UCLA Football: 5 reasons the Bruins will beat Stanford

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SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal reacts to scoring a rushing touchdown during the second half of a game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium on September 16, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

2. Stanford relies too much on Bryce Love

All Stanford needs is Love.

Bryce Love is one of the best running backs in college football, yet he doesn’t quite get the respect he deserves. No one really expected the junior running back to be this good early on, but he has been a monster for the Cardinal.

The junior has rushed for 524 yards and four touchdowns on only 43 carries. Yes, that’s an average of 12.2 yards per touch. The Cardinal offense would not be nearly as productive if Love wasn’t part of the equation. He’s been a rockstar in the backfield and has eased the loss of Christian McCaffrey on Cardinal fans.

Just how much has Stanford relied on Love, though? The Cardinal have 1,252 yards of total offense this season and Love has 527 of those yards. That’s about 48 percent of the offense, which isn’t ideal for one player on a Pac-12 contender. Too much reliance is a bad thing.

While the Bruins don’t have a good run defense, being able to lock down on one player gives them the upper hand. Stack the box and force Chryst to beat you with his arm. Look what happened when Kellen Mond came into the game vs. UCLA in Week 1. The Bruins stopped the Aggie offense because it couldn’t throw.

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