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Stanford football: Trevor Speights emerges in easy win over UC Davis

By Matthew Bartlett

PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: K.J. Costello #3 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the UC Davis Aggies during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: K.J. Costello #3 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the UC Davis Aggies during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The biggest story entering Stanford football‘s tilt with UC-Davis was the absence of Bryce Love, but a new running back emerged to fill the void for the Cardinal.

Normally losing a Heisman-caliber running back would have been a big blow to any team, especially one as run-heavy as the Stanford Cardinal. The drop off was notable, but two mitigating factors staved off any chance of an upset in Week 3: the quality of the opponent and the emergence of junior running back Trevor Speights.

With Bryce Love sidelined with an injury the majority of the work in the backfield was expected to fall to Cameron Scarlett. He was the one that filled in when Love missed time last season, and he had nine carries in Stanford’s Week 3 game against Stanford. Dorian Maddox got eight carries while Speights was trusted with 11 rushes.

Is Trevor Speights a perfect backfill for Bryce Love? Of course not, but he did more than enough to earn a few more touches in the coming weeks.

Speights probably wasn’t the Plan A when head coach David Shaw devised his Love-less gameplan, but it’s hard to move away from any rusher that’s averaging close to eight yards per carry. K.J Costello didn’t play well, but his modest passing line (17-of-30 for 214 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions) was enough to get it done against UC-Davis.

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Knowing they have more than just Scarlett to share the low is huge for this offense moving forward; they’ll need the depth. Love’s injury history has been littered with bumps and bruises over his collegiate career. Stanford is going to need a stable of backs to spell their star if they want to have him healthy for the Pac-12 Championship Game at the end of the season.

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