Heisman watch: Why Christian McCaffrey should win the award
McCaffrey should be the Heisman winner because I believe no player has meant more to his team and been more versatile than McCaffrey. He can do it all and proved that in the Pac-12 title game against USC where he had 461 all-purpose yards, but also caught a touchdown pass, rushed for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass.
While the Pac-12 title game was McCaffrey’s showcase game, he’s been making plays like that all year. It’s just unfortunate that several of his games started between 8 and 10 p.m. on the East Coast and few voters stayed up to watch him.
If one is just looking at McCaffrey’s stats, his lack of touchdown production might be a red flag. While McCaffrey had a ton of yards between the goal lines, he often was replaced for bigger goal line backs, which hurt his scoring totals.
He also broke Barry Sanders’ single-season record for all-purpose yards (3,250) set in 1988. McCaffrey has 3,496 for the season.
Henry had a stellar game against LSU and upstaged LSU running back Leonard Fournette. And since that game, Henry’s kept up appearances and received an increased workload while Alabama quarterback Jacob Coker has struggled.
However, Henry might be a product of SEC lore. Yes, he rushed for 1,986 yards, which led the nation and both the Alabama and SEC record for yards, but he also had 20 more carries than Christian McCaffrey, who was 139 rushing yards behind him. Henry averaged 5.9 yards per carry, which was less than Fournette (6.4 yards per carry), Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliot (6.4) and well behind Florida State’s Dalvin Cook (7.9).
Henry has been a workhorse back and he’s the reason Alabama is in the College Football Playoff, but I’m not sure he’s as good overall as some of his running back counterparts.
Watson is the quarterback of the nation’s top team, which contributed to his high Heisman standing. His numbers were good this year, especially his completion percentage, which hovered around 70 percent. What was most impressive about Watson was his ability to be both a rushing and passing threat.
He really came on as a Heisman contender toward the end of the year, but did a lot of his damage against mediocre defenses. Among the Clemson final four opponents, Wake Forest had the best defense at No. 40 in total defense. Otherwise, both Syracuse and South Carolina ranked in the 90s nationally.
Watson gained a lot of national momentum with his 289 passing yards and three touchdowns and 131 rushing yards and two scores in the ACC title game against North Carolina, but the Tar Heels was one of the worst the Tigers faced at 100th in the country.
Here's Yahoo college football analyst Shaun King's Heisman pick:
