Record
10-3 overall
6-3 Pac-12
Ranking
No. 12 (AP)
No. 12 (USA Today)
Postseason
Sun Bowl (vs. North Carolina – W, 25-23)
Team Captains
Johnny Caspers
Peter Kalambayi
Dallas Lloyd
Christian McCaffrey
Solomon Thomas
Morris Trophy
Solomon Thomas
Sun Bowl's C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player
Solomon Thomas
Sun Bowl's John Folmer Most Valuable Special Teams Player
Conrad Ukropina
All-America
Christian McCaffrey (second team)
Solomon Thomas (third team)
All-Pac-12 (first team)
Christian McCaffrey (running back)
Solomon Thomas
All-Pac-12 (honorable mention)
Joey Alfieri
Jake Bailey
Dallas Lloyd
Bryce Love
Christian McCaffrey (return specialist)
Quenton Meeks
Kevin Palma
Harrison Phillips
Justin Reid
Dalton Schultz
Brandon Simmons (special teams)
Conrad Ukropina
CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year
Christian McCaffrey
CoSIDA Academic All-America
Christian McCaffrey (first team)
CoSIDA Academic All-District
Jesse Burkett
Johnny Caspers
Dallas Lloyd
Christian McCaffrey
Harrison Phillips
Pac-12 All-Academic (first team)
Frank Buncom
Dallas Lloyd
Christian McCaffrey
Harrison Phillips
Casey Toohill
Jordan Watkins
Nick Wilson
Pac-12 All-Academic (second team)
Sean Barton
Jesse Burkett
Johnny Caspers
Dylan Jackson
Solomon Thomas
Pac-12 All-Academic (honorable mention)
JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Ryan Burns
Keller Chryst
Noor Davis
Alijah Holder
Trenton Irwin
Alameen Murphy
Kevin Palma
Justin Reid
Mike Tyler
Conrad Ukropina
Stanford ...
• Made its 28th all-time bowl appearance when it faced North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. The 25-23 win over the Tar Heels was the fourth bowl victory for head coach David Shaw, the most in program history.
• Notched its sixth 10-win season this decade, trailing only Alabama (7). Clemson, Florida State and Oklahoma also have six 10-win seasons this decade.
• Won at least 10 games for the fifth time in six seasons under Shaw. From 1891-2010, the program recorded four 10-win seasons.
• Won at least eight games for a school-record eighth straight year.
• Advanced to a school-record eighth straight bowl game, a streak that leads the Pac-12.
• Received a graduation success rate of 99 percent from the NCAA for the third consecutive year, a total that leads all FBS institutions and ranks 11 points higher than the next Pac-12 school (UCLA - 88 percent).
• Joined Clemson, Duke, Northwestern and Wisconsin as the only FBS football teams to earn APR Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA in each of the past four years.
• Ranked eighth nationally in defensive touchdowns (4), 12th in winning percentage (.769), 17th in time of possession (32:46), 22nd in team sacks (2.85), 18th in scoring defense (20.4) and 25th in team passing efficiency defense (117.8). Christian McCaffrey ranked first in all-purpose yards per game (211.6), fourth in rushing yards (145.7) and 20th in rushing yards per carry (6.34). Conrad Ukropina ranked fifth in field goals per game (1.83). Dallas Lloyd ranked 13th in total interceptions (5) and 18th in interceptions per game (0.4). Jake Bailey ranked 24th in punting (43.5).
• Set single-season team records for field goals made (22) and extra point percentage (1.000). Individual career school records were set for field goal percentage (.824 • Conrad Ukropina) and consecutive extra points made (108 • Conrad Ukropina). Individual single-season school records were set for top rushing tandem (2,386 • Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love), field goals made (22 • Conrad Ukropina), field goal percentage (.900 • Conrad Ukropina), extra points made (67 • Conrad Ukropina) and extra point percentage (1.000 • Conrad Ukropina). The individual single-game school record was set for single-game rushing yards (284 • Christian McCaffrey • at Cal).
#8/7 Stanford 26, Kansas State 13
Sept. 2, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
McCaffrey Electrifies
STANFORD, Calif. - As Stanford's offense sputtered in the second half, Christian McCaffrey kept urging his teammates on that the offense could be better. Then he finally took matters into his own hands and iced away another win.
McCaffrey scored his second touchdown on a late 41-yard run that helped lead No. 8 Stanford to a 26-13 victory over Kansas State in the season opener for both teams.
Stanford had just 30 yards in the second half before McCaffrey's long touchdown run following a failed onside kick by Kansas State put the game away.
After a fast start led by quarterback Ryan Burns in his first career start, the Cardinal was far from a machine in the second half. With a new quarterback and three new offensive linemen, Stanford struggled to get anything going with a fumble and four punts to start the second half.
But a defense that had eight sacks, one safety and two turnovers made sure it wasn't an issue.
Burns started fast by completing his first 10 passes, including a 40-yard touchdown strike to Michael Rector on the opening play of the second quarter.
McCaffrey then got into the act with an electrifying 35-yard touchdown run. He froze safety Kendall Adams with a juke and raced to the end zone for the score.
He finished 126 yards on 22 carries and 210 all-purpose yards in the opener this year.
The biggest highlight might have been a play that didn't even count. McCaffrey fielded a punt at his own, and made his way through almost the entire Kansas State coverage unit for a 97-yard score. The only problem was an illegal block by Curtis Robinson that wiped it all out and forced Stanford to start a drive on its own 2.
#7/6 Stanford 27, USC 10
Sept. 17, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Methodically Defeats USC
STANFORD, Calif. - This was typical Stanford.
A heavy dose of methodical mashing, a bit of everything from Christian McCaffrey and a couple little wrinkles that caught USC totally off guard.
McCaffrey slipped out of the backfield for a 56-yard touchdown reception and dived over the pile for a 1-yard score as the seventh-ranked Cardinal beat USC, 27-10.
The win for the Cardinal was the seventh in the most recent nine games against the Trojans, the best nine-game stretch for the Cardinal in the history of a rivalry that covers 96 games and 111 years. Stanford has also beaten USC three times within the last calendar year.
McCaffrey had a routine 260 all-purpose yards. Stanford ran it 48 times for 302 yards, threw 14 passes and held the ball for 34:14.
The Cardinal drew most of the USC defense into the box with a steady dose of inside runs before receiver Michael Rector went 56 yards for a touchdown on a reverse with 3:26 left in the third quarter to make it 27-10.
At that point, the Cardinal played the keep-away game they love so much.
USC fell to 1-2 for the first time since 2001, when the Trojans started 1-4 in Pete Carroll's debut season as coach.
McCaffrey was the workhorse between the tackles, carrying 30 times for 165 yards. McCaffrey went over 200 all-purpose yards for the eighth straight game.
#7/6 Stanford 22, UCLA 13
Sept. 24, 2016 • Pasadena, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Rallies Past UCLA
PASADENA, Calif. - UCLA contained Christian McCaffrey, kept Stanford's offense out of the end zone and generated just enough points to lead the Pac-12 champions until the Cardinal's final drive.
And then everything reverted to usual form in this one-sided California rivalry.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds to play, and No. 7 Stanford rallied for its ninth consecutive victory over the Bruins, 22-13.
McCaffrey rushed for 138 yards for the Cardinal, but they struggled on offense for three and a half quarters. Stanford got the ball back with 2:05 left and coolly put together a 70-yard drive capped by Burns' fade to Arcega-Whiteside, who got one foot inbounds on an acrobatic play.
Solomon Thomas then returned Josh Rosen's fumble 42 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play, punctuating the heartbreak for a lively Rose Bowl crowd. Even with that touchdown, Stanford had its lowest-scoring performance since the 2015 season opener.
Another stirring Stanford victory was another soul-crushing loss for the Bruins, who haven't beaten their upstate rivals since 2008. They had never even led the Cardinal for more than six minutes in any of those eight straight losses, but UCLA nursed an advantage in this one for nearly three quarters -- until Stanford snatched it away again.
#10/9 Washington 44, #7/6 Stanford 6
Sept. 30, 2016 • Seattle, Wash.
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Washington Rolls Past Stanford
SEATTLE - No. 10 Washington handed Stanford a 44-6 defeat in front of a packed Husky Stadium, the Cardinal's worst loss since a 41-3 setback against Arizona State in 2007.
Jake Browning threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns, Myles Gaskin added 100 yards rushing and two scores, and Washington claimed its most lopsided victory over an AP top 10 team since beating No. 5 USC, 31-0, in 1990. That game 26 years ago announced Washington as a national contender and it went on to share the national title a year later with Miami.
It was Washington's biggest win over a top 10 team, bettering a 36-point victory over Wisconsin in 1959.
Browning was the leader of an efficient offense that scored on seven of nine drives. He threw touchdown passes of 3 yards to Dante Pettis, 19 yards to John Ross and 3 yards to Aaron Fuller with 5:30 remaining. Browning was 15 of 21 and did not commit a turnover.
Equally important was Washington's ability to establish a running game. The Huskies rushed for 214 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
Christian McCaffrey was held to 49 yards rushing on 12 carries and five catches for 30 yards.
It was McCaffrey's fewest yards rushing since 2014 at California when he had 19 yards on three carries.
Stanford's only touchdown came late in the third quarter on a 19-yard pass from Ryan Burns to JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Burns was 15 of 22 for 151 yards, but Washington controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides. Stanford quarterbacks were sacked eight times, six in the first half. Stanford had allowed only four total sacks in the first three games combined.
Washington State 42, #15/15 Stanford 16
Oct. 8, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
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Washington State Tops Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. - Washington State's Luke Falk threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns and the Cougars' defensive line shut down Christian McCaffrey and the Cardinal offense in a 42-16 victory.
The Cougars held the Cardinal to 296 yards of offense and did not allow an offensive score until the final play of the game.
Falk connected with Tavares Martin Jr. twice in the first half and added two second-half touchdown passes.
Stanford had an eight-game winning streak against Washington State snapped, and lost for the first time in all-black uniforms, which have been worn for at least one game annually since 2010.
The 15th-ranked Cardinal fell behind late in the first quarter and trailed throughout. A 26-yard third-quarter pick-six by Frank Buncom gave Stanford some hope, cutting the deficit to 21-10. But Washington State followed with three touchdowns to build a 42-10 lead.
McCaffrey finished with 35 yards rushing on eight carries, and had 83 all-purpose yards -- breaking a national-leading streak of 19 consecutive games with at least 100 all-purpose yards.
Quarterback Ryan Burns got the start and most of the action, but Keller Chryst received more playing time than he had before, mostly late in the game. But after throwing an interception that led to Washington State's final touchdown, Burns re-entered the game and led the Cardinal on its longest drive of the night -- 67 yards, the last of which came on a touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside on the game's final play.
Burns completed 19 of 25 passes for a career-high 222 yards, and threw an interception and a touchdown pass. Chryst was 2-of-9 passing for 13 yards.
Stanford reached the Washington State red zone twice -- at the end of each half. On the final play of the second quarter, Michael Rector was tackled at the Washington State 7-yard line with a 44-yard gain on a pass from Burns as time expired. The other resulted in the final touchdown.
In an odd twist, Conrad Ukropina had two long field-goal tries bounce off the left upright -- both in the first half with the score fairly close. He accounted for Stanford's only points of the first half, on a 43-yard field goal at the outset of the first quarter. Meanwhile, a pair of Falk-to-Martin touchdown passes pushed the Cougars ahead 14-3 at halftime, the first being a 5-yarder in the back of the end zone with 2:12 left in the opening quarter.
Stanford finished with 61 yards rushing, for an average of 2.3 yards per carry.
Stanford 17, Notre Dame 10
Oct. 15, 2016 • Notre Dame, Ind.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Rallies to Beat Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Nothing seemed to be going right for Stanford until cornerback Quenton Meeks changed the momentum when he intercepted a pass by Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
Bryce Love dove into the end zone from seven yards out to start the fourth quarter and cap the comeback in a 17-10 victory as Stanford rallied back from a 10-point deficit.
Stanford, playing without injured Christian McCaffrey, added a 2-point conversion on a pitch to Love, who ran in untouched.
Stanford, which started the season ranked No. 8, averted losing three straight for the first time since 2007. The Irish ranked No. 10 in the preseason, lost a third straight home game for the first time since 2007.
Notre Dame had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds. But DeShone Kizer couldn't get a pass off on fourth-and-10 from the 14. He was about to be sacked and he appeared to try to pitch the ball to left guard Quenton Nelson, but the officials ruled it a fumble and blew the ball dead. It was the fourth time this season where the Irish had a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession and couldn't do it.
Meeks, who missed the previous two games with an injury, picked off Kizer on the first possession of the second half to cut the score to 10-7.
Malik Zaire replaced Kizer for three possessions but couldn't get anything going and the Irish gave up a safety when a snap from center Sam Mustipher, who had three bad snaps in the hurricane last week against North Carolina State, snapped the ball through the end zone.
Kelly said Kizer wasn't injured, he was just looking for a spark.
The Cardinal, who had one offensive touchdown in each of their last three games, continued to struggle offensively but came up with the big play when it needed it. Stanford drove 47 yards on 12 plays on its opening possession, but Conrad Ukropina's 45-yard field goal attempt bounced off the upright.
Colorado 10, Stanford 5
Oct. 22, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Falls to Colorado
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford committed four turnovers and sustained a disappointing 10-5 defeat to Colorado on Reunion Homecoming at Stanford Stadium.
The Buffaloes intercepted three passes and recovered a fourth-quarter fumble deep in their territory to beat the Cardinal for the first time in six meetings.
Colorado dominated much of the game but allowed the Cardinal to stay close by missing three field goals, two inside the 30.
Running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the starting lineup but couldn't ignite the struggling offense. He finished with 92 yards on 21 carries, but his longest run was 11 yards.
Ryan Burns had a difficult day, completing 16 of 29 attempts for 170 yards and was picked off three times. A costly fumble on first and goal at the Colorado 4 with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter came when Burns mishandled the exchange from center Jesse Burkett.
That spoiled a gallant effort by the Stanford defense, which yielded a game-high 131 rushing yards to Phillip Lindsay. Led by Solomon Thomas and Joey Alfieri, the unit produced five sacks.
Although Colorado out-rushed Stanford, 224-93, its 10 points were the fewest by the Buffs in a winning cause since a 6-0 victory at Missouri in 1992.
Through three quarters, Colorado out-rushed Stanford, 187-69. Still, thanks to the missed field goals, the Cardinal trailed only 7-3.
A 60-yard punt by Jake Bailey pinned Colorado at its own 6, and the defense forced a quick punt.
Starting from his 34, Burns hit Trenton Irwin on third-and-8 for 16 yards. A personal foul tacked on 15 yards to the Colorado 15, where two McCaffrey runs gave Stanford first-and-goal at the 4. But the snap was fumbled and Bay Area product Kennth Olugbode recovered.
The Cardinal defense gave the offense another opportunity but again it resulted in a turnover. On third-and-15 from his own 30, Burns was intercepted by strong safety Tedric Thompson, who returned it 30 yards to the Stanford 20.
This time, Colorado capitalized. Although the defense dug in, Chris Graham converted a 23-yard field goal to give the Buffs a 10-3 lead with 2:30 left.
The Cardinal caught a break on the ensuing kickoff when the ball sailed out of bounds. But Burns was intercepted again.
Colorado took an intentional safety with four seconds to play, and Stanford ran one play before time expired.
Stanford 34, Arizona 10
Oct. 29, 2016 • Tucson, Ariz.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
McCaffrey Scores Three Touchdowns at Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. - Christian McCaffrey took the handoff up the middle, made a little juke and, with a burst of speed, raced past Arizona's flailing defenders.
This was the player Stanford had been missing the past few weeks.
McCaffrey returned to his tackle-eluding form, accounting for 225 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cardinal to a 34-10 victory over Arizona.
Good early in the season, McCaffrey missed most of the second half against Washington State on Oct. 8 and did not play the following week against Notre Dame. McCaffrey returned against Colorado last week, finishing with 92 yards rushing on 21 carries.
The shifty junior had a jump in his step against the Wildcats, scoring on runs of 45 and 6 yards to finish with 169 yards on 23 carries. McCaffrey added four catches for 27 yards, including an 18-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Bryce Love chipped in 78 yards on 12 carries while giving McCaffrey a break and helped the Cardinal break out of scoring funk.
In his first career start, junior quarterback Keller Chryst made some good decisions at the line of scrimmage, picking up alignments and blitzes, and threw a pair of touchdown passes. He also missed a few passes that could have gone for big plays, finishing with 104 yards and an interception on 14-of-30 passing.
Arizona had its top two quarterbacks back for the first time since the season opener, yet continued to sputter offensively in its fifth straight loss.
Brandon Dawkins started and threw for 116 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to Trey Griffey. Dawkins also had 65 yards on 17 yards rushing on 17 carries. Anu Solomon replaced him in the third quarter and lasted just two series, finishing 0-for-3 passing.
Part of it was a lack of running game. With Nick Wilson out for an extended period, Arizona was forced to use Grant, a converted receiver, as starting running back.
Grant finished with 64 yards, but Arizona had just 170 yards on 44 carries and finished 286 total yards, 147 below its season average.
Stanford showed off what it can do offensively when McCaffrey is healthy. The Cardinal defense also held up against Arizona's quick-hitting attack, putting them within a game of becoming bowl eligible.
Stanford 26, Oregon State 15
Nov. 5, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
McCaffrey's Big Day Leads Stanford Over Oregon State
STANFORD, Calif. - With a young quarterback making his second career start, Stanford head coach David Shaw was fully comfortable having his team run the ball on its final 29 plays from scrimmage.
With a backfield tandem of 2015 AP Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey and promising sophomore Bryce Love, Shaw's decision was really a no-brainer.
McCaffrey rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown, Love scored on a 56-yard touchdown run and Stanford beat Oregon State, 26-15.
Conrad Ukropina kicked a career-high four field goals, including a personal best-tying 52-yarder in the first half.
The Cardinal did it behind another strong outing by its defense, which intercepted Beavers quarterback Marcus McMaryion twice in the second half.
More importantly, Stanford piled up 365 yards rushing and controlled the ball for more than 39 minutes.
McCaffrey, whose 51-yard run in the first half helped set up Ukropina's second field goal, scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter.
It was the 16th 100-yard game for McCaffrey since the start of the 2015 season.
Love, a sophomore who filled in when McCaffrey was injured earlier this season, finished with 89 yards on nine carries.
Stanford's ground game was key on a day Keller Chryst was more effective running the ball than throwing it in his second career start. Chryst completed 10 of 17 passes for 60 yards but rushed for 83 including a 44-yard keeper that set up McCaffrey's touchdown.
Stanford 52, Oregon 27
Nov. 12, 2016 • Eugene, Ore.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Blows by Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. - Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst finally found a groove for his third start.
The junior quarterback threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns in Stanford's 52-27 victory over Oregon.
Stanford improved to 3-0 with Chryst at quarterback. His breakout -- along with Christian McCaffrey's big day -- provided some offensive equilibrium for the Cardinal. McCaffrey ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns.
McCaffrey ran for a 61-yard touchdown to put Stanford up early. After Oregon lost the ball on a fumble, McCaffrey scored again on a 5-yard touchdown run. He needed just 20 yards rushing going into the game to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season.
McCaffrey, who also scored on a 14-yard run in the first half, looked to regain his form from one week prior with 199 yards rushing in a 26-15 victory over Oregon State.
McCaffrey also caught five passes for 52 yards against Oregon.
Oregon freshman quarterback Justin Herbert, who started his fifth game after taking over for graduate transfer Dakota Prukop, threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw two interceptions.
Royce Freeman ran for 111 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. The Ducks' main problems were on defense, allowing Stanford 540 yards of total offense. It was the first time this season the Cardinal had 250 or more yards both via pass and on the ground this season.
Kani Benoit's 7-yard touchdown run for Oregon in the final quarter made it 52-20 and allowed the Ducks to preserve their streak of games with 20 or more points to 40, the longest active streak in the nation.
Stanford 45, Cal 31
Nov. 19, 2016 • Berkeley, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
The Axe Stays on The Farm
BERKELEY, Calif. - Christian McCaffrey's 90-yard touchdown run highlighted a record-setting 284-yard rushing performance that led Stanford to its seventh straight win in the rivalry game, 45-31, over California.
McCaffrey broke his own single-game rushing record at Stanford of 243 yards and the Big Game record of 226 yards set by Cal's Joe Igber in 2002 to help the Cardinal keep the coveted Axe with yet another win over their rival.
Stanford matched the longest win streak in the rivalry that dates back to 1892. The Cardinal also won seven straight against Cal from 1995-2001.
Davis Webb threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Watson ran for two scores for the Golden Bears, who are assured of a fifth losing season in the past six years and will miss out on a bowl bid unless there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the slots.
The game started well for Cal, which stopped Stanford on the opening drive and then scored on its first offensive play on a 70-yard pass from Webb to Chad Hansen.
Stanford tied the game two plays later on a 16-yard run by Chryst and took control early in the third quarter when McCaffrey burst through the middle for his long touchdown run that was one of his three scoring runs in the game.
Stanford 41, Rice 17
Nov. 26, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Overpowers Rice, 41-17
STANFORD, Calif. - Christian McCaffrey rushed for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns as Stanford won its fifth straight game, a 41-17 nonconference victory over Rice.
McCaffrey wound up with 271 all-purpose yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception and a 19-yard touchdown run. It was his 19th career 100-yard rushing game and fifth 200-yard effort.
He left the game for good with 12 minutes left.
The Cardinal finished with 373 rushing yards, including a 62-yard touchdown dash by Keller Chryst and a 50-yard scoring run by Bryce Love. Chryst's first-quarter touchdown run was the longest by a Stanford quarterback in at least 20 years. Chryst also connected with Francis Owusu on a 45-yard scoring pass.
Love contributed 111 yards on seven carries to Stanford's 534-yard offensive total. Its early-season offensive woes long forgotten, Stanford closed out the regular season with three consecutive games of 500 total yards, totaling 1,629.
Stanford won for the 16th straight time at home against a nonconference foe in a game that originally was scheduled for September 10. The contest was moved so the Cardinal wouldn't play 12 straight weeks without a bye and end the regular season with an open date.
Stanford has won every regular-season finale since 2008 and is 6-0 in such contests under Shaw.
There were plenty of thrilling McCaffrey moments and many where he seemed one tackler away from numerous other big plays. McCaffrey bolted to a run of 26 yards in the first quarter and 42 in the second. He took a punt 33 yards and turned a short slant pass 23 yards for a touchdown. And then broke three tackles on a 19-yard run for another score, this one in the third quarter.
McCaffrey was the most riveting figure in a game that was even more one-sided than the score indicated.
One more impressive note: Conrad Ukropina connected on two field goals, of 28 and 23 yards, and converted five extra-point tries, giving him 106 consecutive conversions.
The rain came down throughout much of the second half and the mist settled into the stadium as the game concluded, but for the Cardinal, it was another in a series of beautiful nights. And it was even more special because of the finality for the seniors.
#16/16 Stanford 25, North Carolina 23
Dec. 30, 2016 • El Paso, Texas
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford Holds Off North Carolina
EL PASO, Texas - Bryce Love took over for the absent Christian McCaffrey in the backfield, running for 119 yards and catching a 49-yard touchdown pass to help No. 16 Stanford beat North Carolina, 25-23, in the Sun Bowl.
Stanford held on after North Carolina pulled within two with 25 seconds left on Mitch Trubisky's two-yard pass to Bug Howard, sacking Trubisky on the two-point conversion try.
Stanford took a 25-17 lead on Conrad Ukropina's 27-yard field goal with 3:23 left. North Carolina was forced to punt on its next series, but used two timeouts to get the ball back.
After taking over at their own 3, the Tar Heels drove 97 yards in 10 plays and 1:11. After competing passes of 44 and 27 yards, Trubisky capped the drive with the two-yard scoring pass to Howard.
Stanford then sacked Trubisky on the two-point try, a rush led by Solomon Thomas forcing the quarterback to retreat before being taken down. Thomas was selected the game's MVP.
Stanford safety Dallas Lloyd intercepted two of Trubisky's passes, returning the second 19 yards for a touchdown to give Stanford a 22-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Trubisky finished 23 of 39 passing for 280 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Starting quarterback Keller Chryst left with a knee injury in the second quarter, forcing backup Ryan Burns into the game.
Ukropina kicked four field goals to tie a Sun Bowl record and was named the game's most valuable special teams player. He also set a Stanford record for field goals in a season with 22. He set the record with his second-quarter kick, then added two more.