Running backs finish 2016 season strong
At the midpoint of the 2016 season, the running back position was not in a good place.
Heisman candidates Christian McCaffrey of Stanford and LSU's Leonard Fournette were under performing and injured through their first five games, while powerhouse running schools Wisconsin and Notre Dame were not matching up with their reputations.
However, sports are always about averages and, more often than not, things work themselves out.
Through five games, McCaffrey was on pace to finish with 1,248 yards, while averaging 5.3 yards per-carry. Most running backs would take that, but when the Stanford product had rushed for 2,019 yards and averaged 6 yards-a-pop in 2015, that was a big disappointment.
McCaffrey did bounce back. After missing the Cardinal's next game against Notre Dame, he rushed for 1,083 yards in six games - including 488 in his final two. That had him finish the regular-season with 1,603 rushing yards (7th in FBS) and a career best 6.3 yards per-carry and eight touchdowns.
It should not come as a shock that Stanford went 5-1 over that span, compared to a 3-2 record to start the season.
Fournette never did recover from a multitude of injuries, as he missed five games and announced he would not play in LSU's bowl game, ending his college career. Still, in seven games Fournette rushed for 843 yards and a one-time school record of 284 yards against Ole Miss.
Derrius Guice picked up the slack left by Fournette, breaking Fournette's single-game record by rushing for 285 yards against Texas A&M in the regular-season finale and leading the Tigers with 1,249 yards and an eye-pooping 8 yards per-carry.
After finishing 8th, 11th, 8th, and 3rd in the FBS in rushing as a team from 2010-13, Wisconsin fell to 88th in 2014 and 78th last year. This year, the Badgers jumped to 42nd, led by Corey Clement and his 1,304 yards and 14 touchdowns following a slow start.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame averaged just under 2,300 rushing yards as a team over the past four seasons, but were on pace for under 1,800 yards in 2016 through five games. The Fighting Irish improved on that number during their chaotic season, rushing for 1,960 to end the year.
In a season that saw San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey break Ron Dayne's career rushing record and D'Onta Foreman burst onto the scene at Texas, everything else seemed to go as planned after a rocky start.
Funny how sports work out that way.