David Shaw said he’s confident that speedy sophomore running back Bryce Love will see action when No. 7 Stanford takes on visiting USC in the Pac-12 football opener for both teams at 5 p.m. Saturday.
“He’s done a lot on the side, running at full strength and going through a cut progression,” Shaw said. “We’ll sprinkle him in there.”
Love, who rushed for 226 yards and caught 15 passes for another 250 yards last year, is an explosive offensive weapon for the Cardinal who scored three touchdowns last year.
“At some point, he’ll be a feature back here,” Shaw said. “If he walks into a room, he’s not the biggest guy, but you watch him play, he’s a true running back. He can run between the tackles. He’s physical, he’s tough, and he can run the ball outside and he can catch the ball. He’s got great versatility.”
Love missed the opener against Kansas State with an injury and his absence was felt by the Stanford offense. The defense had an easier time bottling up McCaffrey because the offense lacked an additional threat.
“It definitely opens up a lot of windows,” McCaffrey said. “It makes my job easier, but especially having another running back with the skill set that Bryce does.”
McCaffrey broke away for touchdown runs of 41 and 35 yards in the 26-13 victory over Kansas State, but it was clear the Wildcats were able to focus on stopping the reigning AP Player of the Year. Love may see limited action if he does play, but his presence should make a difference in loosening up the USC defense.
“It’s just another piece to the puzzle that the defense is going to have to worry about,” said safety Dallas Lloyd. “I’m excited for him. He’s worked really hard. He’s going to have a great year.”
Lloyd seconds that
Stanford assistant Duane Akina is regarded as perhaps the best secondary coach in the country. Lloyd, who switched from quarterback to defense two years ago when Akina arrived, has learned much from Akina.
“One of the reasons he’s such a great coach — obviously, he’s really smart, he knows the X’s and O’s, he’s really good at teaching — is something that goes beyond football: He really loves us. He really cares about us. And that really brings out the best in all of us.”
Capital One Trophy
Stanford University will be presented with the Capital One Cup® trophy and a $200,000 scholarship check during two official on-campus celebrations of the 2015-16 Capital One Cup championship earned by the men’s athletics program.
The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to the best men’s and women’s Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple sports.
This is the first Capital One Cup win for Stanford men’s athletics, and the fourth trophy to be awarded to a Stanford athletics program overall – last year, the Stanford women brought home their third Capital One Cup trophy.
The Cardinal men’s program earned 126 points in the Capital One Cup thanks to their NCAA® Men’s College Cup championship for soccer, along with six additional top-10 finishes throughout the athletic season in cross country, football, water polo, gymnastics, indoor track and field and volleyball.
The presentations occur at halftime of Friday’s Stanford men’s soccer game against Harvard following the first timeout of the second quarter at Saturday’s football game against USC.
And the Amway Trophy
The AFCA Coaches Trophy will be on display during the fanfest of the Stanford-USC game on Saturday.
Stanford is the fourth stop of a 10-city tour during this college football season, during which fans will have the opportunity to see and take photos with the Trophy.
The AFCA Coaches’ Trophy, featuring the iconic Waterford© Crystal football, presented by Amway, will be awarded to the No. 1-ranked team, and national champion, in the Amway Coaches Poll following the conclusion of the college football season.
Stanford and ebay
eBay released data showing Stanford is California’s most popular college football team among fans who make purchases from its website.
eBay developed a map outlining which of the Top 25 teams “own” each state based on sales on the marketplace.
Sale of Stanford football gear is up 22 percent from last year.
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer