PASADENA, California — Stanford barely missed out on the College Football Playoff, and Christian McCaffrey almost won the Heisman Trophy.
McCaffrey caught a 75-yard touchdown pass on the opening snap and returned a punt 66 yards for another score while setting the Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards, propelling No. 5 Stanford to a 45-16 victory over the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes Friday.
Kevin Hogan passed for 223 yards and three TDs in his final game for the Cardinal (12-2), who won the Rose Bowl for the second time in three trips over the past four years.
McCaffrey was sublime in his debut at the Granddaddy of Them All, breaking the all-purpose yards record set by Wisconsin’s Jared Abbrederis in 2012.
McCaffrey finished second behind Alabama’s Derrick Henry in the Heisman voting, but the speedy sophomore left no doubt about his brilliance with one of the most dynamic performances in the 102-game history of the Rose Bowl. He had 172 yards rushing, 105 yards receiving and 91 on kick returns, putting an appropriate cap on the season in which he set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards. McCaffrey also became the first player ever to rack up more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a Rose Bowl.
Stanford and Iowa finished in the final two spots outside the College Football Playoff field.
Fiesta Bowl
No. 7 Ohio State 44, No. 8 Notre Dame 28: Ezekiel Elliott ran for 149 yards and matched a Fiesta Bowl record with four touchdowns, sparking Ohio State’s prolific offense against Notre Dame.
The Buckeyes (12-1) were left out of the College Football Playoff thanks to an inopportune loss. They may leave the desert wondering what could have been after blowing past another playoff contender.
Ohio State rolled past the Fighting Irish (10-3), quick-hitting its way to one scoring drive after another and 496 total yards.
Sugar Bowl
No. 16 Mississippi 48, No. 13 Oklahoma State 20: Chad Kelly threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns — three to Laquon Treadwell — and Mississippi beat Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl.
Ole Miss (10-3) jumped out to a 34-6 lead by halftime, cruising up and down the field against an overwhelmed Oklahoma State defense. The onslaught was punctuated late in the second quarter when left tackle Laremy Tunsil had a 2-yard touchdown run on a trick play after a lateral from Kelly.
Oklahoma State (10-3) lost its final three games after 10 straight wins. The Cowboys fell into a 41-6 hole midway through the third quarter and never mounted a legitimate challenge.
Citrus Bowl
No. 17 Michigan 41, NO. 19 Florida 7: Jake Rudock threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns and Michigan’s defense dominated throughout in the Wolverines’ victory over Florida in the Citrus Bowl.
In a game billed as a battle of two of the top defenses in the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference, the Wolverines’ offense shined bright in their first bowl victory since 2012.
Outback Bowl
Tennessee 45, No. 12 Northwestern 6: Joshua Dobbs threw for 166 yards and ran for two touchdowns, helping Tennessee cap its best season in eight years with a victory over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.
Dobbs scored on runs 14 and 18 yards, and Jalen Hurd ran for 130 yards and one touchdown for the Volunteers (9-4). They finished with at least nine wins for the first time since 2007.
Northwestern (10-3) failed in a bid to finish with a school-record 11 victories. — AP
