Tyler Gaffney Puts Up Big Numbers in Upset Loss vs. USC

Nov 16, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Tyler Gaffney (25) runs with the ball to score a touchdown as Southern California Trojans linebacker Hayes Pullard (10) defends in the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After a huge performance and the upset possibly of the entire year against Oregon, the Stanford Cardinal went into USC and blew their shot at a BCS title game, dropping the road game 17-20.

It was an impressive win for the Trojans, who have won their last four games and who have been playing some of their best football in recent years with Lane Kiffin finally out of there, but this is an incredibly disappointing loss for the Cardinal.

In the loss, Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney continued to put up huge numbers. I realize his numbers are a bit inflated because of the offense he runs in, but the former baseball player is in luck, because there’s an NFL team that runs the exact same offense he is running in right now.

With the NFL almost entirely consumed by the passing game, the Indianapolis Colts and former Stanford offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton continue to use the power running game to win football games, and that bodes well for guys like Gaffney.

The volume of carries Gaffney had against Oregon was ridiculous, but he was able to get better production against USC in almost half the number of carries.

On 24 touches out of the backfield, Gaffney put up 158 yards and two touchdowns, albeit in a losing effort. This is a guy that runs with toughness, and he’s a bit more explosive than you might think for someone playing in a power game.

I’ve really liked what I’ve seen out of Gaffney this season, and I think he has a chance to be a really nice mid-later round pick for some team, possibly the Colts in next year’s draft.