Davis Warren established career highs by throwing for 396 yards and three touchdowns to lead Stanford to a wild 34-27 home victory over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday night.
Caden High caught four passes for a career-best 121 yards and two touchdowns and Nico Brown had five receptions for 98 yards and a score. Micah Ford added a rushing score and Warren completed 22 of 36 passes as Stanford (2-2, 1-2 ACC) halted a two-game slide.
Alberto Mendoza was 26-of-39 passing for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1). Trelain Maddox scored two touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing), Jaiven Plummer caught a scoring pass and Justice Haynes rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries.
Stanford trailed 20-10 at halftime before scoring the first 24 points of the second half.
Emmet Kenney’s 24-yard field goal on the first possession began the run and the Cardinal later tied the score when Warren tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to High with 7:08 remaining in the third.
As the quarter neared the end, Stanford gambled on fourth-and-10 from the Yellow Jackets’ 33-yard line and Warren connected with Brown in the front left corner of the end zone to put the Cardinal ahead at 27-20 with four seconds left.
Georgia Tech tried its own gamble less than two minutes into the fourth quarter on fourth-and-1 from its own 34. The pass play was foiled as Omar Staples sacked Mendoza for a loss of 10 and Stanford took over at the Yellow Jackets’ 24.
Three plays later, Warren tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to High to give the Cardinal a 34-20 lead with 11:52 remaining in the contest.
Georgia Tech responded with Mendoza’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Plummer to narrow its deficit to seven with 9:11 left.
But on the Yellow Jackets’ next drive, Mendoza was picked off by Stanford’s Brandon Nicholson at the Cardinal 11 with 5:16 left.
Georgia Tech had another chance but on third-and-13 from the Stanford 28, Mendoza, under heavy pressure took a costly 32-yard intentional grounding penalty, leaving the Yellow Jackets with fourth-and-45 with 59 seconds left.
The ensuing lateral-fest didn’t pan out and Stanford’s Tevarua Tafiti fell on Haynes’ backward pass at the Yellow Jackets’ 23 to seal it.
Georgia Tech opened the game with Aidan Birr’s 33-yard field goal. That was Birr’s 62nd career field goal to set a program record.
Stanford moved ahead on Ford’s 7-yard run with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Georgia Tech went back ahead on Mendoza’s 9-yard scoring pass to Maddox with 3:12 remaining.
After the teams traded field goals, Maddox broke free for a 20-yard scoring run with 3:14 remaining as Georgia Tech led by 10 at halftime.