The Cardinal have won the past five meetings, often in dominating fashion. He leads the Cardinal in receiving with 34 receptions for 416 yards and three touchdowns.
Advertisement
McCaffrey energized his Heisman campaign with a masterful showing in Stanford’s 35-22 victory over Cal on Saturday. So Cal +7.5 on a neutral & 10.5 in Palo Alto.
McCaffrey didn’t score a rushing touchdown, but his teammates crossed the goal line three times in his stead.
But unless Goff returns for his senior season, which is unlikely for the projected high first-round draft pick, his legacy will be half-empty.
Stanford is 8-1-1 ATS in its last 10 games after a loss. “They have a very distinct and clear identity and they do a great job playing to it”, Dykes said.
A series of preceding plays set up the miraculous finish. They kept the ball for a long time.
“I want to win the Big Game every year – I want to win every game just the same”, Goff said.
“Has anybody seen a football player better than Christian McCaffrey this year?” He leads the nation, averaging 255.2 all-purpose yards per game. Capitalizing on a Stanford fumble, Sylvester Youngblood scored on a 4-yard run and freshman quarterback Vince Ferragamo hit Steve Kemnitzer for a two-point conversion to narrow the margin to 14-11. “(He’s) elusive and can run”. So Cal -1 on a neutral & +2 in Palo Alto. With Stanford, quarterbacked by John Elway, up 20-19, Cal fielded the kickoff with 4 seconds left.
Cal reduced the deficit to 21-16 in the third quarter on Anderson’s 25-yard field goal and Goff’s 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Powe.
“I’m not really focused on the individual statistics right now, ” he said. “I wasn’t expecting it that they were going to do anything”. Oh, how we laughed when they could only muster six points against the Wildcats!
If I had a vote, he would get it. Not that he cares. I kind of ran straight.
Francis Owusu made a final block downfield as McCaffrey cut right and found open field to the end zone. I’m sure Sarah will be going to the game with a half-Sun Devil, half-Wildcat hat to show love for both teams. “That was what we talked about all week”. “We’re not used to losing the time of possession”. I have not seen anybody in American like this kid. He is truly special.
With 12 seconds remaining, Cal players and fans stormed the field.
After scoring back-to-back touchdowns to trim Mustangs’ lead to six points, BYU blocked SMU’s punt and recovered the ball at the 41-yard line with 13 seconds to play.
The slick running back scored twice, once on a reception, and once on a kick return.
In the second quarter, Cal faced a 3rd-and-2 from the Stanford 46.
Under Dykes, Cal’s been more aggressive with their decision-making than they’ve been previously.
“It’s a huge honor to establish ourselves as the North champions, ” McCaffrey said.
Chantel Jennings also goes on to tell us about the difference in OR defensive end DeForest Buckner’s on-field and off-field personalities. “We’re trying to keep taking steps forward”. “We’ll get tested and we’ll know a lot more on Saturday”.
Shaw gets to see it firsthand, but talking about McCaffrey with those outside of the Pac-12 is similar to discussing a myth – he’s the best player that everyone in college football knows, but haven’t actually watched.
The loss lowers Cal’s record to 6-5 overall, and 3-5 in Pac-12 play.
Cal’s bowl picture is slightly clearer. Stanford put together eight straight wins, including seven in conference play to establish itself as a legitimate playoff contender, if not just the Pac-12 favorite. The Cardinal will play the victor of next week’s game between UCLA and Southern California for the Pac-12 title on December 5 in Santa Clara. Led by new coach Pop Warner, Stanford brought a 7-0 record to Berkeley with a Rose Bowl berth at stake.
The six/seven win pool could consist of Washington State, Oregon, Utah, USC/UCLA. Not so Saturday. The Sun Devils need a win to become bowl eligible. Those have to be selected by conference order – which would likely mean the fifth, sixth, and seventh place teams.
Advertisement
As time expired, McMahon launched a pass into the endzone as time expired, where tight end Clay Brown leapt over four SMU defenders to secure the miraculous game-winning touchdown.
