USC's best shot, even with a new head coach and throwback physical philosophy, still wasn't good enough.Not against time-tested Stanford. And especially not against a Cardinal team featuring Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey, a sophomore who is almost certainly bound for New York this week as a Heisman Trophy
finalist, was the spectacular difference in seventh-ranked Stanford's
41-22 victory over the Trojans in the Pac-12 Conference championship
game on Saturday at Levi's Stadium.
The sophomore running back accounted for three touchdowns and amassed 461 all-purpose yards as the Cardinal earned a Rose Bowl berth for the third time in four years.
"He's a mismatch nightmare," USC Coach Clay Helton said.
USC
was unable to match its own performance from the week before, when the
Trojans ran the ball with authority from start to finish, pressured the
quarterback and caused multiple turnovers in a victory over UCLA. It was
a win that appeared to convince USC Athletic Director Pat Haden that
Helton was the man to lead USC into the future — and to drop the interim
tag before the Trojans faced the Cardinal.
On
Saturday, the offense started slowly, the Trojans were victimized by a
key turnover and the defense simply could not contain McCaffrey.
So
Helton's — and the Trojans' — immediate future will include a berth in
either the Holiday, Sun, Foster Farms or Las Vegas bowl. USC will learn
its destination Sunday.
The Trojans, who persevered through the
firing of Steve Sarkisian to make an improbable run to the South
division title, had been aiming for their first Rose Bowl appearance in
seven years.
Instead, they lost to Stanford for the second time this season.
Throughout
the game, yelling and profanities emanating from the USC coaches' booth
in the press box could be heard as McCaffrey stutter-stepped to
mid-range gains, broke free for wide-open pass receptions and blazed his
way toward the end zone.
"I was put in a bunch of different situations to be successful," McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey
rushed for 207 yards and a touchdown, caught four passes for 105 yards
and a touchdown, passed for an 11-yard touchdown and totaled 149 yards
in kick-return yardage.
"What doesn't he do?" Trojans linebacker Su'a Cravens said.
Said
USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who caught 11 passes: "If we were
able to shut down McCaffrey it would be a different story. I pray he
wins the Heisman.
Stanford Coach David Shaw said McCaffrey was the best player in the nation.
"It's not even a debate," Shaw said.
Stanford
quarterback Kevin Hogan also was quietly effective, passing for a
touchdown, running for another and catching a touchdown pass from
McCaffrey, who ran for 155 yards in the first half as the Cardinal held
the ball for more than 21 minutes.
"We just didn't execute and made him look great," defensive lineman Antwaun Woods said.
Trojans running back Justin Davis, who rushed for 99 yards, said the Trojans might have been too keyed up.
"I
hate to say it, but us being a second-half team is our weakness," he
said. "We don't come out fast at the beginning of the game and then
sometimes it's just too late."
USC still held the Cardinal to one touchdown and two field goals in the first half and trailed only 13-3.
"They knew all they had to do was do their job," Helton said of the Trojans' attitude coming out of halftime.
USC
took 16-13 lead on freshman tailback Ronald Jones II's 27-yard
third-quarter touchdown run and appeared poised to possibly deal
Stanford its first loss in three conference title-game appearances.
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. Lineman Solomon Thomas scooped
up the ball and returned it for a touchdown.
"Defensively, we knew we were going to have to make a game-breaking play," Shaw said
Kessler
answered by running for a touchdown that cut the deficit to five points
before McCaffrey all but sealed the victory with another touchdown
catch.
"You can see in the locker room," cornerback Adoree' Jackson said. "We are pretty disappointed in ourselves."
Stanford's Christian McCaffrey is Pac-Man against USC in Pac-12 championship
Tag: Sports
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