College Football: Most valuable player on every Top 25 team

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Jonah Williams (73) looks to make a block during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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SAN ANTONIO, TX – DECEMBER 28: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal runs between Innis Gaines #6 of the TCU Horned Frogs and Ben Banogu #15 in the second half of the Valero Alamo Bowl at Alamodome on December 28, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

15. Stanford Cardinal – Bryce Love, RB

Unlike the USC Trojans, Stanford is coming off a 9-5 season and they are on the way up and ready to make a run in a more open Pac-12. Junior quarterback K.J. Costello is primed to improve this season to ignite the passing game. On defense, the Cardinal lost major pieces from the 2017 team. Harrison Phillips, Justin Reid and Quenton Meeks are all in the NFL.

However, Stanford always reloads well on that side of the ball. So where is the most valuable player? It’s pretty obvious that Stanford’s most valuable player is running back Bryce Love. Running back is a deep position for the Cardinal this year, but Love still remains the most valuable.

Stanford runs things very similar to Wisconsin, with a strong running game and a disciplined offensive line. They haven’t had an uber-talented quarterback since Andrew Luck, so leaning on the running game to win is imperative. Love is coming off a year in which he rushed for 2,118 yards and found the end zone 19 times.

Let’s also not forget Love finished with eight yards per carry. Stanford always has a talented running back room though. Backup Cameron Scarlett can be serviceable should Love go down due to injury, but the offense will not be the same because of the explosive plays that Love consistently provides.