By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 7, 2015

Stanford was the beneficiary of a 21-point second quarter and a big homecoming for Denver native Christian McCaffrey Saturday, as the No. 9-ranked Cardinal rolled past Colorado 42-10 at Folsom Stadium in Boulder, Colo.

McCaffrey, the son of former Denver Bronco Ed McCaffrey, racked up 220 all-purpose yards and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper on his final play of the game in the fourth quarter.

McCaffrey, a former star at Valor High School in Denver, also rushed 23 times for a game-high 147 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards.

Kevin Hogan completed 17 of 23 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinal (8-1 overall, 7-0 Pac-12 North, No. 11 CFP). He threw scoring passes of 43 yards to Michael Rector and 8 yards to Dalton Schultz and scored on a 1-yard plunge with one second remaining in the first half that gave the Cardinal a 28-7 lead at the break.

In the process, Hogan broke Andrew Luck’s school record of 32 quarterbacking victories.
The Buffaloes (4-6 overall, 1-5 Pac-12 North), donning 1990s throwback uniforms to honor former coach Bill McCartney, struggled after Donovan Lee’s 4-yard touchdown run tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.

Stanford responded with Hogan’s scoring passes to Recton and Schultz and his own TD run to cap a 21-point quarter.

The Buffs opened the second half with a 29-yard field goal by Diego Gonzalez, but a failed onside kick set up a 47-yard touchdown run by freshman Bryce Love on the Cardinal’s ensuing possession, helping Stanford pull away for good.

Colorado was able to muster some momentum late in the third quarter when Tedric Thompson returned an interception to the Stanford 3. But the Cardinal defense held the Buffs on downs.

The Cardinal finish their regular season schedule with consecutive home games against Oregon, California and Notre Dame and are in the driver’s seat to earn a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game.