After rallying from a season-opening loss to win 12 of their final 13 games, Stanford stood alone atop the Pac-12 North Division in 2016. That included an 8-1 record against conference opponents. The Cardinal will have a difficult time repeating as Pac-12 champions after losing their starting quarterback this offseason but they have more than enough talent to accomplish that goal with one of the nation’s top running backs leading the way for them on offense. Here is a look at the four best preseason candidates to win Pac-12 North MVP.
RB: Christian McCaffrey
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford returns nine starters but they have questions at quarterback where Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns are battling for the opportunity to replace the departed Kevin Hogan as the starter. There will be growing pains regardless of whom wins the starting job so it will be that much more important for the Cardinal’s star running back to lead the way. McCaffrey registered an NCAA-record 3,864 total yards a year ago when he rushed for 20,19 yards and eight touchdowns while leading Stanford with 45 catches for 645 yards and five scores. An elusive, athletic big-play running back that is a threat to score whenever the ball is in his hands, McCaffrey will get every opportunity to match what he did a year ago as the most important player for the Cardinal.
RB: Royce Freeman
Oregon Ducks
McCaffrey isn’t the only Heisman trophy candidate at the running back position in the Pac-12 North heading in to this season. Freeman is coming off a year in which he averaged 6.5 yards per carry while rushing for 1,836 yards and 17 touchdowns and the potential is there for him to threaten the 2,000-yard mark again in 2016. The Ducks offense went astray a little bit last year but could very well be back among the best if they stay healthy.
The Ducks have an intriguing blend of talent on offense including Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop at the quarterback position but ultimately, it will be Freeman that leads the way as their most explosive threat on that side of the football.
QB: Luke Falk
Washington State Cougars
Washington State led the entire country in passing yards a year ago with an average of 389.2 per game and there is every reason to expect them to register similar numbers in 2016. There’s one reason for that: head coach Mike Leach.
The Cougars’ junior quarterback is coming off a year in which he threw for 4,561yards and 38 touchdowns compared to only eight interceptions and his numbers would have been even better if he didn’t miss parts of three games because of injuries. Falk has the potential to be even more efficient with another year of experience in the Air Raid offense. If he is good enough, then Washington State could be a legitimate sleeper pick to contend for a Pac-12 championship. Nobody is really taking them seriously just yet but they look like they have the potential to be a Top 25 team this season.
QB: Davis Webb
California Golden Bears
The Texas Tech graduate transfer Webb is experienced in the type of Air Raid offense that head coach Sonny Dykes runs and that should lead to a smooth transition at California this season. Webb threw for 2,718 yards and 20 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions as a freshman with the Red Raiders before losing his starting job to Patrick Mahomes but he will be the unquestioned No. 1 with the Golden Bears. He will have a ton of talent around him to maximize his potential. To those who thought that the Golden Bears might fall off after quarterback Jared Goff was drafted with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, they might not want to make any assumptions. Coach Dykes has adjusted on the fly.
Webb might not get the same recognition as some of the other names on this list heading in to the season but look for him to quickly make a name for himself as the leader of the California offense in 2016. In Dykes offense, he’ll pile up plenty of stats and look very good in the box scores.
