Michigan State, Clemson, Stanford win conference championships

This time, the Trojans went down fighting. They claimed there would be no bowing down to the Cardinal, no giving in against Stanford’s methodical and bruising ways.

Stanford dominated play in the first two quarters, outgaining USC 209-80, with all but 16 of the Cardinal’s yards coming on the ground.

L.J. Scott kept lunging forward, stretching the ball over the goal line for a touchdown with 27 seconds and No. 5 Michigan State all but locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff, edging No. 4 Iowa 16-13 Saturday in the Big Ten championship game. He had 208 rushing, 105 receiving.

Stanford is headed to the Rose Bowl for the third time in four years, no small feat, but the Cardinal fell short of the Final Four on Saturday evening due to their own previous missteps.

As for the defensive side of the ball, which now has three coaching openings, Helton said he has not hired any new assistants, though he will be looking at all avenues.

McCaffrey may end up, though, as the third Stanford player to finish second since Jim Plunkett won the school’s only Heisman in 1970.

After USC scored to make it a one-possession game, McCaffrey put the capper on another Stanford win with a 27-yard touchdown reception when he was left wide open in the middle of the field.

“What doesn’t he do?”

“I would love to go”, McCaffrey said. “I pray he wins the Heisman”.

But Stanford was stung by red-zone penalties, and coach David Shaw curiously chose to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

“I don’t know if there is any question”, Shaw said. “It’s not even a debate….What Christian has done is phenomenal…He could still play another quarter if we had to”. The Trojans have a 5-3 record under Helton, who was given a five-year contract this week to remain the head coach…. Stanford (11-2) clinched the Pac-12 title with a decisive 41-22 win against USC (8-5) also on Saturday.

“I made the decision to go in a different direction”, Helton said during a scheduled teleconference with reporters that occurred a few hours after the Trojans learned their bowl fate and shortly after news broke about the firings.

McCaffrey was also 1-for-1 on pass attempts, connecting on an 11-yard touchdown throw to quarterback Kevin Hogan in the first quarter. “At halftime we made a couple of adjustments and just tell the kids that if we do our job, the plays are there to be made”.

Trojans Coach Clay Helton on Sunday dismissed defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, defensive backs coach Keith Heyward, defensive line coach Chris Wilson and offensive line coach Bob Connelly. Absolutely. Eventually, says this writer, we’re going to have to get there.

“We were all fired up that he came here”, Davis said.

That something is a USC effort that withstood an early Stanford barrage with two goal-line stands, keeping the score at 13-0 when a blowout was on the brink.

Despite his record-breaking game, McCaffrey was quick to praise and credit his teammates, his offensive line and his quarterback. Stanford’s Solomon Thomas scooped up the loose football and ran it back for 6 points.

Helton said he didn’t wait until after the bowl game to begin reshaping Sarkisian’s former staff because “I wanted to give them the best opportunity to move forward with their career”.