Stanford's Christian McCaffrey Belongs in Heisman Trophy Conversation

It’s time for the college football world to wake up and acknowledge that the Stanford Cardinal have a true star in running back Christian McCaffrey.

Coming into the 2015 season, not too many people outside of Palo Alto even knew who the sophomore runner was. McCaffrey, the son of former NFL great Ed McCaffrey, showed serious potential as a freshman, racking up 300 rushing yards on only 43 carries while amassing 251 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver. Now he’s the Cardinal’s starter, and he’s making the most of the opportunity.

Heading into Thursday’s showdown with the UCLA Bruins, he had racked up 601 rushing yards (5.7 yards per carry), 168 receiving yards and two total touchdowns. Although his touchdown total was low — short-yardage back Remound Wright had already vultured several, including six from one yard out — McCaffrey had shown excellent vision, versatility and explosiveness for Stanford’s offense. He went into the week with the 21st highest yardage total in the country, but hadn’t yet earned serious Heisman Trophy consideration.

And then, the UCLA game happened.

All game long, the Cardinal leaned on McCaffrey, who did everything in his power to win voters over. Going against the No. 18 Bruins’ more-than-capable defense, he racked up 243 rushing yards (a Stanford single-game record) and four touchdowns (tied for a Stanford single-game record) — before all was said and done, he had 369 all-purpose yards. He was elusive yet powerful, showing excellent burst out of his cuts and a keen feel for where the hole in the defense was.

On top of all of that, he answered questions about his speed, evidenced by this impressive 70-yard burst for his third touchdown of the game.

McCaffrey being McCaffrey. Watch on @espn. #GoStanford #BeatUCLA pic.twitter.com/c40NzE2zdx

— Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) October 16, 2015

Put simply, McCaffrey showed that he’s ready to wear the “superstar” label — and with that comes Heisman consideration.

That’s not to say he should be ranked ahead of LSU‘s Leonard Fournette (yet), who has been an absolute stud all season long. But in the grand scheme of things, there’s nothing any pundit can say that would disqualify McCaffrey from being in the Heisman conversation. Don’t even try, because you’ll just look stupid.

Stanford may have suffered a tough opening-week loss to Northwestern, but they’ve quickly made up ground and appear primed for a serious run at the Pac-12 Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff. If McCaffrey continues to play at the level we saw against UCLA, the road to the Pac-12 title will go through The Farm.

McCaffrey for Heisman? You’ve got my vote.