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Did Christian McCaffrey have the best season of any college running back ever?
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey finished second in the Heisman Trophy race, but he may have just completed the best season of any college running back ever.
According to the website Pro Football Focus, McCaffrey's record-setting 2015 season was one of the best season any college running back has ever had. The sophomore set an NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards with 3,864, breaking Barry Sanders' record of 3,250.
Here is what Pro Football Focus had to say about McCaffrey's season:
Do you remember Melvin Gordon at Wisconsin last year? He was unstoppable. In Week 14 of 2014 against Nebraska, he ran for what was at the time an NCAA record 408 yards en route to 2,587 yards on the year. He had the most yards of any running back in college football history other than the great Barry Sanders in 1988. Gordon led all running backs with a season grade of +31.7..
In 2015, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey made Gordon look like he was running in snow pants. By virtually every metric, McCaffrey had one of the most historic seasons we’ve ever seen. He shattered Barry Sanders’ all-purpose yards record by 614 yards (3,864). In the Rose Bowl, he was the first player in the bowl’s history to have 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving. In the end, he graded out to +51 — almost 20 points higher than Gordon’s terrific 2014 season. In addition, he received a grade of +16.5 as a kick and punt returner – good for second in the nation. He runs, he catches and he returns kicks at an elite level..
Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon finished second in the Heisman Trophy race in 2014 and had the second most rushing yards in a season in the history of college football (2,587). However, according to Pro Football Focus, McCaffrey's season was almost twice as good as Gordon's.
Maybe McCaffrey should have won the Heisman Trophy after all.
