STANFORD, Calif. - There are few secrets about Stanford's attack: pound the football, mix in play action, and control the line of scrimmage.
It has been a winning formula, and the smash-mouth approach has led the Home of Intellectual Brutality to great success.
The attack starts up front with a big and physical offensive line, also known as the "Tunnel Workers Union." Head coach David Shaw often uses seven or eight linemen to clear a path for running backs Bryce Love, Cameron Scarlett and Trevor Speights, with huge assists from bruising senior fullback Daniel Marx.
During the regular season, Stanford ranked third in the Pac-12 in rushing with 210.04 yards per game, and allowed the fewest sacks (14).
Love, a 5-10, 196-pounder from Wake Forest, North Carolina, surpassed 1,000 yards rushing after the first five games and enters the Alamo Bowl with 1,973, the most by a Power 5 running back and the second-highest output in FBS. He led the nation for much of the season until sustaining an injury against Oregon in mid-October, missing six quarters of play. He averages 8.32 yards per carry.
Love paced the FBS with 11 100-yard rushing performances and 12 runs of 50 yards or more. Eleven of his 17 rushing touchdowns came from 50-plus yards, and he has posted a 30-yard run in an FBS-record 14-straight contests.
A national sprint champion as a kid, Love is fast, tough and patient. He boasts 28 runs of 20-plus yards, and has gained more than 1,000 after contact. Love has also forced 72 missed tackles, fourth most in the FBS.
Love averages 164.4 yards per game, second in the FBS. He also ranks first in the Pac-12 and third in the country in all-purpose yards at 167.7.
A Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist, Love set a single-season school record by gaining 301 yards on 25 carries against Arizona State. Named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Love needs 47 yards to eclipse the Stanford season rushing mark set by 2015 Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey.
Sophomore quarterback K.J. Costello made six starts, including the last five games, and racked up a 4-2 record. He is durable, strong-armed and athletic. Costello engineered season-ending victories against No. 9 Washington and No. 8 Notre Dame. He has thrown for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions and rushed for 99 yards and three scores.
Wide receivers JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Trent Irwin have been consistent contributors. The acrobatic Arcega-Whiteside has a team-best 43 catches for 720 yards and six touchdowns, while the dependable Irwin has grabbed 40 for 444 yards and two scores.
The Cardinal, which recently has sent numerous tight ends to the NFL, has received great production from Kaden Smith (23 catches for 414 yards and five touchdowns), Dalton Schultz (20-204-3) and Colby Parkinson (10-97-4). All stand 6-5 or taller and have combined for 53 receptions for 715 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Schultz and sophomore offensive guard Nate Herbig earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors, while fifth-year senior guard David Bright was a second-team selection, and senior center Jesse Burkett, senior tackle A.T. Hall and freshman tackle Walker Little were accorded honorable mention. Sophomore Devery Hamilton, junior Nick Wilson and senior Brandon Fanaika have also been mainstays.
Little, the first true freshman to start at left tackle for Stanford in 17 years, was sidelined by an injury late in the season. He did not permit a sack and was selected Pac-12 Freshman Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
