By Jeremy Harness
photo credit: Nike-Stanford Cardinal Rose Bowl
SANTA CLARA – Just when you thought the Christian McCaffrey couldn’t make a bigger case for winning the Heisman Trophy, that’s exactly what he did Saturday night when his team had the most at stake.
The sophomore running back made big plays at the most crucial of times – including a 67-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter, at a point in the Pac-12 championship game when USC had momentarily seized control – en route to a championship game-record 461 all-purpose yards, which included a rushing, receiving and even throwing a touchdown pass.
In the process, he broke Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old record of 3,250 all-purpose yards in a single season.
As a result, Stanford claimed its third conference title in four years by virtue of its 41-22 win over USC Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium, and with that comes a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
“(McCaffrey is) the best player in the nation,” Shaw said. “There’s nobody in the nation doing what he’s doing. It’s not even a debate. What Christian has done is phenomenal.”
Going into Saturday, Stanford had an ultra-thin chance of getting into the College Football Playoff, but they needed a lot of help to do so. Of the three teams in the top four teams that played Saturday, only No. 4 Iowa lost to No. 5 Michigan State, so those two teams are likely to trade spots, with the Spartans getting into the playoff.
Stanford set the tone early by establishing their run game and playing keep-away from USC. The Cardinal had a clear advantage up front, and they used that to rack up 193 rushing first-half yards as well as holding the ball for all but eight minutes in that timeframe.
The Cardinal also held an advantage on defense, and they got a boost from players who came into Saturday at less than 100 percent. Cornerback Ronnie Harris played in the first half despite being hampered with an ankle injury and was matched up primarily with star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and he appeared to have a physical as well as a psychological advantage.
Things got a little chippy in the first quarter, after Harris tried to help JuJu Smith-Schuster up off the turf after a third-down incomplete pass, but he ended up getting a punch thrown at him for his trouble. That earned a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“He kind of hit me with a straight-arm to the face, but it’s all fair in love and war,” Harris said.
Meanwhile, linebacker Blake Martinez had a walking boot on his right foot all week up until Saturday, but that didn’t stop him from creating a fumble that led to a touchdown in the second half that pointed the Cardinal to the conference title.
“It’s just a great, great moment,” Martinez said. “All of the seniors talked about how special this season could be if we put the work in, and that once you see all that work pay off at the end, and to know that we have another chance to win a Rose Bowl is just a great feeling.”
After settling for a field goal on their first possession, Stanford used a little razzle-dazzle to boost its lead on the first play of the second quarter. The Cardinal used its customary running attack to get into the red zone, and then they executed a reverse that ended in McCaffrey throwing to a wide-open Kevin Hogan for an 11-yard touchdown to give Stanford a 10-0 advantage.
However, they could not take advantage of a pair of goal-to-go situations, and that alone gave USC a pulse. Early in the second quarter, short-yardage specialist Remound Wright was stopped on third down at the Trojans’ 1-yard line, prompting Stanford to settle for a field goal.
After forcing a three-and-out from USC, McCaffrey returned the ensuing punt to USC’s 19 and, two plays later, Stanford had a first-and-goal at the Trojans’ 5. However, Wright got stopped again at the 1 on third down, and when Stanford decided to go for it on fourth down and called a play-action pass, Kevin Hogan was taken down immediately after faking the handoff.
At that point, the momentum began to shift in USC’s favor. The Trojans, who had been primarily pass-happy for much of the first half and went nowhere, instantly found success with their running game and had their first sustained drive of the game. They took the ball to Stanford’s 23-yard line before the drive stalled, and Alex Wood’s field goal gave USC some hope heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Trojans got the ball to start the second half, and they immediately built on that momentum, using the running attack to take the ball down inside the Stanford 5. Unlike Stanford, however, the Trojans found a way to get it into the end zone, as Cody Kessler found Jahleel Pinner to draw to within four.
USC’s defense then forced Stanford to punt, and the Trojans took their first lead of the game when freshman tailback Ronald Jones II juked a pair of Stanford defenders en route to a 27-yard scoring run.
The Trojans appeared poised to get the ball right back on the ensuing possession as Stanford faced a third-and-6 at its own 26-yard line. McCaffrey, as he has done countless other times, made a big play to keep things going. He beat linebacker Scott Felix on a wheel route and went 67 yards to USC’s 7 before Hogan powered his way into the end zone to re-claim the lead for the Cardinal.
On the ensuing USC possession, Martinez made the defensive play that cracked the game open for good. Blitzing from his inside linebacker position, Martinez ripped through the line and sacked Kessler, who coughed up the ball in the process. Defensive end Solomon Thomas scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 34 yards untouched to give the Cardinal a 27-16 lead.
“Defensively, we knew we had to make a game-breaking play,” Shaw said. “At some point, somebody was going to have to get a turnover, force a fumble, get an interception.”
The Trojans did march back down the field for a touchdown, but McCaffrey put the game further out of reach when he scored on back-to-back drives.
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