Redshirt freshman Elijah Brown led two late scoring touchdown drives, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough three quarters in his first start of the season as Stanford fell to North Carolina 20-15 in Chapel Hill on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (4-5, 2-3 ACC) held a commanding 20-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. At that point, Brown had managed just 97 yards on 21 attempts, committed two turnovers deep in Stanford territory, and been sacked eight times for a loss of 63 yards.
The former top recruit, however, came alive in the final quarter, leading impressive scoring drives of 75 and 80 yards. He capped the comeback attempt with a 24-yard touchdown pass to fellow Mater Dei alum CJ Williams with 1:48 remaining, narrowing the gap to 20-15.
Stanford received the ball back at its own 20-yard line with 46 seconds left. Unfortunately, Brown was sacked for a ninth time, and the Cardinal ran out of time before crossing midfield.
Brown finished the game completing 27 of 39 passes for 284 yards. Stanford (3-7, 2-5) ended the day winless on the road (0-6). Their previous four away games against Power 4 conference opponents had been decided by at least 24 points.
The Cardinal made a quarterback change this week after scoring a conference-worst 17.8 points per game under sixth-year senior Ben Gulbranson.
Stanford now has two weeks to prepare for the Big Game against Cal before ending its season at home against Notre Dame.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/08/stanfords-late-elijah-brown-led-rally-falls-short-in-20-15-loss-at-north-carolina/