Stanford Game Preview

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Duke (2-0, 0-0) hosts Stanford (1-1, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. EDT in Wallace Wade Stadium in the Blue Devil’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Stanford lost its conference opener against Miami. Television coverage will be provided by The CW, and Duke opened as a 9.5 point-favorite. Head Coach Manny Diaz stated during his Monday press conference, “[t]he quest for a championship starts on Saturday.” There is no doubt where the team’s mindset is as they are looking to compete for the conference championship again in 2026.

Injury Report: Significant names on the report for Duke: CB Kimari Robinson is Doubtful; S DaShawn Stone and OL Micah Sahakian are Questionable; WR Javen Nicholas is Probable.

Significant names on the report for Stanford: ILB Jahsiah Galvan, S Charlie Eckhardt and OLB Gabe Kaminski are Questionable.

Offense: Stanford quarterback Davis Warren is a transfer from Michigan. He started nine games for the Wolverines in 2024 but tore his ACL in the ReliaQuest Bowl and missed the entire 2025 season. As a Wolverine in 2024, Warren completed 64.1% of his pass attempts for 1,199 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. Duke Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Patke had the usual nice comments about the opposing team’s quarterback, “…really efficient, takes care of the football, great timing, great arm strength…he’s a really, really good player.” Through two games in 2026, Warren has completed 43 of 75 pass attempts (57.3%) for 524 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Tight end Benji Blackburn is Stanford’s leading receiver with 12 receptions for 101 yards. Blackburn is a big target at 6’6” 260 pounds. Coach Patke described him this way: “He does a great job running his routes, he’s very clean in his route running, he’s tough, he’s big, he gets extra yards after the catch.”

Stanford has six wide receivers with multiple catches over the first two games of the season so they like to spread the ball around on the outside. Senior Caden High leads the way with six receptions for 92 yards. He transferred from South Carolina State prior to the 2025 season and caught 37 passes for 414 yards and one touchdown during his first season at Stanford.

A trio of freshmen: JonAnthony Hall, Zion Robinson and Atticus Joseph are in the rotation.

Micah Ford is the leading rusher with 126 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns. All three touchdown runs were in Stanford’s season opening win over Hawaii. Sedrick Irving has rushed 14 times for 84 yards. Both running backs are experienced with Ford being a junior and Irving a senior.

Stanford is going to throw the ball so the Duke defense must put pressure on the quarterback to give the secondary opportunities to make plays on the ball. Stanford has not committed an offensive given the ball away yet this season so Duke needs to change that narrative on Saturday.

Players to Watch: Davis Warren, Benji Blackburn, Micah Ford

Defense: “Man coverage. They are going to challenge everything, they are going to get on you, they are going to contest every throw, no easy catches, and then to that point it gives them the ability to put a lot of guys around the box, they always have an extra hat to try and take away your run game.” That’s Head Coach Manny Diaz describing Stanford’s defensive philosophy.

Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Brewer added the Stanford defense is very strong on the interior: “[w]e are running the football at a high level going against a defense that is stopping the run at a high level.”

Obviously, the Duke coaching staff is impressed with the Stanford defense.

Middle linebacker Matt Rose is the team’s leading tackler with 21 tackles, which is second best in the ACC. He leads a strong linebacker corps which is the strength of the Cardinal defense. 

Safety Charlie Eckhardt intercepted Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, while defensive lineman Zach Rowell and linebacker Tevarua Tafiti forced and recovered a fumble against Hawaii. 

Duke will lean on Nate Sheppard and the running game, but with the success Stanford has achieved defending the run this is a game where Duke would benefit greatly from Walker Eget getting the wide receivers involved by successfully throwing the ball downfield. Balance is key so passing to set up the run might be the formula for success this Saturday afternoon.

Players to Watch: Matt Rose, Charlie Eckhardt

Prediction: Computer ratings like Duke much more than Stanford. Sagarin has the Blue Devils at 40 with the Cardinal at 84; ESPN FPI is 40 and 87; Massey says 33 and 81. The game will be more competitive than the ratings reflect. Duke 30, Stanford 21.

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