Stanford finds Love capable replacement for Mccaffery
BLove has put up video-game numbers as Christian Mccaffrey’s replacement at Stanford. The junior running back has rushed for 1,088 yards in five games while averaging 11.1 yards per carry. The fourth-fastest player in FBS history to gain 1,000 yards in a season, Love rushed for a school-record 301 yards and three TDS in Saturday’s 34-24 win over Arizona State after running for 263 yards and a score in a 58-34 win over UCLA.
The Love train stops at Salt Lake City on Saturday for a showdown with No. 20 Utah, which is 4-0 straight up and against the spread this season.
Unranked Stanford (3-2) opened as a 6½-point favorite, but sharp money on the home underdog has since moved the line to 4½.
Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley is doubtful for the game, but Utah has a capable backup in senior captain Troy Williams, who started all 13 games last season and will face a porous Cardinal pass defense ranked 100th in the country.
Utah has had more than two weeks to prepare for the Cardinal, who lost at Southern California and San Diego State, and its 10th-ranked rushing defense should contain the power of Love.
“He put up some really big numbers against some really bad defenses,” Westgate sports book manager Ed Salmons said. “I definitely like Utah in that game. Utah’s better than what people think. Utah’s a tough place to play with the elevation, and (Kyle) Whittingham’s a really good coach. They don’t do a lot of dumb things out there.
“Utah’s very live in that game.”
Top-25 matchup
No. 8 Texas Christian is a 13½-point home favorite over No. 23 West Virginia, which whipped the Horned Frogs 34-10 last season to avenge a 40-10 loss in 2015. The previous three meetings were decided by a total of five points.
The Mountaineers, led by former Florida quarterback Will Grier, have scored at least 56 points in each of their past three games and should keep it close against a TCU team coming off a huge win over Oklahoma State.
“You always bet against the team coming off the big win,” CG Technology sports book vice president Matt Holt said. “When they’ve both been pretty good, it’s been an ultra-tight series.”
Holt said the sharps are on West Virginia, and Salmons also leans to