Cardinal get healthier for Trojans with Love’s return
On the face of it, No. 7 Stanford should be optimistic about its chances against unranked USC on Saturday.
Backup Stanford tailback Bryce Love is due back from a lower-leg injury, the Cardinal are playing at home, and they have beaten the Trojans in six of the past eight meetings. Last season, they twice scored 41 points on USC and outmuscled the Trojans at the line of scrimmage, including a 19-point win in the Pac-12 title game.
Plus, USC is once again embroiled in the type of unsavory news that seems to have been part of the program for years. Backup linebackers Osa Masina and Don Hill have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities, head coach Clay Helton announced Tuesday.
The two players, under investigation for alleged sexual assault, had been suspended for the first two games but previously were allowed to practice and attend team meetings. Neither has been charged.
On the other hand, the Trojans are loaded with playmakers as usual, including wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, tailbacks Justin Davis and Ronald Jones II, linebacker Cameron Smith and cornerback/ return man Adoree’ Jackson.
Offensive left tackle Chuma Edoga will play against Stanford but lost his starting spot because he shoved an official in Saturday’s 45-7 rout of Utah State. The Trojans were pummeled 52-6 by No. 1 Alabama in their opener. Edoga is the second USC player to get in trouble for an on-the-field outburst. Linebacker Jabari Ruffin sat out the first half of the Utah State game after stomping on an Alabama player. In place of Edoga, Chad Wheeler will start at left tackle. He had been the starter before plantar fasciitis hampered him during preseason camp.
Stanford is coming off a bye week following its opening win over Kansas State. The open date, ill-timed from an overall team-health standpoint, allowed Love a chance to further recover.
“I feel very good about Bryce Love playing,” head coach David Shaw said. “It will be great to see him out there.”
Love, a 5-foot-10, 187pounder sophomore speedster, will give Christian McCaffrey a break from time to time and sometimes will line up at the same time as the Heisman Trophy candidate, most likely with one of them split wide or lined up in the slot.
“He’s passed every bar,” Shaw said of Love. “As long as he gets over the next hump (full team practices), he should be ready by Saturday.”
Love would be a featured tailback but for the presence of McCaffrey, Shaw said. “He’s got that kind of ability,” he said. “I believe at some point he will be a featured back here.”
Despite limited touches last season, Love showed he was a dangerous threat when he turned a short pass into a 93-yard touchdown against Central Florida and had long TD runs against Colorado (47 yards) and Cal (48).
“Having another running back with the skill set that Bryce has allows for a lot of spreading out of our offense,” McCaffrey said. It “makes it challenging for defenses.”
Safety Dallas Lloyd said, “I know last year he was a star, but this year, he’s really, really going to have a great year.”
Briefly: Both teams are expected to use two quarterbacks. Keller Chryst will play in spot relief of starter Ryan Burns, Shaw said, but he wouldn’t say how much. USC starter Max Browne and backup Sam Darnold each threw two touchdown passes against the Aggies . ... Stanford defensive lineman Harrison Phillips is questionable as a result of a knee injury in the Kansas State game. “We’ll take the next couple of days to see where he is physically,” Shaw said.