Stanford's Micah Ford named ACC Running Back of the Week after four-touchdown night

Stanford running back Micah Ford has been named ACC Running Back of the Week for the second time this season. The conference handed him the award after he scored four rushing touchdowns in the Cardinal's 34-7 win over Elon, which tied a program single-game record.

As Roundtable Sports reported, Ford ran 19 times for 179 yards against Elon, an average of 9.4 yards per carry. He also caught five passes for 52 yards. His 231 yards from scrimmage are the most by a Stanford running back since 2017. According to Stanford Athletics, the longest of his scores was an 81-yard run on his first touch of the fourth quarter. The four rushing touchdowns match the school mark Christian McCaffrey most recently reached in 2015, and this was only the 10th game in program history with four rushing scores.

The junior from Toms River, New Jersey, now has eight rushing touchdowns, already the most of any season in his career. That ties him with Duke's Nate Sheppard for the ACC lead. He has 529 yards on 114 carries, which puts him tied for second in the league in attempts and sixth in rushing yards. It was also his second game this season with at least three rushing touchdowns, and the school says no Cardinal player had done that twice in one season since 2017. Sheppard, who won the award in Weeks 1 and 2, is the only other player to win it twice this year.

The award recognizes one player, but it also points to what Stanford needs. Roundtable Sports described the Cardinal's running game as inconsistent this season. A ground game that can control a game is the most obvious way for this team to compete in conference play.

What it means for NC State

Stanford has little time to enjoy the award. The Cardinal host NC State on a short week, with a Friday night kickoff at Stanford Stadium on October 23 on ESPN. Stanford is 3-4 and has one conference win, a 34-27 victory over Georgia Tech. Its season has been lopsided. Stanford has scored 34 or more points in each of its three wins. In its four losses, against Miami, Duke, Wake Forest and Notre Dame, it scored 23 points combined, and every one of those losses came by at least 28 points. Roundtable Sports noted that NC State arrives at 3-3. The site framed the game as important to Stanford's hopes of reaching its first bowl since 2018.

The market sees NC State as the stronger team. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, NC State is favored at -257 on the moneyline at Novig, and Stanford is +251. The spread varies by a full point across venues. Novig lists NC State at -7.5 with a price of +113 and Stanford at +7.5 at -115. The best NC State spread price anywhere is theScore Bet's -6.5 at -115. The total sits at 55.5 on Novig, with both sides at -104. The best price on the over is Pinnacle's 55 at -114. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.8% to 6.5% on the spread and from 4.0% to 5.9% on the moneyline.

An underdog of a touchdown or more needs to shorten the game and stay ahead of the chains. For Stanford, that means giving Ford the ball. His last outing came against an FCS opponent, and this week's matchup will show whether that production carries over against ACC competition.