Washington State Slows Down Bryce Love, Beats Stanford 24-21

The No. 25 Washington State Cougars largely held Stanford running back Bryce Love in check en route to a 24-21 win Saturday over the No. 21 Cardinal at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

Love entered the game as one of the leading Heisman Trophy candidates with a yards-per-carry average exceeding 10, but Wazzu managed to limit him to a season-low 69 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.

The biggest offensive star of the day was Washington State quarterback Luke Falk, who threw for 337 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 34-of-48 passing in the win.

Falk also made history in the first half, as he reached 13,601 career passing yards, which is the all-time Pac-12 record, per Pac-12 Network.

Saturday's result gave Washington sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 North at 4-1, while Washington State and Stanford are now tied for second at 5-2.

Although Love struggled to find a rhythm for much of Saturday's game in comparison to his previous outings, he opened the scoring early in the second quarter.

Following a stagnant first quarter that featured six punts, Love broke multiple tackles and burst down the middle of the field for a 52-yard touchdown run, as seen in this video courtesy of Fox College Football:

That marked Love's first big run of the day after getting bottled up in the first quarter, and it prompted a joke from Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde:

The 2017 season has been a history-making campaign for Love, and that long touchdown added to his mystique.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, no FBS player has more 50-yard runs in a single season in the past decade than Love:

While Love hadn't rushed for less than 147 yards in a single game this season prior to Saturday, he was coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of Stanford's last contest against Oregon State.

Love's touchdown run appeared to wake up Washington State's hibernating offense, as it scored touchdowns on each of its next two drives to take a 14-7 lead.

The first score was a 12-yard pass from Falk to Tavares Martin Jr., capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took just over three minutes:

On Washington State's next drive, Falk hit Renard Bell for a 27-yard touchdown, per the following video from WSU Cougar Football:

After the Cougars extended their lead to 17-7 with a field goal early in the third quarter, Stanford avoided disaster and turned it into a touchdown to help narrow the deficit back to three.

As seen in this video from Pac-12 Network, Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello fumbled on a pump fake before picking it up and rumbling 22 yards for a touchdown:

Stanford's defense then gave it the lead for the second time in the game a short while later by capitalizing on one of the few mistakes made by Falk.

Linebacker Bobby Okereke read Falk's eyes a jumped a route for the interception before returning it 52 yards for the go-ahead score:

That shifted the pressure back to Falk and head coach Mike Leach's high-octane offense entering the final quarter of play.

Falk answered the bell and may have gotten himself back in the Heisman race in the process by putting Washington State back on top with 6:56 remaining in the game.

He led the Cougars on an 11-play, 95-yard march that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jamire Calvin to give WSU the 24-21 lead after the extra point:

There was time left for Stanford to drive for a tying or go-ahead score, but the Washington State defense stood tall, and Frankie Luvu picked off Costello to seal the win.

The Cougars now control their own destiny in the Pac-12 North regardless of what Washington does Saturday since WSU and the Huskies will meet in the final week of the season.

Stanford will have a chance to get back in the mix next week if it can beat Washington, but it will need the Cougars to lose one of their two remaining games to have a shot at playing in the Pac-12 title game.