For their first ACC matchup of the season, Boston College will head west to take on Stanford. The Cardinal enter their second year in the conference and are amidst a turbulent offseason, but may be better for it. Head Coach Troy Taylor was dismissed this spring due to workplace misconduct. New GM Andrew Luck then brought in his former NFL HC Frank Reich to steward the program on an interim basis while keeping in place much of the coaching staff. That means this is an old AFC South rematch between Reich and Bill O’Brien, with Reich leading 3-2 in the series.
Game Notes
Saturday, September 13th | 10:30PM Eastern | Stanford, CA | ACC Network
Series
Over 20 years have passed since Boston College and Stanford last met on the gridiron. The teams split both of the home and home series in 2001/2 and 1979/80 with both teams winning at home.
2024 Recap
It was a rather challenging debut ACC season for the Cardinal. The team finished 3-9 and 2-6 in conference, second worst in the ACC (FSU), but the few bright spots shined like the sun. Kicker Emmet Kenney hit not one, but two 50+ yard field goals as time expired to knock off 10-win Syracuse and #22 Louisville. On the other side, they did lose three games by three points. On paper it doesn’t seem like this will be the turnaround season, but there’s always a chance.
Offense:
Stanford ranked 119th nationally in total offense last season, but they’ll be some very new faces on the roster this go-around. QB Ashton Daniels transferred to Auburn, wide receivers Ismael Cisse and Emmett Mosley V also made their way to the SEC to Arkansas and Texas, respectively, and top receiver Elic Ayomanor was drafted by the Titans.
Running backs Micah Ford and Chris Davis Jr return, as does tight end Sam Roush – the team’s third leading receiver. The quarterback Daniels was by far the team’s leading rusher, but the returners bring back 1000 yards combined.
18 transfers enter the fold, including quarterbacks Ben Gulbranson (Oregon St.) and Dylan Rizk (UCF). Gulbranson has starting experience going 8-4 over the past three seasons, while Rizk was named the starter late last season before making the move for his redshirt sophomore year.
On the receiving front, Stanford brings in a solid amount of production. Veteran CJ Williams comes from Wisconsin, David Pantelis posted nearly 1000 yards at Yale, and Caden High nearly did the same at South Carolina State. Four-star receiver JonAnthony Hall is only a freshman, but after Mosley’s breakout last year, they’ll hope to replicate that same magic.
Coach Reich is a talented offensive mind who ran a balanced a attack and was often aggressive on fourth downs. He won’t have the star offensive line he experienced some of those years in Indy, but there is some continuity to work around some of the difficulties.
Defense:
Bobby April III remains as defensive coordinator but is joined by Andy Thompson from Sacramento State. The defense forced 17 turnovers in ‘24, but lost sack leader David Bailey to Texas Tech who also forced five fumbles. On the other hand, Stanford returns 73% of it’s defensive production, second most only to Clemson in conference. Now it wasn’t the best defense, but they did record 26 sacks and ranked 39th in run defense. The team employs an aggressive style focused on creating those turnovers and getting after the quarterback.
The secondary is chalk full of key returners such as safeties Scotty Edwards and Mitch Leighber, as well as corner Collin Wright. These DBs produced five of the team’s nine interceptions. Reich’s staff brought in a few additional transfers in the backend too.
Linebacker Hunter Barth is the most significant defensive piece added coming in from Cal. He joins outside linebacker Tevaruau Tafiti who put up strong numbers across the board in 2024. The rest of the defensive front stays mostly in tact, but they’re going to have to turn that continuity into more production than displayed the past few seasons.
Match-Up Versus Boston College
It’s a second straight time zone shift for the Eagles, so while most project the Cardinal to be at the bottom of the pack in the ACC, this won’t be a cakewalk. Stanford opens with trips to Hawaii and BYU with a break nestled in between. Still, the offense just doesn’t seem like it’s going to amount to much with the turnover. BC may have to grind it out, but O’Brien should be able to even up his coaching matchup against Reich.