The finalists for the 2015 All-Bilo FBS Running Back of the Year Award are:
Leonard Fournette, LSU
Fournette's torrid early season pace was bound to slow down somewhat, but at times, I had not seen a running back in college football play like he had since Bo Jackson at Auburn in the mid-80s. Fournette finished the season with 300 carries (5th) for 1953 yards (3rd). He averaged 6.51 yards every time he was handed the football on run plays, and scored 22 times on run plays (4th). His 25 carries per game ranked 3rd, and he led the nation with 162.75 yards per game on the season. He added 19 receptions for 253 yards and one score.
Derrick Henry, Alabama
Henry won the Heisman Trophy, but that is no lock for this award, and does not go into consideration. Henry did lead the nation with 395 carries, and rushed for 2219 yards, also a national best, and scored 28 rushing TDs (1st). He averaged 26.33 carries per game (2nd) and averaged 147.93 yards per game (2nd). Henry was not a receiving threat after having caught just 11 passes for 91 yards on the season.
Christian McCaffery, Stanford
McCaffery was the best Stanford back since Toby Gerhart took his talents to the NFL. He rushed for 2019 yards (2nd) on 337 carries (2nd), and averaged 5.99 yards per carry on the year. He rushed for just 8 TDs on the season, averaged 24.07 carries per game, and 144.21 yards per game, He added 45 receptions for 645 yards and 5 TDs, including a 75 yard reception to open scoring in the Rose Bowl, and added an additional 1070 yards on kick returns this season, giving him over 3000 total yards for the year, breaking the all-time all-purpose yardage record of Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders.
And the winner is...
Christian McCaffery, Stanford
The only thing holding McCaffery back from winning the Heisman was SEC bias and the several 10:30 EST kickoffs that killed east coast viewing. Most of the nation never got an eye full of McCaffery until the clinic he put on at the Rose Bowl in the crushing win over Iowa, where he once again broke several long standing records in that win. McCaffery should be the odds on favorite for the award in 2016.
Congratulations to Christian, and to Stanford University for winning this award!
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