Stanford 31, NC State 28: Warren's four touchdowns and a fast start hold up

Stanford scored on its first two possessions and never trailed. Davis Warren threw four touchdown passes, Micah Ford ran for 150 yards, and a fourth-quarter field goal gave the Cardinal enough cushion to survive a late NC State touchdown and win 31-28 on Friday night at Stanford Stadium.

NC State turned the ball over zero times and converted 8 of 14 third downs. It still spent the entire night chasing.

How it was won

Warren opened the scoring at 10:34 of the first quarter with an 8-yard pass to N. Brown, then found S. Irvin for 17 yards at 3:40. Stanford led 14-0 before NC State had a point.

The Wolfpack answered quickly. CJ Bailey hit Deandre Desinor for 58 yards at 2:12 of the first, and W. Wilson ran in from 2 yards at 7:26 of the second to tie it 14-14.

The tie lasted until 25 seconds before halftime, when Warren connected with Caden High for 26 yards. That put Stanford up 21-14 at the break, and Warren's 5-yard pass to Brown at 9:20 of the third stretched it to 28-14.

Wilson's second 2-yard run, on the first snap-sized sliver of the fourth quarter at 14:50, pulled NC State within 28-21. E. Kenney's 31-yard field goal at 8:27 restored a two-score margin at 31-21. Bailey's 16-yard touchdown to Keenan Jackson came with 1:20 left and cut it to three, but that was as close as it got.

The box score tilted Stanford's way. The Cardinal outgained NC State 481 to 381, with 303 passing yards and 178 rushing, and led in first downs 27 to 21. Neither team turned it over, and possession was nearly even: 29:59 for NC State, 28:41 for Stanford.

Warren finished 22 of 37 for 303 yards and four touchdowns. High caught 9 passes for 103 yards. Ford carried 22 times for 150 yards and added 3 catches for 58 more.

For NC State, Bailey went 17 of 30 for 256 yards and two touchdowns, and he led the team on the ground with 59 yards on 9 carries. Davion Gause added 49 yards on 15 carries. Desinor had 3 catches for 79 yards and Jackson 3 for 56.

Against the number

NC State closed as a 7.5-point favorite, so Stanford covered by winning outright. The moneyline price on the Cardinal closed at +235, with NC State at -290.

The total closed at 54.5, and 59 points went over. The first half alone produced 35. Full closing prices and line history are on the game page.

The market had reason to lean NC State. Stanford arrived having lost to Wake Forest 57-3 and Notre Dame 58-7 within its previous three games. The Cardinal have now won two straight, following a 34-7 win over Elon.

What's next

NC State falls to 3-4 after consecutive losses, the other a 38-14 home defeat to Wake Forest. The Wolfpack host California on Saturday, October 31, on ACC Network.

Stanford evens its record at 4-4 and travels to Louisville on Saturday, October 31, also on ACC Network. Louisville is a common opponent: NC State beat the Cardinals 31-28 earlier this season.