Stanford's McCaffrey owns the biggest stage

PASADENA, Calif. — Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey found the right time and the right location to show why he was college football's most explosive offensive player.

Buried late at night in games few people east of the Rocky Mountains watched, McCafferey finally had the national audience to himself in Friday's Rose Bowl. By game's end, he owned the stage.

McCaffrey scored a 75-yard touchdown on the game's first play and returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown to help bury Big Ten West Division champion Iowa 45-16. McCaffrey, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, totaled 368 yards in all phases to extend his NCAA record for single-season all-purpose yards to 3,831.

'I think he was the best player in America before this game, so I think it's just the icing on the cake for us,' Stanford Coach David Shaw said. 'I do think it's a shame that a lot of people didn't get a chance to see him during the course of the year. Apparently the games were too late. But the bottom line for me is his heart and his determination is evident in every single practice and every single game.'

Stanford took over at its 25 after the game-opening kickoff. McCaffrey ran a wheel route inside of two Iowa defenders and split them both. Quarterback Kevin Hogan connected with him for 75 yards to put the Cardinal ahead 7-0.

Early in the second quarter, McCaffrey virtually iced the game when he returned Dillon Kidd's punt for a touchdown to give Stanford a 28-0 lead. McCaffrey finished with 172 yards rushing at 9.6 yards a carry and 105 yards receiving on four catches.

'He is a great football player,' Ferentz said. 'He earned that trip to New York, and nobody on our football team would disagree with that. It's impossible to duplicate that out there on the practice field. We don't have anybody like that, and I mean that with all due respect to our players. We have a lot of good players, but he's a rare talent. He's a tremendous football player, great balance, great vision, very difficult to tackle.'

As a true sophomore, McCaffrey will remain in school for at least another year. He earned the national offensive player of the year award by the Associated Press despite losing the Heisman to Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

McCaffrey said finishing second didn't motivate him any more than usual.

'I'm someone who believes in having motivation at all times, win or lose, individual awards,' McCaffrey said. 'I play for my teammates. I play for God and my family.'

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