Christian McCaffrey Should Win the Heisman if Stanford Makes the Playoff

Many experts picked Stanford as one of the sleepers to make the College Football Playoff before the 2015 campaign even began. Currently sitting at 6-1 with the No. 10 spot in the rankings, it appears that prediction could come to fruition.

If that happens, you have to think running back Christian McCaffrey will have done more than enough to win the 2015 Heisman Trophy.

Sure, many will say that he hasn’t been as dominant as LSU running back Leonard Fournette. To those folks, I certainly understand where they’re coming from. However, I don’t think that Fournette has been as valuable to his team as McCaffrey has to his.

Since emerging as a superstar in the early weeks of the season, McCaffrey has done anything and everything for the Cardinal. Whether it’s picking up big yards on the ground, making big plays in the passing game or setting his offense up with good field position in the return game, he’s been a jack of all trades for Stanford. Fournette may be a dominant running back who has carried the load for the Tigers, but he doesn’t offer the same value as McCaffrey.

That’s why, if the Cardinal make the playoff, McCaffrey deserves to hoist the Heisman Trophy. He’s easily been one of the best players in the nation this season, and has helped Stanford go from a disappointment after a Week 1 letdown to a serious contender heading into Week 9. On top of that, he wasn’t exactly touted as an elite talent (like Fournette), and fans love a good underdog story.

This certainly won’t be a popular opinion, but it’s one that needs to be voiced. If McCaffrey can get the Cardinal to the Playoff, there’s no denying that he deserves college football’s most iconic award.