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Stanford vs Rice: Live highlights, top performers and more

By Connor Muldowney

PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Keller Chryst #10 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Keller Chryst #10 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Saturday night’s Stanford vs Rice game was the last of Week 0 and kept college football fans up all night with excitement.

David Shaw’s Stanford Cardinal enter the 2017 season with some question marks at important positions, but they have the talent to compete for the Pac-12 title. Stanford might be one of the dark-horse candidates to take down Washington and USC, but it will have to open the season with a convincing win over Rice.

The Week 0 game against the Owls will take place overseas, though. The Cardinal will be taking on the Owls in Sydney, Australia.

The last time these two teams met was in 2016 and the Cardinal blew the doors off the Owls, 41-17, to end the regular season. Rice was not a bowl team and it’s trying to change that in 2017 with an upset against the Cardinal.

Keller Chryst will get the start for Stanford under center after going 6-0 in the final six games of the 2016 season as the team’s starter. Can he improve to 7-0 as the starter with a win over Rice in the final game of Week 0?

Moreover, can Bryce Love adequately replace Christian McCaffrey in the backfield? The easy answers to both of those questions, at least in this first game, was yes. Love looked the part of a potential Heisman running back, albeit against a lowly Rice defense, and Chryst was solid in his seventh career start.

Rice would avoid the shutout, though, scoring on a 23-yard Austin Walter touchdown run with 6:19 to go in the fourth quarter. This was still one of the biggest losses in program history.

Check out the highlights and top performers from the final game of the week.

Three Stars

1. Bryce Love/Cameron Scarlett: It was tough to choose just one of these talented running backs, but they sure helped Stanford fans forget Christian McCaffrey. Love had 13 carries for 180 yards and a touchdown and Scarlett finished with eight rushes for 59 yards and three scores.

2. Keller Chryst: The senior running back coming off a knee injury had a strong first start to his 2017 season. He passed for 253 yards and two scores on 14-of-25 completions.

3. Stanford tight ends: All Stanford tight ends looked good. I mean really good. Freshman Colby Parkinson caught three passes for 40 yards and two scores. Dalton Schultz, a junior, had two catches for 41 yards and Kaden Smith had four receptions for 55 yards and a score.

Highlights

Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017

What’s Next?

Stanford will get a bye in Week 1 after a Week 0 contest against Rice. The Cardinal will face off against Pac-12 rival USC on Sept. 9 on the road in one of the biggest early-season contests of the season. Rice will travel to El Paso to take on UTEP.

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