The Cardinal retained possession of the Stanford Axe trophy, clinched the Pac-12 Conference North Division championship and secured a spot in the conference title game with a 35-22 victory over rival Cal in the Big Game.
Now the Cardinal, ranked No. 9 in Tuesday College Football Playoff rankings, can turn its attention to this week's showdown with No. 6 Notre Dame.
Regardless of the outcome against the Fighting Irish, Stanford (9-2, 8-1 Pac-12) will play the winner of this week's game between No. 22 UCLA and USC in the conference championship game Dec. 5 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. A win in the Pac-12 title game would send Stanford to the Rose Bowl unless the Cardinal gets a bid to the College Football Playoff.
Given Ohio State's loss to Michigan State and Oklahoma State's loss to Baylor, the latter scenario doesn't seem as unlikely as it did following Stanford's heartbreaking loss to Oregon. First, though, the Cardinal must beat Notre Dame and hope for more favorable outcomes in other parts of the country.
"To go 8-1 in the deepest conference in America, that's nothing to sneeze at," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "People can say whatever they want about the four-team playoff and where people are ranked. All that stuff is fine. Everyone knows we have the deepest conference in America. We just went 8-1 and lost a tight one to Oregon, who is also one of the best teams in America, so I'm proud of our guys. This is a tough road that we have traveled in our conference, the toughest nine-game schedule in America."
No one has traversed that path in more spectacular fashion than Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey. The sophomore sensation set a single-game school record with 389 all-purpose yards in the victory over Cal. He rushed for 192 yards, scored one touchdown on a 49-yard touchdown reception and added another score on a 98-yard kickoff return, further solidifying his status as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
"Offensively and special teams-wise, has anybody seen a running back -- I'll say this, a football player -- better than Christian McCaffrey this year?" Shaw said. "Tell me. Show him to me. I haven't seen anybody."
McCaffrey leads the nation with 2,807 all-purpose yards and is on pace to break the NCAA record of 3,250 held by NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, whose son, Barry Sanders Jr., plays for Stanford. McCaffrey was asked about the possibility of breaking that record following the win over Cal, but he is more focused on team goals than individual accomplishments.
"It's a huge honor to establish ourselves as the Pac-12 North champions, but we're not satisfied at all," McCaffrey said. "We have a huge game this week, and our tunnel vision is focused on Notre Dame."
The Irish will be without starting cornerback KeiVarae Russell and could be without starting running back C.J. Prosise and starting linebacker James Onwualu. Russell, the team's second-leading tackler, suffered a broken tibia in last week's victory over Boston College. Prosise, who has rushed for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns, sustained a high ankle sprain. Onwualu has a sprained MCL in his left knee.
If Prosise is unable to play, Stanford will likely see a lot of Josh Adams, a promising freshman running back who has rushed for 589 yards and four touchdowns this season. Adams rushed for 133 yards against Massachusetts on Sept. 26, 147 yards against Pittsburgh on Nov. 7 and 141 yards against Wake Forest on Nov. 14.
"It's exciting because it's the next game and it's a big game because it's the next game," McCaffrey said. "That's something we always focus on, and it will be an exciting football game."
