Stanford vs USC recap: 3 things we learned

The Stanford Cardinal had no trouble defeating the USC Trojans at home on Saturday night.

In a rematch of the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game, the Stanford Cardinal once again ran all over the USC Trojans. Christian McCaffrey was the catalyst on offense and provided plenty of big plays on offense. He started the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown reception.

The Stanford defense also did a great job of shutting off any passing lanes for the Trojans on offense. Their offensive stats came from the ground and Ronald Jones II scored the only touchdown for them. It was another bad loss for USC.

At the end of the day, McCaffrey’s ability to grind this thing out on the ground was really impressive. He ran the ball 30 times and carried his team to the win. That’s just one of the many things this game taught us.

3. USC is in trouble

The USC Trojans are in a tad bit of trouble. They have looked horrible on national television in two out of three weeks and they now have a conference loss for their troubles. They face a tough road game at Utah next week and they have to show they can find consistency on offense. With Lynn Swann taking over at USC, Clay Helton is going to have to show something soon or he might be a one-year rental.

2. Christian McCaffrey is a workhorse

Everyone knows that Christian McCaffrey is special. He’s expected to be a top pick in the NFL Draft and is a contender for the Heisman. What made his night so impressive is that he once again proved that he can be the back that carries the ball a lot. Pro teams will like that when evaluating him.

1. The Pac-12 Champion is coming from the North

The USC Trojans were the favorites of many to win the Pac-12 South. They still very well could if UCLA struggles, but it’s clear that the Pac-12 Champion is coming out of the North this year. The three best teams are Stanford, Washington and Oregon and it’s not even close.