McCaffrey finished with 461 all-purpose yards to give him 3,496 on the season and break the NCAA record of 3,250 that Barry Sanders has held since 1988.
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By virtue of Clemson’s win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game, and Alabama’s defeat of Florida in the SEC Championship Game, Stanford is frozen out of the College Football Playoff. Thomas returned it 34 yards to provide Stanford’s first fumble return for a touchdown since Chase Thomas against Notre Dame in 2012. USC had a total of 251 yards, 80 of that came in the first half while 171 yards was recorded in the third quarter alone, 95 rushing yards. Hogan ran it in on the next play to put Stanford back on top.
The only thing McCaffrey couldn’t pull off was an upset in one of the other conference championship games that could have sent the Cardinal to the playoff. During his tenure, he’s won three Pac-12 championships, three Rose Bowl appearances, and he’s been critical in carrying over Stanford’s success from the Harbaugh era to the Shaw era. Unless it somehow jumps ahead of one-loss conference champions Michigan State or Oklahoma, Stanford will head to the Rose Bowl, where it will likely face either Ohio State or Iowa.
“I mean what doesn’t he do is what you could ask me”, OLB Su’a Cravens said about McCaffrey.
The Trojans found out earlier on Sunday that they will be heading down south to San Diego for the second straight year to play Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl on December 3o. If they invite us, great.
After the confetti is swept up and College Football Playoffs are decided, the big question will still remain – should Christian McCaffrey be your 2015 Heisman Trophy victor? Then, the Trojans came racing back and even took the lead to start the second half, before Stanford and running back Christian McCaffrey began to literally run away with the game. But even on a record-breaking night, he rushed to compliment the guy who’s kept the Cardinal on track.
Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, clinching his team’s third Pac-12 championship in his four years at the helm of the Cardinal offense, was steady as per usual, completing nine of his 12 pass attempts for 144 yards and a touchdown, the majority of his yardage coming from McCaffrey.
Kessler threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as USC rallied from a 13-0 deficit before McCaffrey and Stanford’s defense took the game over for the Cardinal (11-2, No. 7 CFP). I can’t tell you how much I love those guys.
Stanford leads USC, 13-3, at the half.
McCaffrey’s three touchdowns were the difference in the game. To compound Shaw’s difficulties, the Trojans defense stuck the Cardinal on its next possession with a third and six, on the end of the field where most of the USC fans had congregated.
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He was just the fifth player ever to have 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game. “At this point in time I made the decision to go in a different direction, but these are quality individuals that I have the highest respect for”. First, Cody Kessler hit fullback Jahleel Pinner for a 1-yard touchdown.
