Stanford Football 2017: 3 Takeaways from loss to Washington State in Week 10
2. Stanford might be the worst Pac-12 offense, without Bryce Love
Stanford barely escaped Corvallis with a victory over Oregon State last weekend. The one point win came without the help of their best player, running back Bryce Love. He’s a legitimate Heisman contender and the heart and soul of the Cardinal offense.
When he took the field on Saturday he proved once again just how bad the state of Stanford football would be without him on the field. The Stanford passing attack is putrid and it doesn’t matter if it’s K.J. Costello at the helm or Keller Chryst. The Cardinal ran just 27 offensive plays before half time and gained 105 total yards. 65 of those belonged to Love and he was responsible for the only Cardinal touchdown.
The second half was more of the same. All Love and nobody else. Stanford did add two touchdowns in the third quarter, but neither of them were conventional by any means. The first came when Costello picked up his own fumble and scampered in for a 20-yard score. The second was courtesy of a Falk interception, returned by Bobby Okereke for a defensive touchdown.
Love finished with 69 yards and one touchdowns on 16 carries. Stanford gave him just four carries in the second half and consequently netted just 93 second half yards. The Stanford offense totaled 198 yards and two touchdowns. Subtract Love from that offense and you get little hope and a lot of punts – eight to be exact.