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Stanford wins Pac-12 title, puts RB Christian McCaffrey in Heisman spotlight

Graham Watson

Stanford put its best foot forward on Saturday and it probably won’t be enough at least as far as the College Football Playoff goes.

The No. 7 Cardinal defeated USC 41-22 in the Pac-12 title game to claim its third Pac-12 title in the past four years, but there was no chaos above it in the CFP rankings, which could have cleared the way for the Cardinal to make a backdoor entrance into the top four.

While Stanford won’t make the College Football Playoff, it might have given running back Christian McCaffrey a good shot at the Heisman Trophy.

McCaffrey had a stellar contest to put an exclamation point on an excellent Heisman campaign. He amassed 461 all-purpose yards against a USC defense that had played stingy during its 5-2 run under coach Clay Helton.

McCaffrey had 207 rushing yards, 105 receiving yards, 120 kickoff return yards and add another 29 punt return yards. Oh, and what’s not factored in was the 11-yard touchdown pass he threw to quarterback Kevin Hogan in the second quarter.

McCaffrey became the fifth player in FBS history with 200 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in a game.

He also broke Barry Sanders’ single-season record for all-purpose yards (3,250) set in 1988. McCaffrey has 3,496 for the season.

“It’s a huge honor, it really is,” McCaffrey said of breaking Sanders’ record. “It’s an extremely exciting feat for me. Couldn’t do it without my teammates, though.”

As a whole, Stanford perhaps put together one of its most complete performances of the season. The offense amassed 417 yards while the defense kept the USC offense in check. Stanford nearly shut the USC offense down in the first half, but the Trojans stormed back in the third quarter to get within three points and make the game interesting. But a strip-sack of USC quarterback Cody Kessler by Blake Martinez led to Solomon Thomas picking up the ball and rumbling 34 yards for the score.

The USC offense never recovered. The Trojans got within five early in the fourth quarter, but two McCaffrey touchdowns sealed the contest.

While the bowl pairings aren’t yet set, the Cardinal likely will play in the Rose Bowl. But more immediately, for McCaffrey, Heisman voting ends Tuesday.

For more Stanford news, visit CardinalSportsReport.com.

For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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