STANFORD, Calif. -- California did a lot of things right in Saturday night's game against No. 11 Stanford, but the Bears encountered one major problem. The problem's name was Christian McCaffrey.

Led by McCaffrey's school-record 389 all-purpose yards, Stanford beat archrival Cal 35-22 at Stanford Stadium, clinching the Pac-12 North title for the Cardinal.

"If anybody has seen a better football player than McCaffrey, show him to me," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "He is truly, truly special."

By beating Cal for the sixth consecutive time in the 118th Big Game, Stanford (9-2, 8-1) assured itself a berth in the Dec. 5 Pac-12 championship game in Santa Clara, where the Cardinal will face the winner of next Saturday's game between UCLA and USC.

The win also kept alive the Cardinal's long-shot hope of getting into the College Football Playoff. Stanford winds up its regular season next Saturday with a home game against Notre Dame.

Stanford has managed all this thanks in large part to McCaffrey, who entered the weekend leading the nation in all-purpose yards. Against Cal, he had 192 yards rushing, a 49-yard touchdown reception in which he broke two tackles and a 98-yard kickoff return for a score that was the biggest play of the game.

"We knew he was good," Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. "He's a physical player, bounces off players."

With 2,807 all-purpose yards this season, McCaffrey is within reach of Barry's Sanders' season record of 3,250 yards set in 1988 while he played for Oklahoma State.

The Cardinal needed McCaffrey's big plays to survive. Cal outgained Stanford 495-356, and the Bears had 23 first downs to the Cardinal's 16.

Quarterback Jared Goff had another big game for Cal (6-5, 3-5), completing 37 of 54 passes for 386 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Bears wide receiver Bryce Treggs had seven catches for 102 yards and a score.

"The whole offense, for the most part, we played well," Goff said.

However, the Bears were not efficient in the red zone, scoring just one touchdown and three field goals on five trips inside the Stanford 18-yard line.

"Missed opportunities," Goff said. "We're normally good in the red zone. We weren't tonight."

Penalties also played a role in Cal's loss. Although the Bears were hit with just eight penalties for 63 yards, every penalty seemed to ruin a drive.

"Penalties just killed us," Dykes said.

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan attempted only 12 passes -- including just one in the second half -- and completed seven of them for 96 yards.

The Cardinal offense consisted of McCaffrey and his two big plays in the second quarter.

Stanford took a 14-3 lead on Hogan's 49-yard screen pass to McCaffrey, who broke tackles by linebacker Jalen Jefferson and defensive tackle James Looney at the line of scrimmage before breaking into the clear.

Cal kicker Matt Anderson made it 14-6 with a 28-yard field goal with 51 seconds left in the half, but McCaffrey returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown that gave the Cardinal a 21-6 halftime lead.

Shaw admitted he "was a little bit" surprised Cal opted to kick long to McCaffrey with less than a minute left in the half, and McCaffrey recognized the importance of that touchdown.

"That was huge because they had just scored and built some momentum," he said. "That took some of the wind out of them."

Cal reduced the deficit to 21-16 in the third quarter on Anderson's 25-yard field goal and Goff's 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Powe.

However, running back Remound Wright's 1-yard touchdown run put Stanford ahead 28-16, and the Cardinal put the game away when running back Bryce Love ran 48 yards for a touchdown with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter for a 35-16 lead.

NOTES: Stanford was without starting CB Ronnie Harris because of an ankle injury. It left redshirt freshmen Alameen Murphy and Alijah Holder as the Cardinal's starting cornerbacks. ... Cal WR Kenny Lawler (buttocks), RB Daniel Lasco (ankle) and S Damariay Drew (knee) were questionable, and Lasco and Drew did not play at all. Lawler, the team's leading receiver entering the weekend, got in for a handful of plays. ... DE Brennan Scarlett, a starter for Stanford on Saturday, played three seasons for Cal before transferring but never faced Stanford as a member of the Bears.