RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day Three: The night Christian McCaffrey became a star (2015)
A performance that launched a run at the Heisman.
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Welcome to day three of Running Back Respect Month! Yesterday, Fred Taylor and Florida spoiled Florida State's national championship dreams in 1997. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:
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Today: Christian McCaffrey vs. UCLA (2015)
RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day three: Christian McCaffrey vs. UCLA (2015)
Stanford entered the 2015 season at a crossroads. After a four-year streak of making a BCS bowl, the Cardinal failed to live up to their preseason No. 11 ranking in the first year of the College Football Playoff. They finished 2014 with an 8-5 record, and a rough 1-4 mark against ranked opponents. One of their most glaring issues was an inability to run the ball the way they had in the past. In 2014, the Cardinal averaged just 158.8 yards rushing per game (72nd nationally) - down almost a full 50 yards from 2013 (207.4). Shockingly, no Stanford rusher broke the 100-yard mark all season, including freshman Christian McCaffrey. If the Cardinal were to become Pac-12 contenders again in 2015, the first thing they had to do was re-ignite the running game into the dominant force it was from 2008 to 2013.
Early returns weren't great. The Cardinal lost 16-6 at Northwestern in the season-opener, gaining a mere 85 yards on the ground. McCaffrey had 66 yards on just 12 carries, but was also responsible for one of two Stanford turnovers. I remember there being at least somewhat of a national conversation afterwards that Stanford's glory days might be over for good. A 31-7 win over UCF the next week was a nice rebound, although they only ran for 130 yards on 41 attempts (3.2). Then –out of nowhere– everything clicked.
Visiting LA as a double-digit underdogs, Stanford stunned No. 6 USC, 41-31. McCaffrey ran for 115 yards on 26 carries, while backfield mate Remound Wright scored three touchdowns on the ground. McCaffrey followed that up by ripping off 206 yards at Oregon State, then 156 against Arizona. Stanford had finally rediscovered their identity, and McCaffrey was quickly becoming a household name. With the Cardinal now 5-1 and ranked 15th, a Thursday night ESPN showdown with No. 18 UCLA was their chance to officially re-enter the top tier of the Pac-12. It was also McCaffrey's opportunity to become more than just someone the average football fan saw on TV and said, "Hey, that's Ed McCaffrey's son. Cool!"
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McCaffrey made sure people knew exactly who he was against the Bruins, gaining 369 all-purpose yards, and scoring four touchdowns in a 56-35 blowout win:
The thing I love most about this performance is how well it's aged. The stuff McCaffrey did against UCLA is what he's done for a decade now against NFL defenses. He flashed his game-breaking ability with a 70-yard TD run out of the Wildcat. The play was designed to go left. McCaffrey saw a backside opening and ripped it:
