STANFORD — Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey isn’t the type. You know, to strike the Heisman pose. McCaffrey, who broke Glyn Milburn’s school record for all-purpose yards in Saturday’s 35-22 win over Cal in the 118th Big Game at Stanford Stadium, is way too humble to make like Michigan’s Desmond Howard did during a game in 1991.
There are others to strike the Heisman pose for McCaffrey, but with words. Take Stanford coach David Shaw, for instance.
“If anybody has seen a running back, a football player, better than Christian McCaffrey, tell me,” said Shaw after McCaffrey personally wrecked the Bears with 389 all-purpose yards. “Show him to me. I haven’t seen anybody in America like this kid. He is truly special. Kickoff returner, runner, receiver, blocker. Our guys know that and they take pride in blocking for him down the field because the guy makes special plays.”
The Cardinal (9-2, 8-1 Pac-12), which won the Pac-12 North with the win, had a 7-3 lead when McCaffrey caught a screen pass in the left flat late in the first half. The Bears, though, were wise from the start. Linebacker Jalen Jefferson was on McCaffrey like a drone, but McCaffrey shed the tackle. Next was safety Derron Brown’s turn to take down McCaffrey, but no.
McCaffrey shook him off like a migraine headache, zigzagging upfield, finding open real estate through the middle of the Cal defense, until he had completed a 49-yard touchdown.
The Bears bounced back in a hurry, marching 12 plays for a field goal, getting within 14-6 with 51 seconds to go in the second period. The Bears gambled and kicked deep to McCaffrey, who took the ball at the 2-yard line. McCaffrey went up the middle, then caught the Cal sideline, receiving one final block from Barry Sanders, taking it to the house for a 98-yard touchdown. McCaffrey’s first kickoff return for a touchdown tied him No. 6 all-time with Nate Kirtman, who went 98 yards for a score against Oregon State in 1967.
So within a matter of 3 minutes, 34 seconds, McCaffrey, if he hadn’t already, had put himself on the Heisman map in front of a national television audience. McCaffrey’s 282 all-purpose yards at halftime — a 564-yard pace for the game — was unheard of. He leads the nation, averaging 255.2 all-purpose yards per game.
McCaffrey wasn’t done. In the second half, he gashed the Bears for 107 yards on the ground, finishing with 192 yards rushing. McCaffrey extended his school-record streak of rushing for 100 yards or more to nine games. McCaffrey has rushed for 1,546 yards, among the nation’s leaders. He leads the Cardinal in receiving with 34 receptions for 416 yards and three touchdowns.
And he is proving to be a valuable decoy. On Stanford’s final touchdown to break the game open, quarterback Kevin Hogan faked to McCaffrey, then gave the ball on a reverse to Bryce Love, who swept left end for a 48-yard touchdown. Can’t blame the Bears for focusing on McCaffrey, who had taken the ball on the previous four plays for a total of 30 yards.
Whether McCaffrey loses out in the Heisman race to Alabama running back Derrick Henry or Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield or Leonard Fournette of LSU or whomever, he is lighting up Stanford Stadium down the stretch in ways never seen before. Should McCaffrey repeat his show-stopping performance vs. one of the best teams in the U.S. in Notre Dame at home on Saturday, he may attract quite a voting bloc. And if he does it again in the Pac-12 title game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Dec. 5, the WildCaff campaign may be too much of a monster to quell.
If I had a vote, he would get it. Not that he cares.
Email John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/dailynewsjohn.
