Pac-12 roundup: Christian McCaffrey carries Stanford to romp past Oregon

Christian McCaffrey ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns and Stanford defeated the defenseless Oregon Ducks 52-27 on Saturday in Eugene.

Junior quarterback Keller Chryst made his third consecutive start for the Cardinal, throwing for 258 yards and three scores. Stanford (7-3, 5-3 Pac-12) has won three straight.

“He’s the tone setter,” Stanford coach David Shaw said about McCaffrey. “He’s the guy that we have that the other teams don’t have. And if we give him an opportunity to make plays, he never disappoints.”

The loss means that Oregon (3-7, 1-6) will finish with a losing record for the first time since 2004. It also effectively knocks the Ducks out of contention for a bowl game with just two games left.

“We just got outplayed,” Ducks offensive lineman Cameron Hunt said.

The game did not carry the implications that many thought it might have at the start of the season. Neither team was ranked for the first time since the 2008 meeting.

Either Stanford or Oregon had won every Pac-12 championship since the league expanded and a title game was established in 2011.

McCaffrey ran for a 61-yard touchdown to put Stanford up early. After Oregon lost the ball on a fumble, McCaffrey scored again on a 5-yard TD run. Last season’s Heisman runner-up needed just 20 yards rushing going into the game to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season.

“I was patient, patient and then when I saw the hole, there was a lot of green grass ahead of me,” McCaffrey said about his first touchdown.

McCaffrey, who also scored on a 14-yard run in the first half, had struggled this season and sat out of the game against Notre Dame because of an injury. But he looked to regain his form last weekend with 199 yards rushing in a 26-15 victory over Oregon State.

McCaffrey also caught five passes for 52 yards against Oregon.

UCLA 38, Oregon State 24: Jalen Starks had two touchdowns runs, Randall Goforth returned an interception 40 yards for another score with 2:14 left, and the Bruins (4-6, 2-5) held off the Beavers (2-6, 1-6) in Pasadena, California.

Starks scored twice from inside the 4-yard line, and Bolu Olorunfunmi had a 4-yard scoring run for the Bruins, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Jordan Lasley blocked a punt and ran 23 yards for a touchdown.

Artavis Pierce had 73 yards rushing and two touchdowns for Oregon State. Manase Hungalu had an interception and recovered two fumbles, including one 40 yards into the end zone to pull the Beavers to 24-21 in the third quarter.

UCLA gained 30 yards off penalties on its ensuing possession. Safety Jalen Moore was ejected for targeting and linebacker Kyle Haley grabbed receiver Theo Howard’s face mask, setting up Starks’ second TD run that made it 31-21.

(16) Colorado 49, Arizona 24: Sefo Liufau passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, helping the Buffaloes (8-2, 7-1) roll over the Wildcats (2-8, 0-7) in Tucson, Arizona, for the Buffaloes’ first four-game winning streak in 14 years.

Colorado had no trouble with the banged-up Wildcats, finding the offensive rhythm that had been missing the past two weeks.

Liufau was sharp after being banged up against UCLA, hitting 19 of 27 passes for 213 yards, including two touchdowns to Shay Fields. Liufau also ran for a 2-yard score.

Phillip Lindsay ran for 119 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Buffaloes to their best start since opening the 2001 season 8-2.

While Colorado is on course for the Pac-12 South title, Arizona is in the midst of its first seven-game losing streak since 2004.