Stanford continued its road struggles, allowing touchdowns on Virginia’s first four possessions in a 48-20 loss on Saturday night.
The Cardinal (1-3, 1-1 ACC) was coming off a big win over Boston College in its home and conference opener, but was unable to carry any momentum over to the East Coast.
Virginia (3-1, 1-0) drove 65, 75, 72 and 88 yards for TDs to open the game. Stanford scored once during that stretch, keyed by a 60-yard pass from Ben Gulbranson to Bryce Farrell. But it couldn’t come close to keeping up with Virginia’s offense, which had put up a program-record 700 yards the previous week against William & Mary.
Trell Harris had three touchdown catches in the first quarter alone as the Cavaliers put up 590 yards and didn’t commit a turnover.
Gulbranson, who later found Farrell for a 68-yard touchdown, completed 20 of 29 passes for a season-high 286 yards and two TDs and no INTs, though he did lose a fumble on a sack. Farrell had 135 yards on four catches and Wisconsin transfer CJ Williams had 103 yards on nine receptions. Micah Ford, who ran for 157 yards against the Eagles, had 44 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
The Cardinal had lost its first two road games to Hawaii and BYU. Stanford next hosts San Jose State Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
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