SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Amidst a cloud of confetti and with a backdrop of "Pac-12 Champions" flashing on the scoreboard, a chant of "Heisman … Heisman … Heisman" punctuated the surreal scene at Levi's Stadium on Saturday night.
Stanford had beaten USC in 41-22 in the Pac-12 Championship Game and Christian McCaffreywas being serenaded by his teammates as he collected the MVP trophy with a performance for the ages.
As No. 7 Stanford (11-2) won its' third Pac-12 title in four years, McCaffrey gained 461 all-purpose yards -- the fifth-highest single-game total in FBS history. The sophomore rushed for 207 yards on 32 carries, caught four passes for 105 yards, returned five kickoffs for 120 yards, and returned two punts for 29 yards. He scored touchdowns rushing and receiving, and passed for another.
"He's the best football player in the nation," said David Shaw, Stanford's Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "I don't know if there's any question. Nobody in the nation is doing what he is doing. It's not even a debate."
Can an invitation to New York be far behind?
"In my opinion, he should win the Heisman," USC linebacker Su'a Cravens said. "What doesn't he do?"
Along the way, McCaffrey shattered Barry Sanders' FBS single-season all-purpose yardage record. McCaffrey has 3,496 with one game to go, busting open Sanders' 1988 mark of 3,250.
"It's a huge honor," said McCaffrey, who had a poster of Sanders on his bedroom wall as a boy. "I couldn't do it without my teammates. I can't tell you how much I love those guys. It takes all 11 guys on the field doing their job to make that happen. I love this team."
He also became the fifth player in FBS history with 200 yards rushing and 100 receiving in the same game. It was his 10th 100-yard rushing performance this season. It was his third with 200. McCaffrey, with 1,847 rushing yards, moved within reach of Toby Gerhart's school season mark of 1,871 from 2009.
Stanford trailed 16-13 in the third quarter before McCaffrey ignited a rally that began with his 67-yard catch-and-run on third-and-long. Hogan scored from seven yards on the next play, ending USC's run of 16 unanswered points and provided the Card with the go-ahead score came with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinal defense then stepped up big. On consecutive plays, Mike Tyler dropped Ronald Jones for a 1-yard loss, Solomon Thomas hurried quarterback Cody Kessler into an incompletion and Blake Martinez stripped the ball from Kessler with a blindside hit and Thomas returned it 34 yards for a touchdown and a 27-16 lead.
Middle linebacker Martinez had a team-high 11 tackles and Thomas added a sack – one of four for Stanford -- to his big game, which included a tackle for loss on the Trojans' Justin Davis on the two-point conversion try. After a Kessler run cut the USC deficit to 27-22, Thomas dropped Davis when he seemed poised to throw a halfback option to Kessler.
McCaffrey did the rest, scoring on a 28-yard pass from Hogan when it appeared for a moment that the quarterback would be sacked. Hogan, however, bought time and found McCaffrey on a checkdown in the open field. After Stanford forced USC to turn the ball over on downs, McCaffrey followed with a 10-yard TD run with 1:38 left for the final margin.
"His ability to break tackles is what stood out today," USC coach Clay Helton said. "And he's a mismatch nightmare. When you play man-to-man against him, it's hard."
Stanford had USC on the ropes in the first-half, but couldn't take command. Stanford twice had the ball on the USC 1-yard line in the second quarter while holding a double-digit lead, but managed only three points – the second time with a chance to pull ahead 20-0.
On both series, Remound Wright was stuffed on third-and-goal at the 1. Stanford settled for aConrad Ukropina field goal on the first, but failed on fourth down on the second.
USC used the goal-line stand to seize the momentum, scoring 16 unanswered points bridging the second and third quarters, and took the lead on a 27-yard run by Ronald Jones on a first-and-25 play.
McCaffrey rushed for 155 yards in the first half on 17 carries, but it was his pass to Hogan that seemed the most notable. On the scoring play, McCaffrey lined up wide left. Hogan handed the ball to Remound Wright, who pitched it to McCaffrey on the end around. McCaffrey lofted an 11-yard pass to a wide open Hogan for the score and a 10-0 lead. It was the first catch of the fifth-year QB Hogan's collegiate career.
"My job was easy," McCaffrey said. "Those are always the scariest ones though, when he's that wide open. You're just praying that you get it to him."
Hogan, in fact, matched McCaffrey with a touchdown rushing, receiving and passing each.
Stanford kept to the ground almost exclusively in the first half. Hogan, in fact, had zero yards passing in the first half, on 2-of-5 throws. He finished 9-of-12 for 144 yards.
"What he's been able to do here with his arm, with his legs and, to be honest, with his heart and toughness, is unbelievable," Shaw said. "It's unmatched. He's been a phenomenal player for us. So, thank you, Kevin."
There was talk nationally of Stanford's chances to reach the College Football Playoff, but Shaw never bought into it, feeling that tangible goals that the Cardinal had control over, like the Pac-12 championship, always has been the focus.
"It's not where we've been, not where we're going, but where we are and what we can do today," Shaw said. "That was our guys today. Our guys didn't worry about anything else. All that matters is what happens on our field. What happens after that is up to other people. We tried to play our best game and come out with a win.
"We capped off a phenomenal year."
The confetti, the scoreboard, the Heisman chants … Shaw was right indeed.