Behind a record-breaking performance from Christian McCaffrey, Stanford won its third Pac-12 Championship in four years with a 41-22 win over rival USC, sending the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl for the third time in the David Shaw era.

McCaffrey truly did it all for Stanford, gaining 207 on the ground, 105 in the air, 149 on returns and even completing an 11-yard TD pass to quarterback Kevin Hogan, good for a total of 461 all-purpose yards. The performance put a cherry on top of a historic season for the sophomore, who broke Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season all-purpose yards record with a two-yard scramble in the second quarter.

A resurgent USC kept the game close through three quarters, but ultimately the Trojans couldn’t keep pace with the Cardinal’s powerful offensive performance. Trojan quarterback Cody Kessler completed 22 of his 37 passes for a respectable 187 yards, but the senior lost a fumble in the third quarter that sophomore Solomon Thomas returned for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

The remaining Stanford players were left with little to do on McCaffrey’s big night, but still managed a number of solid individual performances. Quarterback Kevin Hogan went 9-for-12 for 144 yards and a touchdown, and running back Remound Wright added 24 more rush yards on 8 carries.

The victory should pave the way for the Cardinal to appear in the 102nd Rose Bowl game, their third such appearance in the last four years.

 

Contact Andrew Mather at amather ‘at’ stanford.edu.