Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey deserves serious Heisman consideration

Reggie Bush ran away with the Heisman Trophy in 2005 when he spent all season running away with defenders.

Bush amassed 2,218 yards from scrimmage in that football season for Southern California, rushing for 1,740 yards and averaging an astonishing 8.7 per carry. He beat Texas quarterback Vince Young by more than 900 points in the voting.

Yes, Bush had to hand back the Heisman seven years later after being accused of breaking NCAA rules, but that's not the point. He was so dominant that season that Bush set the benchmark for what a Heisman season looks like.

Which brings us to Stanford's Christian McCaffrey. He's getting support in the Heisman race, but not nearly enough.

McCaffrey already has 2,174 yards from scrimmage, an average of 241.6 per game. He has rushed for 1,207 yards, caught 325 yards in passes and has 642 yards in returns.

Stanford still has games remaining against Oregon, California and Notre Dame and a possible Pac-12 Conference title game, an opportunity for the Cardinal to make a run at the College Football Playoff field and for McCaffrey to impress voters.

AROUND THE NATION — Just look at what happened at Missouri to see the power of sports. A movement was going nowhere to oust university president Tim Wolfe, who was accused of being too lax regarding racial concerns on campus. Players threatened to not take part in football activities, and coach Gary Pinkel tweeted on Sunday, "We are behind our players." Wolfe and chancellor R. Bowen Loftin resigned on Monday. … Look for a bunch of 5-7 teams to play in bowls because 55 schools have losing records. … It's not just that officiating has been sketchy this season, amazingly bad calls have been made at critical moments. Michigan State might be left out of the playoffs because an official on the field and one on the replay booth couldn't determine that a Nebraska player had gone out of bounds on his own and caught the winning touchdown pass.

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST — Boise State's conference hopes looked dead when the Broncos were routed 52-26 at Utah State on Oct. 16. But with the Aggies going down 14-13 on Saturday at New Mexico, that put Boise State back in control of their own destiny. The Broncos and Air Force are each 4-1 in conference play, and they meet Nov. 20 at Boise State. … Should Boise State win out and capture the Mountain Division, expect the Broncos to host the title game even if San Diego State, which is 5-0 in the MW, makes it through the West Division unscathed. The host is determined on higher ranking, Boise State (7-2) would have the edge over the Aztecs (6-3). That system is in place to increase the chances of sending a team to a New Year's Six game. … New Mexico's Bob Davie has to be considered for conference Coach of the Year. The Lobos (5-4, 3-2 MW) could make their first bowl since 2007. Davie, who took over a mess, was 11-26 in his first three seasons at New Mexico.

LV BOWL UPDATE — Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti talks the game's current picture. The bowl, which will be played Dec. 19 at Sam Boyd Stadium, has the first choice of the Mountain West or Brigham Young against the sixth selection of the Pac-12 Conference.

"It became even more interesting in the Mountain West's Mountain Division as Utah State's loss at New Mexico last weekend was a surprise. The fact that Air Force still plays both the Aggies and Boise State means things won't be settled for a while. Meanwhile, San Diego State at 5-0 in league play can get closer to clinching a spot in the conference title game. Half of the Pac-12 is already bowl-eligible and the more the better as far as our committee is concerned. The top half of the South Division is streaking while the bottom half is fighting for wins to get to the postseason. Some matchups we are looking at closely this week are USC at Colorado on Friday, and then Washington State at UCLA and Washington at Arizona State on Saturday. BYU, which is still in the equation here in Las Vegas, is 7-2 and will now get to play its neutral-site game versus Missouri as planned, which is a good thing for all involved."

MY FINAL FOUR — I vote in the Sweet 16 Poll organized by the Football Writers Association of America and the National Football Foundation. Here is my top four:

1. Baylor. Tempting to drop the Bears, but waiting to see how the schedule plays out.

2. Ohio State. Track record from last season gives the Buckeyes the benefit of the doubt.

3. Clemson. Has responded well to all the tests so far with a legitimate chance to go all the way.

4. Alabama. No team is playing better than the Crimson Tide, but docked because of earlier loss to Mississippi.

HEISMAN ODDS — Handicapper Bruce Marshall (goldsheet.com) provides Heisman Trophy odds each week:

Derrick Henry, Alabama 8-5

Leonard Fournette, Louisiana State 2-1

Deshaun Watson, Clemson 2-1

Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State 8-1

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma 11-1

Christian McCaffrey, Stanford 12-1

Greg Ward Jr., Houston 22-1

Dak Prescott, Mississippi State 25-1

Matt Johnson, Bowling Green 35-1

Keenan Reynolds, Navy 40-1

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65. He is first vice president of the Football Writers Association of America.