Notre Dame coach praises Stanford's McCaffrey: 'He's a game-wrecker'

For anyone in the East who hasn't stayed up late enough to watch Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly offered an overview of what has made the sophomore so tough to stop. 

"He's a game-wrecker," Kelly said Tuesday during his weekly news conference in South Bend, Indiana, ahead of his team's matchup vs. the Cardinal (7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, on FOX). "He's a guy that can influence the game in special teams, catching the ball out of the backfield. Certainly running the football.

"Special, special player and deserving of all the accolades he's gotten. So we've got our hands full there." 

McCaffrey has run for 1,546 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 34 passes for 416 yards and three more scores. He has also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and averages 31.3 yards per return. 

It sounds like enough to give opposing coaches sleepless nights. 

"I think that they use him pretty traditionally in the sense that they're running similar plays, but they're using him as a receiver coming out of the backfield a lot more than they have, say, for example, some of the other backs they have in the past and he's explosive. He gets the ball in his hands, turns a 4-, 4-yard completion into a big play.

"And certainly his explosiveness on kickoff return has been a big plus for them as well. So just really good vision. Tougher than you may think. He's a tough, physical -- he can run inside, can run outside. Just a really good back."