Heisman hindsight

Maybe the craziest thing about Christian McCaffrey’s 368-yard all-purpose yardage performance as Stanford beat Iowa 45-16 in the Rose Bowl today was that it wasn’t even his best game.

The Stanford sophomore piled up 461 yards to lead the Cardinal over USC 41-22 in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 5.

I thought that might be enough to get him the Heisman Trophy, especially since the voting was done that night. But, as you might know, Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman. Henry rushed for 2,061 yards and 25 touchdowns, and you couldn’t really say he’s undeserving … except for the presence of McCaffrey, who broke Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yardage record.

I doubt it would be changed since the Heisman is all about tradition, but the most outstanding player in college football would be more likely to win the award if they waited to vote until all the games are over, including bowls and playoff games.

If that were the case, McCaffrey would be the leader in the clubhouse. But if Henry were to rush for 200 yards or Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson account for five or six touchdowns in the championship game …