McCaffrey runs with a objective in Cardinal’s Rosy victory

Iowa knew it had to stop (or at least slow down) Christian McCaffrey.

“We’ve had so many games like that this year, ” McCaffrey said.

As a result, McCaffrey was named the Rose Bowl’s offensive player of the game. McCaffrey in my opinion got screwed over by a flawed voting system full of biases to certain conferences/teams and the Heisman committee being full of people who don’t watch all the games before they vote and don’t keep up with all the games. Sure, McCaffrey had broken Barry Sanders’ record single-season all-purpose yards record, but Henry carried the load for Alabama, rushing for more than 2,000 yards and 23 scores, 15 more than McCaffrey, while guiding the Crimson Tide to a second-straight appearance in the College Football Playoff.

“He’s having the best season that any skill position player has ever had in the history of the game”, Stanford head coach David Shaw said.

The game ended up being a different kind of emotional, proving a “W” was too much to ask.

As the Cardinal went through the paces in the second half and protected its massive lead, its thoughts might have drifted back to a dreary September afternoon in Evanston, Ill.

Stanford (12-2) complemented McCaffrey’s performance with stout defense and two big plays.

It was going to be your classic battle between the Big Ten and Pac-12, nestled in the splendor of New Year’s Day in Arroyo Seco.

“I didn’t think I grabbed him that well, ” Cajuste said.

It’s fair to say none of the playoff teams would be eager to play against McCaffrey.

Senior center Austin Blythe and guard Jordan Walsh will depart after helping the Hawkeyes control most of their games with a punishing rushing attack.

The game got so tiresome and one sided that the only excitement besides McCaffery was the Stanford band. At that point, McCaffrey had already gained 202 all-purpose yards in the game.

McCaffrey’s dominance has not been an uncommon sight for Pac-12 observers in 2015, but it was extra-special feat to do it on the grandest of New Year’s Day stages. He finished with 18 carries for 172 rushing yards and had four catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

In the locker room aftermath, he listened intently to the message of coach Kirk Ferentz. “We don’t have anybody like that, and I mean that with all due respect to our players”. He’s a rare talent, a tremendous football player with great balance, great vision.

It took a Heisman Trophy finalist to accomplish it. Linebacker Cole Fisher slipped. “I play for my teammates”. The most noteworthy moment proved to be Bob Jeter’s 81-yard run in the third quarter to, truly, put the game out of reach. Iowa “won”, 287 to 277. “(If) you start 12-0 and lose your last two games, that’s tough”.

Kevin Hogan, the third quarterback to start three Rose Bowls, finished his career with a touchdown pass, a 42-yarder to Rector, just as he had started his career with one, a 9-yarder to Levine Toilolo at Cal in 2012 on his first career pass attempt. The Cardinal extended the lead to 35-0 when Michael Rector caught a 31-yard pass from Kevin Hogan and cruised into the end zone without a defender covering him.

The play has a name: Hawkeye. Cornerback Quenton Meeks stepped in front of VandeBerg for an interception that he returned 66 yards for a touchdown with 4:07 left in the first quarter. “We want to come back here and win”. After McCaffrey lined up as a slot back in the shotgun formation, Hogan found the sophomore on a slant route for a 75-yard touchdown pass 11 seconds after the opening kickoff. McCaffrey had 140 yards before Iowa recorded a first down.

“I was standing there looking at the field and there was Jeter running for the touchdown”, said Shipanik.

PASADENA, Calif. – It’s not the number of times you get knocked down, it’s the number of times you get back up. “I shouldn’t take it for granted”.