Fallback Friday: Christian McCaffrey Puts His Name on the Map During 2016 Rose Bowl

When people hear the name Christian McCaffrey, he is oftentimes associated as being the best running back that the Stanford Cardinal have ever had. In three years with the program, McCaffrey accumulated over 3,000 rushing yards and became a highly touted NFL prospect, eventually getting drafted No. 8 overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2017.

In 2015, McCaffrey put together one of the best seasons for a running back in recent history, finishing with 337 carries for 2,019 yards and eight touchdowns, helping the Cardinal finish 12-2. But it was not until the 2016 Rose Bowl that McCaffrey really cemented himself as a Stanford legend. In that game, a masterclass of a performance helped the Cardinal take down Iowa 45-16 and bring glory to Palo Alto.

Finishing with 18 carries for 172 yards while catching four passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, McCaffrey became the first player accumulate over 100 yards both rushing and recieving in a Rose Bowl game.

McCaffrey got the scoring started very quickly, catching a 75 yard pass from quarterback Kevin Hogan on the very first drive of the game, helping the Cardinal go up 7-0. By the time the first quarter ended, the Cardinal were up 21-0 after Hogan scored on an eight yard touchdown run with 9:13 left in the first quarter and defensive back Quenton Meeks recorded a 66-yard pick six with 4:07 left.

To start off the second quarter, McCaffrey scored his second touchdown of the game when he returned a punt 63 yards to the house, extending Stanford's lead to 28-0. In their first offensive drive, Hogan connected with wide receiver Michael Rector for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 35-0 Cardinal.

Stanford only managed to score once in the third quarter on a Conrad Ukropina field goal to make it 38-0 Cardinal but they did manage to score one more touchdown--a 42 yard touchdown pass from Hogan to Rector to make it 45-16 Stanford. Iowa's only two touchdowns came in the fourth quarter but by then, the game was well out of reach.

McCaffrey's big season earned him a plethora of accolades, including being named a consensus All-American, the AP College Football Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Player of the Year and winning the Paul Hornung Award. He also finished second in the Heisman Trophy race behind Alabama star, Derrick Henry.

As a junior, McCaffrey carried the ball 253 times for 1,603 yards and a career-high of 13 touchdowns, and as a top prospect, he opted out of team's Sun Bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.

One of the first big-name players to opt to skip a Bowl game, his decision was initially met with mixed reactions, but as the years went on and skipping exhibition-like bowl games to prepare for the draft became more common, McCaffrey received less scrutiny.