STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Bryce Love ran for 136 yards and a touchdown and No. 10 Stanford made talented quarterback JT Daniels look like a freshman in a 17-3 victory over No. 17 Southern California on Saturday night.
The Cardinal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) got an early touchdown run by Love and then tormented Daniels much of the night, holding USC to its fewest points in this series since a shutout in 1941. Stanford took control of the game late in the second quarter with a strip sack on fourth down against Daniels that set up K.J. Costello's 9-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson that gave Stanford a 14-0 lead.
Daniels made an impressive debut last week for the Trojans (1-1, 0-1) when he threw for 282 yards and a touchdown against UNLV. But duplicating that against Stanford proved far more difficult with the Cardinal using blitzes to pressure and confuse Daniels at times.
Daniels went 16 for 34 for 215 yards with interceptions on his final two passes of the night. He was forced to leave the game for one possession in the first half after a hard hit by Joey Alfieri.
It was another big play by Alfieri that proved big late in the first half. Coach Clay Helton went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Cardinal 40, but Alfieri came free on a blitz and knocked the ball loose. Bobby Okereke recovered at the Stanford 49 and the Cardinal drove down field to score on Costello's TD pass with 34 seconds left in the half.
Love provided most of the rest of the offense after getting held to 29 yards on 18 carries last week against San Diego State. His 28-yard run sparked the opening drive that ended with his 6-yard score. He added a 59-yard run in the third quarter to set up a field goal.