EL PASO, Texas — Even without Bryce Love, Stanford plans to stick with the running game in the Sun Bowl against Pittsburgh.

Because the Panthers are powered by the first pair of 1,000-yard rushers in school history, coach Pat Narduzzi figures Monday’s meeting will be something of an oddity in today’s college game.

“This is going to be a game where the two teams both huddle,” Narduzzi said. “I think fans might get a kick out of that. They might not know what that is. This is going to be like an old 1985 bowl game where both teams are going to line up with two backs in the backfield and actually run the football, not throw it and spread.”

Love is the second lead Stanford back in three years to skip the Sun Bowl to focus on the NFL draft. Christian McCaffrey sat out the Cardinal’s 25-23 victory over North Carolina in 2016, was drafted eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers the next spring and just finished in the top 10 in the league in rushing.

McCaffrey was trying to avoid injury after following a 2,019-yard season with another strong year. Love decided to return for his senior season after breaking McCaffrey’s school record with 2,118 yards, but battled injuries while finishing with just 739 yards.

“With Bryce, it really didn’t matter what you ran, he’s going to find a way to make a play,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. Cameron Scarlett, also a senior, was second to Love with 236 yards, followed by 221 from junior Trevor Speights, who was among the Texas high school career rushing leaders in McAllen. Scarlett matched Love with a team-best six rushing touchdowns.

Qadree Ollison (1,190 yards) and Darrin Hall (1,021) are the keys to Pitt’s 18th-ranked rushing offense at 230 yards per game. They have 20 TDs rushing between them, led by Ollison with 11.