Former Valor Christian star and Stanford sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey has been garnering national attention and Heisman Trophy talk with his big numbers for the Cardinal this season. Here’s a look at how he performed last week and what the national media is saying about him and the Heisman race.
How did Christian do last week?
If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind that McCaffrey should not be a Heisman finalist, he sure did his best to erase it. He had 32 carries for 207 yards and a touchdown, caught four passes for 105 yards and another TD, and then threw an 11-yard TD pass to quarterback Kevin Hogan for the hat trick. He totaled 461 all-purpose yards, setting a Stanford record in a 41-22 win over Southern California Saturday for the Pac-12 championship.
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (5) stiff-arms Southern California linebacker Anthony Sarao (56) during a 10-yard touchdown run during the second half of a Pac-12 Conference championship NCAA college football game on Dec. 5, 2015, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez, The Associated Press)
How are Christian’s numbers on the year?
McCaffrey has carried the ball 319 times for 1,847 yards (second among FBS players) and eight TDs. He has 41 catches for 540 yards and four TDs. He leads the NCAA (regardless of division) with 3,496 all-purpose yards, which breaks Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old FBS record of 3,250. Sanders accomplished the feat in two fewer games. He’s also completed 2 of 3 passes for 39 yards and two TDs.
What the national media is saying
:
“If you look at it in a vacuum, any time you are mentioned in terms of breaking a record that Barry Sanders had during that amazing year at Oklahoma State, you just deserve the highest honors that we can give you in college football.”
:
“It seems a certainty — at the very least — that McCaffrey will be invited to New York for the ceremony. … McCaffrey continues to eradicate doubters, none of whom populate the Stanford locker room or pretty much any locker room that has opposed him this season.”
:
“Go ahead and book those tickets. The only question left is if he’ll have some additional luggage on the way back to Palo Alto. It certainly won’t be for a lack of effort against the Trojans.”
