It took more than two decades and two extra games to knock Barry Sanders off the top of the record book, but Stanford's Christian McCaffrey broke through in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Saturday.
McCaffrey broke the former Detroit Lions star's NCAA record for all-purpose yardage in a single season, which has stood since Sanders amassed 3,250 yards in 1988. The versatile running back even threw a touchdown pass against USC in the game. He tied the record with a 31-yard punt return and broke it with a 2-yard rush. McCaffrey finished the game with 461 all-purpose yards: 207 rushing, 105 receiving, 120 on kickoff returns and 29 in punt returns.
Former Stanford defensive back Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks took notice:
McCaffrey now has 3,496 all-purpose yards on the season. The sophomore could be selected as a Heisman Trophy finalist when the cut is announced on Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
His primary backup is Sanders' son, Barry Jr., who has 312 yards on the year.
McCaffrey wasn't the only college back to break a decades-old record Saturday. Alabama's Derrick Henry broke Herschel Walker's SEC record for single-season rushing yards. Like McCaffrey's, Henry's record required more games (13) than Sanders and Walker needed to set the mark.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
