We’re just a couple of weeks from the Pac-12’s all-conference teams being announced. And with those comes the recognition of the league’s offensive player of the year, the Pat Tillman defensive player of the year and the league’s coach of the year. All awards are voted on by the league’s coaches.
As the season winds down, we thought we’d toss our thoughts out there. First we’ll cover offense, Wednesday defense and Thursday coach of the year.
Chantel Jennings: This is a tough one because there are so many talented offensive players in the Pac-12. Last year, Marcus Mariota was far and away the favorite and I don’t think anyone is quite at his level this season, but there’s a handful of players not too far behind. That said, I’m sticking with the Ducks and saying that this year’s offensive player has to be Oregon running back Royce Freeman.
The sophomore is fifth nationally in total rushing yards, second nationally in yards per rush (for backs with 200-plus carries) and he leads the conference in rushing touchdowns. All of this in a season in which the country -- particularly the Pac-12 -- is stacked with talented backs.
He has racked up most of these statistics relatively quietly because of the Ducks’ early struggles and the fact that they haven’t been nationally relevant until recently. He’s better this year than he was last despite the fact that his job this season has been much more difficult.
A season ago, defenses had to worry about Mariota slinging it down the field or taking off by foot. Because of that they couldn’t really key in on Freeman. This season, he has been the focal point. And despite defenses keying on him as the Ducks struggled through a first-year quarterback (and then two backups), he has been that much more effective for a team that needed a consistent offensive threat. He has been it.
David Lombardi: He certainly faces stiff competition to earn this claim, but Christian McCaffrey is the most versatile offensive weapon in the Pac-12. I realize that Utah’s Devontae Booker or even Oregon’s Royce Freeman may dispute that statement -- and those two running backs can make a strong argument for themselves -- but the scope of McCaffrey’s workload has exceeded that of all his peers, so he deserves offensive player of the year recognition.
McCaffrey leads the Pac-12 with 1,721 yards from scrimmage, and that may be argument enough for him to receive this award. But don’t forget that he’s amassed the gaudiest offensive stats in the conference while also returning punts and kicks for the Cardinal. This work has earned McCaffrey a large national lead in all-purpose yardage.
The extra load theoretically should slow him down -- most players wouldn’t be able to crunch their way in between the tackles immediately after sucking through oxygen on a full-speed kick return. But for some reason, that isn’t the case with McCaffrey. He’s shown the ability to be explosive, nifty and powerful whenever the situation calls for it, and the word “tired” doesn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.
“He doesn’t have an off button,” Stanford coach David Shaw said.
And that “always on” mentality extends to every single facet of McCaffrey’s game: He’s also a great pass protector who features a masterful knowledge of the playbook, which has helped the Cardinal get out of a bind on more than one occasion this season. Stanford’s offense leads the Pac-12 in conference play, so it only makes sense that its centerpiece receives this honor. McCaffrey has shown to be the ultimate Swiss Army knife this year, successfully executing the long list of tasks the Cardinal have given him.
Oh, and he’s run for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and thrown for a touchdown this season.
Kevin Gemmell: I must admit, I’m a little surprised. I thought by the time this got around to me, I’d have nothing left to say because the two of you would have used up all of the good material on Washington State quarterback Luke Falk, who in my mind is the clear front-runner.
I’m not going to use this space to downgrade Freeman or McCaffrey, two outstanding players with next-level talent who are freakishly good at what they do. But we’re talking offensive player of the year. Not best running back, not Mr. Versatile and not Mr. Durable.
And when offense is the only topic on the table, the name of the game is putting up points. And no one in the league has been more prolific at that than Falk. He’s accounted for 38 touchdowns -- 35 in the air and three on the ground. McCaffrey and Freeman have accounted for 23 touchdowns combined. Both deserve to be all-conference. But Falk has 15 more touchdowns than the two of them put together.
Falk ranks third nationally in points responsible for (228). Freeman (84) is tied for 110th and McCaffrey doesn't make the top 200.
Would it surprise you to know, too, that Washington State isn’t passing the ball as much as it did through the first 10 games of last season? There’s been a drop-off of six percentage points (76 last year, 70 this year) and yet Falk already has set the school’s single-season touchdown mark with two regular-season games to play.
He's doing it cleaner and more efficiently than in the past. And it’s not because WSU is running out the clock at the end of games. Lord knows that’s not the reason. Mike Leach can be maddening to watch in the closing minutes of a game.
But for better or worse, it’s his madness. And from the depths of that madness comes a player who leads nearly every quarterback category (70.3 completion percentage, 4,067 passing yards, 35:8 ratio) in a quarterback-driven league.
The team success is there and the statistical success is undeniably the best in the league. This one felt like a no-brainer to me.