Stanford routs USC for crown

He finished with 461 all-purpose yards to break the single-season record of 3,250 yards, established by Sanders at Oklahoma State in 1988.

Houston (12-1) jumped to a 17-0 lead with the help of two turnovers by Temple, with one capped by a 47-yard touchdown run by Ward.

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.

Second play: Final ticks of the third quarter, Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler is hammered while his arm is cocked to pass, Solomon Thomas picks up the fumble and rumbles 34 yards for a touchdown. Hogan found McCaffrey in an absurdly solitary place, right in the heart of USC’s defense, and he streaked 67 yards. The Stanford-Northwestern game this season was a glimpse into a world without Christian McCaffrey.

Even with very little drama about the four teams that were going to be at the top of the rankings, the Cardinal fans were more than a little amped up about their team not being in the top-four and not having the chance to compete for a title.

On Monday, Clay Helton was stripped of his “interim” tag and was permanently named head coach- a move that greatly satisfied his Trojan players. During his tenure, he’s won three Pac-12 championships, three Rose Bowl appearances, and he’s been critical in carrying over Stanford’s success from the Harbaugh era to the Shaw era. This is the most points scored by Stanford in a Pac-12 Championship game and the third most points scored by a team in the Pac-12 Championship game. “I know he did it in a few less games, but he’s the guy I had a poster on the wall of when I was growing up”.

Shaw called McCaffrey the best player in the nation. “They just beat us”.

The other bit of suspense for Stanford revolved around McCaffrey’s Heisman prospects. Tailback Christian McCaffrey rushed for 155 yards, in the first half alone, and USC was lucky to only trail 13-3.

“That’s a huge honor”, McCaffrey said of breaking Sanders’ record. Missed assignments and blown tackles allowed McCaffrey to run for multiple 15+-yard plays. Stanford had a first-and goal at the USC 5 on that possession but had to settle for the field goal.

The sophomore had 207 yards on 32 carries, 105 yards on four catches and 149 yards on kick returns.

One day after the Trojans lost to Stanford in the Pac-12 Conference championship game, Helton on Sunday immediately fired four of USC’s nine assistant coaches, including defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.

Helton was the Trojans’ offensive coordinator until Sarkisian was sacked in October, and he led USC to a 5-3 finish. He will still have one more game to add to his total.

But McCaffrey set up a touchdown with a long catch-and run and the Cardinal pushed the lead to 11 points when linebacker Blake Martinez hit Kessler from behind and knocked the ball loose. “What I see in there is a bunch of sad kids that want this more than anything”.

Entering the game, he was averaging 5.7 yards per carry with 1,640 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, 37 receptions for 435 yards and three touchdowns.

“I was put in situations to be successful”, McCaffrey said.