Love, controlled much of night, is impressive late
SALT LAKE CITY — Bryce Love is like a toddler given free rein at an exhibit of priceless figurines. Sooner or later, he’s going to break one.
Saturday night it happened three minutes into the fourth quarter of Stanford’s 23-20 win over then-No. 20 Utah. The Cardinal were nursing a threepoint lead when Love broke loose against one of the nation’s toughest run defenses.
He stumbled through a near ankle tackle, regained his balance and shot 68 yards for what proved to be the decisive score. He uncharacteristically slowed near the goal line, almost allowing a defender to catch him.
“It was an inexcusable mistake,” Love said. “Really risky.”
Love finished with a seasonlow 152 yards on 20 carries. He had little room to roam early on. His first nine runs netted just 8 yards before he ripped off a 39-yarder in the second quarter to set up a field goal.
The nation’s leading rusher has 1,240 yards through six games. At his current pace — and assuming Stanford plays a postseason game — he would finish with 2,687 yards, 59 more than Barry Sanders’ FBS record in 1988.
Head coach David Shaw told reporters, “Please, call somebody on the East Coast and let them know what happened in the second half. Because I guarantee they missed it.”
The Cardinal (4-2, 3-1 Pac-12) — back into the top 25 at No. 23 — won their third straight on a night when Shaw used his quarterbacks like a wrestling tag team. Keller Chryst started after missing most of the previous two games with an injury.
He was replaced every second series or so by K.J. Costello, a redshirt freshman who had played well in Chryst’s absence.
Chryst had slightly better numbers, completing 7 of 14 passes for 106 yards and running 7 yards for a touchdown. All of Stanford’s points resulted from Chryst-directed drives, although one of the drives was little more than Love’s long run. Another went a total of 1 yard — before a field goal — following a bad snap on a Utah punt. Costello was 6-for-10 for 82 yards.
Both players merited a Bminus in Shaw’s postgame analysis. That may change after a video review. “Both guys made some big throws, got some big gains in crunch-time situations, and both guys missed a couple,” he said. “We’ll keep pushing both guys to be at their best every single play.”
Shaw, who was sharply criticized in Stanford chat rooms for starting Chryst, was noncommittal on who would start Saturday against Oregon and whether he’ll continue to platoon them.
Both players had to contend not only with an aggressive, well-coached Utah defense but also a malfunctioning play clock. Back judge Justin Nelson had to give hand signals to the quarterbacks all night to indicate when 10 seconds were left, then five. After an early delay-of-game penalty on Stanford, both teams were able to get their snaps off on time.
Marring a fine all-around performance by the Stanford defense, linebacker Peter Kalambayi and defensive lineman Harrison Phillips drew targeting penalties in the closing minutes. Both were ejected and will have to miss the first half of the Oregon game.
Shaw didn’t quarrel with either call. “When there’s contact and you duck your head and the other guy’s helmet moved, those things are going to get called,” he said.
The Cardinal’s Justin Reid had a team-high seven tackles, including one for a loss, and his fifth interception of the season. He also downed a punt at the Utah 5 in the final minutes.
“I don’t know if there’s another safety playing at his level in America right now,” Shaw said.