Excuse us if we’re a tad shy about uttering the H-word and “Stanford” in the same breath. Five second-place finishes in nine years will do that.
But the bookmakers in Vegas have no such superstitions, installing senior Bryce Love — last year’s runner-up — as the odds-on favorite to claim the, um, famous bronze statue this December.
Of course, there’s a long, bruising season to play and a raft of blue-chip competitors to outrun before then. But just a glance at the running back’s numbers explains why Stanford’s “one-man first down” might be the one to finally join Jim Plunkett, ’71, to date the only Stanford winner of the — OK, we’ll say it — Heisman.