(Part 2 Here)The winners of the two semi-finals will meet on January 11 in the Championship Game of college football playoff presented by AT&T, which will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Big 12 was left without representatives in the first playoff, since TCU ended in No. 5 and Baylor (8-1, 5-1) came in sixth in the recent classification of college football playoff. This year, the Pac-12 is the only conference known as Power 5 unrepresented in the playoff. Stanford did win the title of the Pac-12 after beating USC,
With carries, passes and receptions, Christian McCaffrey did everything in a record night that very well should send him to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony and Stanford to another major bowl. McCaffrey rushed for 207 yards and a touchdown, threw two touchdown passes and caught another on the way to break the record from Barry Sanders for single season total yards to lead the No. 7 Stanford to the title of the Pac-12 with the 41-22 win over USC on Saturday.
Kevin Hogan caught the touchdown pass from McCaffrey, passed one and rushed another on ground while Solomon Thomas scored on a loose ball in a 34 yard return for the 11-2. Stanford will probably play the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual as the Pac-12 champions.
Cody Kessler threw for 187 yards and a rushing touchdown for the Trojans (8-5), who lost their first game since they removed head coach Clay Helton. Stanford took control of the game with a pair of touchdowns in a span of just over three minutes at the end of the third quarter.
After blowing a 13-point lead, the team faced a third down in their own territory, Hogan after McCaffrey at midfield and ran for a reception of 67 yards to the USC 7. Hogan ran on the next play to return the advantage to Stanford.On the next possession, Blake Martinez captured Kessler and forced a fumble that Thomas recovered and returned for a touchdown to the final score 27-16.
