Rod Gilmore Examines Effort and Consistency Questions Facing Stanford Ahead of NC State

Stanford opens the second half of Tavita Pritchard's first season with a basic question: which team will show up on a given week? On the Cardinal Canopy podcast, former Stanford defensive back and longtime analyst Rod Gilmore went through that problem with Alex Hou of Roundtable Sports. They covered a struggling offensive line, a running game that has come and gone, and a defense that keeps giving up explosive plays.

The sharpest part of the discussion was about effort. Stanford lost back-to-back games by more than 50 points, 57-3 at Wake Forest and 58-7 at Notre Dame. Hou and Gilmore asked whether those results came down only to talent and execution, or whether competitiveness was also a factor. They also looked at how much of the blame belongs to Pritchard's staff, and what a fair measure of progress looks like in year one. Those losses stand out next to the 34-27 win over Georgia Tech, where Davis Warren played one of his best games at quarterback.

The conversation also looked past this season. Stanford has five games left: NC State, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Cal and SMU. It needs three more wins to become bowl eligible, and the Cardinal have not played in a postseason game since 2018. After that comes the transfer portal under general manager Andrew Luck. Gilmore and Hou talked about which position groups need help first and how hard Stanford should go after experienced transfers.

The mood in the building has picked up since the 34-7 homecoming win over Elon. Linebacker Sam Mattingly, who has led the defense the last two weeks, told The Stanford Daily that practice intensity has been "way up" this week. The Daily also reported that running back Micah Ford, who tied the school record for rushing touchdowns against Elon, is listed as probable after appearing on the injury report for the first time.

What it means for NC State

Friday's game against NC State is the first real test of whether the Elon win means anything. Through seven games, Stanford has scored 128 points and allowed 256. In its four losses, the Cardinal scored a combined 23 points. The 3-3 Wolfpack have their own problems. They lost three of six, including a 38-14 home loss to Wake Forest before their bye. But they have scored 198 points, and quarterback CJ Bailey was the main concern Gilmore and Hou raised in their preview. Mattingly called Bailey a good quarterback "in this league for a while." Stanford's chance may be on the ground: according to the Daily, NC State gives up 133 rushing yards per game, and Ford accounts for nearly three-quarters of Stanford's 103 rushing yards per game.

The board on our game page has NC State favored across 12 venues. Novig lists the Wolfpack at -239 on the moneyline and Stanford at +233. On the spread, Novig has NC State -6.5 at -115 and Stanford +6.5 at +111. Hard Rock Bet has the best Stanford number anywhere at +7.5, priced at -120. Novig's total is 55.5, with the over at +102 and the under at -104. Pinnacle has the best over price at 55, at -112. The venues are fairly close together, with sportsbook hold ranging from 3.4% to 6.7% on the spread and 3.8% to 6.7% on the total.

Kickoff is Friday night at Stanford Stadium on ESPN. A win would get the Cardinal back to .500 before road trips to Louisville and Virginia Tech.