STANFORD, Calif. -- Christian McCaffrey's 204-yard rushing performance in 24th-ranked Stanford's 41-17 victory over Rice on a rainy Saturday evening raised two questions.

--Did he do enough over the last two regular-season games, when he rushed for 488 yards, to work himself back into the Heisman Trophy discussion?

--Was Saturday's contest the final home game of his college career?

McCaffrey, the Heisman Trophy runnerup last year, is unlikely to win the Heisman this time around with Stanford well outside the top 10 and his numbers not as impressive as last season's, partly because he missed a game and half with an unspecified injury.

But he is among the top five rushers in the country at 145.7 yards per game, leads the nation in all-purpose yards at 211.5 per game and scored 10 rushing touchdowns over the past six games. And with Stanford 9-3 and riding a five-game winning streak, McCaffrey at least has a platform for consideration.

Rice was certainly impressed.

"I've done this for 33 years," Rice coach David Baliff said, "and I have not seen anyone capable of doing what he can do with the ball."

McCaffrey had a 19-yard touchdown run and a 23-yard TD reception while picking up 277 all-purpose yards Saturday.

Owls linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee, who had 14 tackles, said McCaffrey is the best he has seen this season.

"I'd have to put him on top," Ellerbee said. "He might not be the most physical runner, but he's the most agile. Sometimes he would stop in the hole, and he can go from zero to 100 just like that."

Stanford coach David Shaw said he would vote for McCaffrey for the Heisman, but he is hardly an objective observer.

"Every time he touches the ball, there is a collective gasp in the stadium, just to see what he's going to do," Shaw said. "The plays the guy has made in the last six game have been jaw-dropping."

All of which leads to the notion that McCaffrey, a junior, may give up his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

"Hope springs eternal," Shaw said. "That hasn't crossed my plate, but if it was his last time it was apropos."

McCaffrey is not offering any hints on his plans.

"I'm just focused on the next game," he said. "It's a disservice to my teammates to talk about that."

It's unclear what the next game will be. The Cardinal could end up in one of several bowls, depending on how the College Football Playoff rankings shake out. Their most likely postseason destinations are the Las Vegas Bowl, the Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) or the Foster Farms Bowl (Santa Clara, Calif.).

McCaffrey was not the only Stanford standout Saturday.

Bryce Love had only seven carries but produced 111 rushing yards, including a 50-yard touchdown run.

Cardinal quarterback Keller Chryst was 11 of 16 for 154 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and scored the game's first touchdown on a 62-yard run.

Chryst became Stanford's starting quarterback in the eighth game of the season and the Cardinal are 5-0 in games started by Chryst, all against teams with losing records.

Rice ends its season 3-9. Owls redshirt freshman quarterback Jackson Tyner made his first collegiate start, replacing Tyler Stehling, who suffered a knee injury last week. Tyner completed 10 of 37 passes for 68 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Samuel Stewart rushed for 77 yards for the Owls.

Stanford scored first on the 62-yard touchdown run by Chryst, who scrambled out of the pocket on a third-and-10 play, then tight-roped his way along the left sideline to end zone with 12:17 left in the first quarter.

A 39-yard run by Love on the Cardinal's second possession set up a 28-yard Conrad Ukropina field goal that made it 10-0. Ukropina added a 23-yard field goal to give Stanford a 13-0 lead after one quarter.

McCaffrey put Stanford in position for another score with his 33-yard punt return, and he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Chryst on the next play to increase the Cardinal's lead to 20-0, and Stanford was never threatened thereafter.

NOTES: QB Tyler Stehling, a fifth-year senior who started 10 of Rice's first 11 games, suffered a knee injury during the first series of last week's game against UTEP, ending his season. ... Stanford junior RB Christian McCaffrey is projected to be a late first-round draft choice if he enters the 2017 NFL Draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com. ... Stanford played without CB Alijah Holder (shoulder) and LB Mike Tyler (undisclosed). ... Saturday's Rice-Stanford game was arranged in 2006. Rice went 7-6 that year and Stanford was 1-11. ... Rice and Stanford last met in 1964. ... Rice entered the game ranked last in the country in yards allowed per play (7.32).