Stanford Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren (8) led with three downs and threw for 396 yards for Stanford’s win over the Georgia Tech Bulldogs at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sat Sep 26, 2026 (Stanford Cardinal photo)
By Michael Roberson
STANFORD, Calif.. — Led by senior quarterback Davis Warren’s 396 passing yards and three touchdowns, the Stanford Cardinal (2-2, 1-2 ACC) garnered their first conference win and chased the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1 ACC) out of the Bay Area 34-27, in front of 23,422 fans inside of Stanford Stadium.
Stanford won the coin toss, but deferred their possession until their second half. That decision could have been gracious, or very strategic for the home team. Initially it resulted in the team from the Peach State scoring first with their precious gift.
Georgia Tech’s senior kicker Aidan Birr booted a 33-yard FG to put his team up 3-0 in just under the first six minutes of the game.Less than four minutes later, Stanford would respond, during their first possession of the ball. That time with the ball did also put them into the lead.
Junior running back Micah Ford crossed the goal line after a seven yards scamper. However, this lead-taking score was aided by a crucial roughing the passer penalty against the Yellow Jackets. Their defense could have been off the field and the team maintained their three points lead, but instead they were down by four points due to their error.
Despite that, Georgia Tech did respond a few minutes later with their own scoring drive. Junior quarterback Alberto Mendoza threw a 9-yard TD pass to junior running back Trelain Maddox, to put the guests up by three points again, 10-7. After the first 15 minutes elapsed, that score prevailed.
In the second quarter, the swarming Yellow Jackets exposed their nature on defense, as they forged an impressive fourth down stance. The offense parlayed that turnover of the ball into another score, which extended their small lead. After Birr converted another field goal ((23), the lead doubled to six, 13-7.
Midway through the second stanza, Stanford decided to score via their special teams. Senior kicker Emmett Kenney converted a 29-yard FG, to get back within three points of the lead. However, they settled for that amount of points, as a rushing touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty. They were down three instead of up by one point.
Later in the first half, Georgia Tech was on the attack once more. The aforementioned Maddox reached paydirt on a 20-yard sprint from scrimmage. Minutes before recess, the Atlanta based school was up by 10 points, 20-10. That score held up until the halftime whistle.
In the second half the choice of the deferment really came into fruition. In the third quarter alone, Stanford out scord Georgia Tech 17-0. They went from being down 10 points at the half to being up by seven after three quarters. That big momentum shift took 15 minutes of regulation game time.
The scoring barrage included, Kenney kicking another FG (24) and Davis Warren launching two (49) & (33) bomb touchdown strikes. After 45 minutes of ACC action, the Cardinal led 27-20, and Warren was just under 400 yards passing. The Yellow Jackets were stunned, as well as their loyal fans throughout the stadium.
In the final quarter, turnabout’s fair play, as the Cardinal performed their own fourth down stance. Less than two minutes in, Stanford stopped Georgia Tech in their tracks and gave their offence an opportune positioning on the field. More than a minute later, Warren tossed his third TD (7) of the evening. That one landed in the hands of senior wide receiver Caden High, At that point, Stanford had scored 24 straight points on the southern opponents., 34-20.
Although being down by 14 points, the Yellow Jackets did put up a valiant fight and attempted a comeback. Mendoza threw a 23-yard TD pass to senior WR Jaiven Plummer, bringing them within one score, 34-27. After Stanford did nothing with the ball, he had a chance to tie the game at 34. Unfortunately for him and his team, the drive ended with an interception.
That actually was not the end. Mendoza had one last chance to tie the game or even win on a two-point conversion. One again, the drive stalled and the Cardinal was able to capture the victory on guile and pride, Final score after an adventurous 60 minutes, 34-27 Stanford.
The Cardinal will next be in action Saturday, October 3, in Winston-Salem, NC to take on Wake Forest at ( AM PT/Noon ET on the ACC Network. Georgia Tech heads back to Atlanta and hosts Duke on Saturday, October 10. Time and channel are yet to be determined.
