STANFORD – Stanford coach Tavita Pritchard believes the biggest improvement a football team makes comes between its first and second games.

The Cardinal will need it.

Stanford, coming off a 37-27 victory over Hawaii in Pritchard’s head-coaching debut on Saturday, gets its first test against a ranked opponent Friday night when No. 7 Miami visits Stanford Stadium.

The Hurricanes are playing their first game since reaching last season’s CFP National Championship, where they lost 27-21 to Indiana.

For Stanford, much of that improvement will have to come from eliminating the mistakes that nearly cost the Cardinal against Hawaii.

Stanford led 23-7 entering the fourth quarter before Hawaii scored three touchdowns to take a 27-23 lead. Pritchard said there were issues on both sides of the ball. The offense couldn’t sustain drives, while the defense extended two drives due to penalties.

But Stanford responded with a quick touchdown drive led by new starter Davis Warren, who was the only FBS QB in Week 0 to throw for 300 yards, and then sealed the victory when linebacker Tevarua Tafiti returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown.

Stanford’s challenge becomes considerably greater against Miami, which will be the highest-ranked team the Cardinal has faced since it beat No. 3 Oregon in overtime in 2021. Stanford played the then-No. 9 ranked Hurricanes in Miami last October and lost 42-7.

This will be the Miami debut for Duke transfer Darian Mensah, who led the ACC in passing yards and passing touchdowns last season. He threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns with only six interceptions while leading the Blue Devils to the ACC championship.

“He’s a talented player,” Pritchard said. “We know that he’s a guy that we’re going to have to affect him in the pocket. We’re absolutely going to have to do a great job of staying in our rush lanes and covering some really talented skilled players on that side of the ball.”

Miami also returns running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who rushed for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and sophomore receiver Malachi Toney, one of the ACC’s most dangerous big-play threats.

Stanford should benefit from having a game under its belt, but that advantage comes with some costs. The Cardinal is playing on a short week and enters Friday’s game with several injury concerns.

Sophomore outside linebacker Gabe Kaminski, who had 1.5 sacks against Hawaii, is listed as doubtful, while edge Ernest Cooper is listed as questionable.

Starting center Aiden Kilstrom will be unavailable after suffering what looked like a serious leg injury in the third quarter. Running back Micah Ford has only 14 of his 99 rushing yards after halftime as the offense stalled once Kilstrom left the field.

But Warren was at his best when Stanford needed him most, completing all five of his passes for 58 yards on the game-winning drive.