Pac-12 Football: 5 storylines to follow in spring 2019

3. What will life look like at Stanford after Bryce Love’s departure?

Bryce Love certainly made a bigger impact on the Stanford offense in 2017 as a junior than he did in an injury-plagued 2018 campaign. Love appeared in only 10 games for the Cardinal last season, with 97 fewer rushing attempts than he churned out as a Heisman runner-up. Nagged by lingering ailments, he never could get fully up to speed, and it resulted in a third-place finish in the Pac-12 North behind both Washington schools.

But Love is also a testament to the fact that Stanford head coach David Shaw knows how to manage for the loss of a backfield star. When Love first earned the starting gig in 2017, it came after a couple of huge seasons from Christian McCaffrey. Instead of showing any signs of regression on the ground, Stanford got even better once Love took over the rushing duties on a full-time basis.

They had the opportunity to cope with what life after Love might look like last year as he missed several outings. Early results are that they will lean more on quarterback KJ Costello and the passing game. But for Stanford to live up to its position as the Pac-12 avatar of old-school grind-it-out football, they will need to find someone to step up and take charge as the next great Cardinal running back. Finding that player will be critical this spring for Shaw and his staff.