Christian McCaffrey, right, scores on a 49-yard screen pass and a 98-yard kickoff return to spark Stanford to a 35-22 win over Cal and its sixth straight victory in the Big Game.
McCaffrey’s TDs help Cardinal seize Big Game and Pac-12 North
With two signature plays, Christian McCaffrey added his name to Big Game lore Saturday night.
The elusive sophomore scored on a 49-yard screen pass and a 98-yard kickoff return, both in the second quarter, sparking No. 15 Stanford to a 35-22 victory over Cal in the 118th Big Game at Stanford Stadium.
Besides retaining the Axe, the Cardinal clinched the Pac-12 North title with the win and will play the winner of next week’s USC-UCLA game in the conference title game Dec. 5 at Levi’s
Stadium.
“We went 8-1 in the deepest conference in America,” said Stanford coach David Shaw. “That’s nothing to sneeze at.”
Thanks to Jared Goff ’s passing, the Bears stayed within striking range until Bryce Love broke loose on a 48-yard endaround with 6:13 left.
Despite their two losses, the Cardinal (9-2, 8-1 Pac-12) have a glimmer of hope of making the four-team College Football Playoff, but their chances depend on upsets involving several teams above them in the rankings. They were 11th in the latest CFP rankings.
The Cardinal shook off last weekend’s loss to Oregon and won their sixth straight game in the series with Cal.
Cal (6-5, 3-5) has lost five of its past six games after starting the season 5-0. The Bears finish against Arizona State at home on Saturday night as they try to improve their bowl standing.
McCaffrey, the nation’s leader in all-purpose yardage, had a school-record 389 total yards. He had 192 yards on 29 carries.
“If anyone’s seen a better football player than Christian McCaffrey this year, show me,” Shaw said.
The Bears were able to move the ball behind Goff ’s 386 passing yards (he was 37-for-54), but they repeatedly hurt their cause with eight penalties and untimely dropped passes. Goff threw two touchdown passes, including a 31-yarder to Bryce Treggs in the final minutes.
Remound Wright scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard plunge early in the fourth quarter to give Stanford a 28-16 lead.
Goff drove the Bears to the Stanford 15, but a personal foul on Cal center Dominic Granado was costly. It led to a 4th-and-15 play, and Goff overthrew Maurice Harris at the goal line with nine minutes left.
Trailing 21-6 at the half, the Bears rolled down the field again on Goff ’s passes, only to settle for Matt Anderson’s third field goal, a 25-yarder.
On their next drive, the Bears finally stopped making major mistakes. Goff lofted a perfect fade pass to Darius Powe for a 3-yard touchdown, cutting the
lead to 21-16 late in the third quarter.
Wright put Stanford on top 7-0 with a 2-yard run in the first quarter. He was stopped at the line but ran around the right side.
The 52-yard drive following a short Cal punt included a 24yard run by McCaffrey.
A 20-yard field goal by Cal’s Matt Anderson cut the lead to 7-3 following a 64-yard drive that took nearly 6½ minutes. On the drive, Goff hit Powe for 17 yards on a 4th-and-1 at the Cal 42 and connected with Treggs for 19 yards and Powe for 11.
The Bears just missed a touchdown when Maurice Harris was ruled to have dropped a pass in the back of the end zone. He took two steps with the ball before losing control. The call was upheld on a replay review.
McCaffrey embarked on a highlight-reel gallop in the second quarter, scoring on a 49-yard screen pass from Hogan. He broke a tackle by Jalen Jefferson as soon as he caught the ball, then another by James Looney before eluding two more defenders downfield.
Cal pulled a trick play out of its back, and it paid off on points — another field goal — before the end of the half. On a 3rdand-1 play near midfield, tailback Vic Enwere took a handoff from Goff and passed back to a wide open Goff for an 11-yard gain. The Bears reached the 11, but Chad Hansen caught a pass behind the end line. Anderson kicked a 28-yard field goal.
McCaffrey immediately pushed the lead to 21-6 when he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. It was his first TD return of the season, although he came in as the leading kickoff returner in the Pac-12 with a 28.9-yard average.
McCaffrey wasn’t surprised that Cal kicked off to him in the final minute of the first half. “My job was easy,” he said. “I just ran straight, and the guys blocked for me.” Briefly: Stanford’s regularseason finale against Notre Dame on Saturday at Stanford Stadium will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and be shown on Fox.