Greetings, stakeholders. Ignatius "Iggy" Yamamoto-Ross here, founder of three failed apps and one great Cardinal model. The apps were a social network for houseplants, a ride-share for scooters and a subscription service for socks that only came in pairs of one. The Cardinal model, though? Strong product-market fit. I follow this team from the stands, every game, with a laptop full of slide decks nobody asked for.
This week's deck has a title slide in bright Cardinal red: Let's pivot to the run game.
Part 1: Last Week, a Successful Relaunch
Stanford beat Elon 34-7 on Saturday at Stanford Stadium. We're 3-4. Elon is an FCS team, and I'll say that up front, because honest metrics are the foundation of any healthy organization.
Here's the honest arc. The first quarter was scoreless. Both teams missed field goals. My investor presentation slide for that quarter just says "pre-revenue."
Then the second quarter started, and Micah Ford launched. He opened the scoring with a 1-yard run 4 seconds into the quarter. Two drives later, he broke several tackles on a 7-yard touchdown run. Stanford led 14-0 at halftime. Our coach, Tavita Pritchard, said afterward that he challenged the team at halftime because the energy and focus in the first half weren't where they needed to be. That's what I call a mid-cycle performance review.
The second half was a hockey-stick growth chart. Davis Warren hit Sedrick Irvin for a 27-yard touchdown in the third quarter. On the next drive, Ford bobbled the snap, secured it and scooted 5 yards for his third score. Then, on his first touch of the fourth quarter, Ford broke free for an 81-yard touchdown run.
Four touchdowns. That tied Stanford's single-game record. Ford finished with 179 rushing yards on 19 carries, plus five catches for 52 yards. And let's not forget he scored three touchdowns against Hawaii in the season opener. Investors, that's what we call a unicorn.
Warren completed 27 of 39 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. JonAnthony Hall caught five passes for 70 yards. Stanford gained 515 yards. The defense held Elon to 52 passing yards on 8-of-27 throwing and allowed points on just one of Elon's 12 drives.
And now the honest part of the earnings call. This was a bounce-back after two lopsided road losses, 57-3 at Wake Forest and 58-7 at Notre Dame. We also lost 45-6 to Miami and 35-7 at Duke. Every startup has a rough quarter. Ours had several. But we also beat Hawaii 37-27 and Georgia Tech 34-27, and now we have momentum.
Part 2: Friday Night Launch Event vs. NC State
Friday, 10:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, which is a civilized 7:30 p.m. here on the Farm. NC State (3-3) visits Stanford (3-4). NC State's fans will be watching at what is, for them, a very late hour. Somebody brew them a cold brew.
Competitive Analysis
I'll give the Wolfpack their due, because every good pitch deck respects the competition. NC State converts 51.1% of its third downs, 15th in FBS. It averages 32:52 of possession a game, 20th. Quarterback CJ Bailey has 1,507 passing yards, nine touchdowns and just four interceptions. Keenan Jackson has 27 catches for 400 yards and five touchdowns. NC State beat Louisville 31-28 and went 8-5 last season. And the last time we met, in 2024, NC State won 59-28 in Raleigh. Painful? Yes. A data point? Also yes.
Now, let's look at the vulnerabilities in their roadmap.
Two weeks ago, NC State led Wake Forest 14-10 at halftime at home. Then Wake scored 28 straight points and won 38-14. In that game, NC State ran the ball 24 times for 15 yards. That's 0.6 yards per carry. My scooter ride-share app moved people farther than that, and it went out of business.
NC State's defense allows 27.7 points a game, 104th in FBS, and 230.3 passing yards a game, 99th. It opened the season with a 34-8 loss at Virginia and later lost 35-31 at Vanderbilt. Friends, that's a pass defense in beta testing.
Our Product Roadmap
I'm not hiding our numbers. Our defense allows 452 yards a game, 134th in FBS, and 36.6 points a game, 133rd. Our red zone defense ranks 136th. Our offense scores 18.3 points a game, 127th. Those numbers need a serious pivot.
But here's the vision. Ford has 529 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Warren has 1,630 passing yards with only two interceptions. Caden High has 337 receiving yards and three touchdowns. And Jay Green leads us with 43 tackles.
Four Deliverables for Friday
1. Pivot to the run game. Ford just ran for 179 yards. NC State's run defense allows 133.5 yards a game. Give him the ball, then give it to him again. That's not a strategy. That's a scalable business model. 2. Protect the asset. Warren has thrown two interceptions all season. Keep that number low, and we keep possession of the football and of the narrative. 3. Win third down. NC State is great at converting third downs. Our defense allows opponents to convert 47.8% of the time, 131st. If we get stops on third down, NC State's best metric becomes a slide we get to delete.
4. Own the clock. We average 28:19 of possession a game, 108th in FBS, while NC State averages 32:52. Long Ford-powered drives flip that metric and keep Bailey on the sideline, which is where I like my competitors' best features: unused, like the "share" button on my houseplant app.
Town Hall: The Farm vs. Raleigh
The Farm. Stanford University was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, in memory of their only child, and it admitted its first students in 1891. After World War II, provost Frederick Terman inspired an entrepreneurial culture that gave rise to what's now known as Silicon Valley. So yes, my three failed apps were basically a local tradition. Stanford Stadium was built in five months in 1921, then demolished and rebuilt after the 2005 season. That's what we call a full platform migration. And our team name, Cardinal, refers to the color, not the bird. We're not a mascot. We're a brand.
Raleigh. Raleigh is a lovely state capital, the "City of Oaks." But it's named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who founded the Roanoke Colony, which is famous for getting lost. Naming your city after the founder of the lost colony is a bold branding choice. I'd never ship that.
And the Wolfpack name? It came from an unsigned letter to the NC State Alumni News in 1921. The brand identity was created by an anonymous source. As a founder, I respect crowdsourcing, but I'd at least get the guy to sign an NDA.
The Closing Pitch
Here's the summary slide. Stanford has a record-tying running back, a quarterback who protects the football and a fresh win. NC State has a strong third-down offense and a quarterback who has thrown nine touchdowns, but it also has a run game that went missing against Wake and a pass defense ranked 99th. If we pivot to the run game and get key stops on third down, this product could ship on time.
Friday night. Let's pivot to the run game.
My call: NC State Wolfpack 33, Stanford Cardinal 24.