Offensive lineman Kyle Murphy was a diehard USC fan growing up in Southern California's Orange County -- Trojan territory -- during the Pete Carroll era. As a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2012, he strongly considered signing there. But Murphy ultimately chose Stanford, and he's now feeling better about his upcoming holiday trip home because of that decision.

"People can't talk crap anymore," the senior said with a smile. "I have a winning record against USC now, so I can show them [three Pac-12 championship] rings and my 3-2 record against them."

Murphy is satisfied after the Cardinal's 41-22 Pac-12 championship game victory. Homecomings haven't been as rosy for him as this next one is expected to be. The Trojans had beaten Stanford twice in a row entering 2015, so the lineman has taken his share of grief recently. But the Cardinal beat USC twice to flip the script this season, and it's understandable why those victories carried extra significance to Murphy.

Along similar lines, Stanford also beat in-state rivals UCLA and California this year. So the Cardinal finished 4-0 against the Golden State, completing a clean sweep that's been a program benchmark since 2009.

"It's huge," David Shaw said. "That was started by the guys in Tavita Pritchard's (2009) class. They wanted to be the kings of California. Every year, it's a goal to hold our own turf."

Stanford has been exceptionally good at that since it became a primary objective. The Cardinal are 26-3 against in-state competition since UCLA, USC, and Cal swept them in 2008. Stanford has a winning in-state record in every season since, and 2015 is the fourth time they've gone undefeated.

"It's big not just for recruiting purposes, but also because these are all battles," Shaw said. "These are all rivals. So they're all really big wins."

Stanford made "Kings of California" T-shirts in 2010, following their first clean sweep through the state. Because USC beat the Cardinal in 2013 and 2014, the moniker has been dormant for two years. But now it's back, and center Graham Shuler -- a Tennessee native -- says it's one of the big reasons he came out West to play college football.

"Coming from the South, there's a different mentality," Shuler said. "You view the California guys a different way -- people think they play ball a different way, not in the same physical style as the SEC. So to come out here and be the team in California that plays that style and wins those games is a big part of why I came here."

And because part of that equation involved beating USC, his line mate Murphy enjoys extra satisfaction.

"It's big for me being a So Cal kid," he said. "We got those bragging rights."