After missing Stanford’s big win over Notre Dame, Christian McCaffrey will return to the Cardinal’s lineup as they take on Colorado in Pac-12 action.
After a promising start to the season, Stanford have fallen on hard times. Ever since their 44-6 loss to Washington, All-American running back Christian McCaffrey has fallen further out of the Heisman conversation. McCaffrey followed up that game with an even worse outing against Washington State when he had 35 yards on eight carries. He even had to leave the game, and subsequently missed Stanford’s next contest against Notre Dame.
While Notre Dame are an abysmal 2-5 this year, a win over a rival on national TV always carries a lot of weight, and they needed it after two straight conference losses.
Returning to the Pac-12 against a surprising 5-2 Colorado team, Stanford needs all the help they can get. But they will get a big boost with two returning stars in Christian McCaffrey and Alijah Holder:
.@CMccaffrey5 and @alijahholder96 will both return to action today for Stanford, announced by @CoachDavidShaw. #GoStanford #BeatCU pic.twitter.com/jsLDgOkwQI
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) October 22, 2016
In McCaffrey’s absence, Stanford’s running game actually didn’t miss much of a beat. Bryce Love filled in admirably, finishing with 129 yards on 23 carries. While that may not seem that impressive given how poorly Notre Dame has played, their defense has improved considerably since firing Brian VanGorder.
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We thought we might see another Derrius Guice situation developing, but like with LSU, you have to play Christian McCaffrey if he’s available. The Notre Dame win gave Stanford something to rally around, and they must capitalize on it with a win over Colorado. Given how out of favor he’s fallen in the Heisman conversation, expect McCaffrey to go off too, as a way of reminding people he’s still here.