Stanford Football: 3 takeaways from ugly win over Oregon State
By Jesse Smith
Without running back Bryce Love on the field, Stanford looks below average, at best. The Cardinal did manage to come back and steal the victory behind a solid opportunistic defense and they are sitting at 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-12.
Most would be happy after winning a game you were thoroughly outplayed, but the scary thing is the other teams see the important formula to stop Stanford.
Senior quarterback Keller Chryst is the one you have to make beat you, with or without Love you have to sell out to stop the running game because when you see Chryst play you see a guy who is late on reads and very inaccurate.
Chryst’s 16-for-33 passing for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception performance on Thursday night on the road is a prime example of that. Oregon State played inspired ball and that was evident, but you can’t total 222 yards on a team that gives up over 480 on a weekly basis.
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With No. 15 Washington State, No. 12 Washington, California and No. 9 Notre Dame still on the schedule, I think the majority of the remaining teams will have the talent to perform the ‘sell out to stop the run’ plan — can Chryst really beat you? I doubt it, but Love has shown he’s good enough to mask all the Stanford problems but will he be able to do it on upon his return?