STANFORD, Calif. – Christian McCaffrey and 10th-ranked Stanford continue to thrive in the national spotlight.
One week after rushing for a school-record 243 yards and piling up 369 all-purpose yards in a 55-36 win against UCLA on ESPN, the sophomore sensation was at it again Saturday night. With the network back in town, McCaffrey racked up 300 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to help spark the Cardinal to a dominating 31-14 victory against Washington on Reunion Homecoming Weekend.
"I'm at the point where I don't know what else to say, other than watch him," said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "The little guy never gets tired. He's just special."
The 6-foot, 201-pounder from Castle Rock, Colorado, entered the game as the national leader in all-purpose yards, averaging 253 per game. After rushing for 109 yards, collecting a career-high 112 receiving and returning three kickoffs for 79 against the top defense in the league, he now has 1,818 on the season and increased his average to 259.71.
"He can do it all," said fifth-year senior quarterback Kevin Hogan.
Operating behind a veteran offensive line that has improved each game, McCaffrey topped 100 yards rushing for the fifth straight contest.
McCaffrey was hardly a one-man show. Hogan had another stellar game, completing 17 of 24 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and extended drives by running for 37 yards on eight attempts. He now has 987 career rushing yards, the most ever by a Stanford quarterback, including Andrew Luck.
"That's pretty cool," he said. "I'll probably shoot (Andrew) a text or something, but it's funny. I mean, quarterbacks aren't known for getting rushing yards, but I'm just trying to get what I can."
Hogan is now 30-9 as a starter.
"He's been as efficient as any quarterback in college football the last month-and-a-half," Shaw said. "I couldn't be prouder of him."
The Cardinal out-gained the Huskies, 478-231, ran 27 more plays (72) and finished with a time of possession advantage of 40:05 to 19:55.
Granted, redshirt freshman quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels of Washington, a former star at nearby Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, California, was making his first collegiate start in place of injured Jake Browning. But once again, the Stanford defense distinguished itself, forcing five straight punts in a first half that saw the Cardinal take a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
"Everyone was talking about them all week," senior inside linebacker Blake Martinez said of the Huskies defense, which ranked first in the Pac-12 in most statistical categories. "And we're like, 'Hey, what about us?' So we went out there with a chip on our shoulders and I think we proved a big thing today."
Martinez made a team-high 10 tackles.
McCaffrey jumped-started Stanford by returning the opening kickoff 38 yards. From there, Hogan efficiently drove the offense 62 yards in six plays, culminated by a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, who shook free from the grasp of cornerback Ezekiel Turner at the 2. Stanford did not face a third down and received two timely scrambles from Hogan, the second carrying for 15 yards and making him the school's all-time rushing leader for quarterbacks.
Stanford struck again early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Remound Wright, his eighth rushing touchdown of the season. That completed the longest drive of 2015 for the Cardinal, who marched 90 yards on 15 plays and consumed more than eight minutes on the clock.
Working beautifully behind his veteran offensive line, McCaffrey did most of the work, catching a Hogan pass for 24 yards, then ripped off runs of 20 and 19. However, his biggest contribution was a 5-yard run on pitch left from Hogan on fourth-and-3 from the Husky 34 that kept the drive alive. With 12:44 remaining in the half, Stanford led 14-0.
Stanford upped its cushion to 17-0 on the final play of half on a 28-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina. Starting from its own 23 with 4:10 remaining, the Cardinal marched 66 yards on 12 plays. Hogan ignited the scoring march with a big 9-yard scramble on third down and connected with Hooper (14), Devon Cajuste (10) and Francis Owusu (17) for key completions.
Washington and Stanford have been strong third quarter teams, and proved it early. After a 43-yard kickoff return by Chico McClatcher, Husky tailback Miles Gaskin got untracked, ripping off gains of 12 and 29. He capped the quick five-play, 57-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard run, cutting the Cardinal lead to 17-7. That ended a Washington scoring drought against Stanford of 64:02 dating back to last year's game in Seattle.
The Cardinal answered quickly. Sparked by Wright's clutch 2-yard run on third-and-1 and 5-yard run on fourth-and-1 from his own 45, he enabled Hogan to launch a 50-yard touchdown strike to McCaffrey down the right sideline. He eluded a diving Husky and breezed into the end zone to give Stanford a 24-7 cushion.
The offense wasn't done. Late in the quarter, the Cardinal mounted a nine-play, 80-yard drive, polished off by McCaffrey's tough 7-yard run around left end that lifted Stanford to a 31-7 lead. Hogan extended the march by hitting tight end Dalton Schultz for a 22-yard completion on third-and-2, and also found tight end Greg Taboada for a leaping 18-yard reception that carried to the Washington 7.
"What we have here is very special right now," said Hogan. "We're all in it together, playing for each other. We don't care who gets the credit."
The win was Stanford's sixth straight and marked the sixth consecutive game it has scored at least 31 points. The Cardinal is now 6-1 overall and at 5-0, the only unbeaten team in the Pac-12 Conference.