taylor after the game, who explained that Lamson’s hard week of practice combined with Daniels getting limited practice time were the main contributing factors to him sitting out.

“Yeah, he was available to go,” Taylor said. “He didn't really practice much, to be honest with you, and I just didn't feel like it was the right thing to do to put him on the field without practicing. We want to try and give him a few more days -- if you get on the field and you haven't practiced and you're trying to move around against a really good defense, things can happen and Justin has worked really hard. Hopefully he should be ready to go because like I said, he (Ashton) was available if we really needed him, but we just want to make sure he's completely healthy and 100 percent so he can protect himself back there.”

Even though he didn’t play, the fact that he was in uniform was a very positive sign and with a big game against Notre Dame coming up and the Cardinal wanting to be as close to full strength as possible, it could be very likely that Daniels’ return is imminent.

Virginia Tech’s talent level is extremely high

Despite entering the game with a 2-3 record, the Hokies have shown all year long just how resilient and talented of a team they are, putting that on full display with the way that they played against Stanford, including holding the Cardinal offense scoreless during the entirety of the first half. 

“Yeah, I would say on defense, they're very athletic and physical and we didn't maintain blocks, so we had times where we'd have a little bit of space and then we wouldn't maintain the blocks and they're a good tackling team,” Taylor said. “So consequently we weren't able to create any big plays in the run game, and like I said earlier, we just misfired in the pass game. We had opportunities there and matchups that we liked, and it didn't happen. I think being inside the 5, we really had an opportunity to score there, and we misfired. That was a tough one. Then on the other side of the ball, the kid was really efficient. We didn't really force him to make any mistakes, real physical guy, and then special teams, they outplayed us in that area, too.”

The scoreboard may have shown a lopsided loss for Stanford, but using this game and type of  team as a learning opportunity to grow and develop could actually help them in the long run and contribute a lot of positive aspects to the rebuild.

Tiger Bachmeier looks to be the return specialist going forward

At the start of the season, Bryce Farrell was slated to be the punt and kick returner, as Bachmeier was already a starting receiver. However, with Farrell out against Cal Poly in week two, it forced the Cardinal to turn to Bachmeier to return kicks and it is safe to say that it paid off nicely, with him returning a punt 90 yards for a touchdown against the Mustangs. And since then, not only has Bachmeier looked dominant as a return man, but he has essentially taken over the starting role, having been the main guy back there over the last couple of weeks.

“Yeah, he's a fearless guy back there, so he doesn't like to fair catch, and he'll try to make a play for us,” Taylor said. “I thought we did a good job of creating some space for him there, and you've got to make the first guy miss typically on punt returns, and he's done a really good job of that.”

Bachmeier’s impact at Stanford has been an extremely big one, and with all that he has been able to accomplish during his tenure as a Cardinal, this season could cement his legacy as one of the greats.