Pac-12 Championship 2015: Game Grades, Analysis for Stanford vs. USC

The Pac-12 Championship Game, otherwise known as the Christian McCaffrey show on Saturday night, saw the Stanford Cardinal win the conference with a 41-22 blowout over the USC Trojans. 

McCaffrey had 461 all-purpose yards en route to beating the single season NCAA record previously held by Barry Sanders, while the Stanford defense was just as stout through most of the night. 

So with that, let's check out the positional unit game grades for both teams. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

USC Trojans

Rush Offense: B

The Trojans finished the game with 170 yards on the ground, led by Justin Davis who had 99. USC came alive in the second half after being sparked by some big gains on the ground, but the Trojans ultimately couldn't keep their offense on the field long enough to keep McCaffrey and Co. off of it. 

Pass Offense: C

Cody Kessler finished the game 22-of-37 on pass attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown. While he didn't throw an interception, he rarely made the big play through the air. JuJu Smith-Schuster finished with a game-high 11 catches but only for 87 yards and no scores. 

Rush Defense: D-

The only reason the Trojans don't fail this portion of class is because McCaffrey is a Heisman candidate at running back. But the Cardinal still dominated USC's front line to the tune of 262 yards, led by 207 from McCaffrey himself. 

Pass Defense: C

Stanford only had 155 yards through the air; why do the Trojans get just a 'C' grade in this category? Because Hogan still completed 9-of-12 pass attempts, McCaffrey threw for a touchdown and the secondary didn't have a single interception. Stanford didn't need the pass attack, but the USC secondary still looked vulnerable when called upon. 

Special Teams: D

A missed extra point that was blocked plus plenty of return yards given up to the Cardinal mean the Trojans didn't even get special teams right in the biggest game of the year. 

Coaching: C+

Clay Helton didn't exactly make believers out of those in Los Angeles on Saturday night, but it was just meant to be for Stanford on this night. The Trojans were in the game until the very end, and that was largely in part to Helton's management. 

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Stanford Cardinal

Rush Offense: A+

Sparked by 207 yards on the ground from McCaffrey, the Cardinal dictated the pace of the Pac-12 title game with their rushing attack. They averaged 5.1 yards per rush and made Kevin Hogan's job insanely easy. So easy, he felt the need to catch a touchdown pass. 

Pass Offense: B

Yes, McCaffrey contributed here too with a touchdown pass on a reverse to Hogan. The Cardinal racked up just 155 yards through the air, but on a combined 10-of-13 completions on attempts, that's an efficient complement to a nearly unstoppable rushing attack. 

Rush Defense: B-

The Trojans averaged 5.3 yards per carry, 0.2 better than the Cardinal, but were still limited to 170 yards rushing. The box for Stanford bent but didn't break often, and did plenty well enough to get the defense off the field and the ball back into McCaffrey's hands. 

Pass Defense: B

Kessler got into a rhythm late in the first half and early in the second, but looked out of sync the rest of the game. The Stanford secondary ended up charged with just 187 passing yards and only five yards per completion. 

Special Teams: A+

Special teams were the afterburners for Stanford on Saturday night. McCaffrey had 120 kickoff return yards as well as a big punt return while the Cardinal also blocked an extra point that later forced USC into a failed two-point conversion. 

Coaching: A+

David Shaw's game plan was easy, but perfect all the same. Give the ball to McCaffrey and don't look back. USC had no answer for the man who will undoubtedly be bound for New York City, and Shaw didn't shy away from using the advantage.