Pac-12 Football: 2015 Midseason Awards

Editor's Note: This is the first of a weeklong series looking back at the first half of the ASU football season. We will be handing out individual awards, conference awards as well as positional grades throughout the bye week.

The Pac-12 is as interesting as it ever has been as we reach the midpoint in the 2015 college football season. There are plenty of talented players that have taken advantage of the opportunity to shine this year, and we decided it was only fair to honor their performances with our slew of midseason awards.

Take a look below to see who we named as the Pac-12 recipient for Offensvie Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player of the Year.

Offensive Player of the Year - Devontae Booker, RB - Sr. (Utah)

The senior has been the offensive anchor for the No. 3 Utes. His 783 rushing yards and 208 receiving yards have been the main reason for Utah's success on the offensive side of the ball, as the bell cow back currently ranks third in the Pac-12 in all-purpose yards (991).

Runner Ups

Royce Freeman, RB - Soph. (Oregon): Freeman leads the conference in rushing yards (997) and touchdowns (11 total—9 rush, 2 rec).

Jared Goff, QB - Jr. (California): arguably the best quarterback in the country, Goff ranks third in the Pac-12 in efficiency and second in yards per game (328.3).

Luke Falk, QB - Soph. (Washington State): hauling the Cougars to a 4-2 record, Falk leads the conference in passing yards per game (395.2).

Christian McCaffrey, RB - Soph. (Stanford): the do-it-all back has been a force for the surprisingly high-scoring Cardinal offense.

Defensive Player of the Year - Blake Martinez, LB - Sr. (Stanford)

Martinez leads the conference in total tackles (70) through six games. The leader of the Cardinal defense has also recorded an interception, five pass deflections, and 3.5 tackles for a loss.

Runner Ups

DeForest Buckner, DE - Sr. (Oregon): Buckner is second in the Pac-12 in sacks with five and has nine tackles for a loss.

Salamo Fiso, LB - Jr. (Arizona State): Fiso is tied for the most solo tackles in the country (50) and leads the conference in tackles for loss (13.5).

Gionni Paul, LB - R-Sr. (Utah): Paul is seventh in the conference in total tackles (50) and has a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, along with 3.5 tackles for a loss. 

Travis Feeney, LB - Sr. (Washington): Feeney is fifth in the conference in sacks (4.5) and fourth in tackles for loss (8.5). He's also forced a fumble and has notched 26 total tackles this season.

Freshman of the Year - Josh Rosen, QB - Fr. (UCLA)

Yes, he's struggled a bit since his furious start, but there have been more than enough flashes of what Rosen is capable of and will be doing during the latter years of his collegiate days. More importantly, of the three freshman quarterbacks starting for teams within the conference, he's been the best, throwing for 1,569 yards with 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Runner Ups

Cameron Smith, LB - Fr. (USC): the true freshman leads the Trojans in total tackles (53) and has registered a sack and a fumble recovery this season.

Myles Gaskin, RB - Fr. (Washington): is the nation's leading true freshman rusher (83 yds/game) and is eighth in the Pac-12 in rushing yards (498).

Iman Marshall, CB - Fr. (USC): Marshall has been a stalwart in the Trojans secondary, with an interception and three pass deflections to show for it.

Ronald Jones II, RB - Fr. (USC): despite being the team's third-string tailback, Jones has made valuable contributions in the running game, tallying a team-high 380 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Breakout Player of the Year - Christian McCaffrey, RB - Soph. (Stanford)

Stanford head coach David Shaw decided to take McCaffrey off of his leash, and it's paid dividends. He is currently third in the country in yards from scrimmage (169.3 per game), leads the nation in all-purpose yards (1,518), and is second in the conference in rushing yards (844).

Runner Ups

Luke Falk, QB - Soph. (Washington State): Falk has thrown for 2,731 yards, 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season while completing 72.3 percent of his passes. All of those numbers are better than his stats from 2014.

Marcus Williams, DB - Soph. (Utah): the country is now familiar with Williams, who leads the conference in interceptions (4).

Sidney Jones, DB - Soph. (Washington): Jones has followed up an impressive freshman campaign with an even better sophomore year. He's been a playmaker out of the secondary, having forced three fumbles, returned a fumble recovery for a score, defended four passes and intercepted another.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR - Soph. (USC): Smith-Schuster's stardom began last season as a true freshman, but he's already exceeded his first year totals in receiving yards, yards per catch and receiving touchdowns posting 758 yards and seven scores on 19.4 yards per catch (2nd in Pac-12). This all while also averaging 6.5 receptions a game (2nd in Pac-12) and 126.3 yards per game (1st in Pac-12). To boot, he has 794 all-purpose yards (4th in Pac-12).

Most Improved Player of the Year - Travis Wilson, QB - Sr. (Utah)

Wilson couldn't have been trusted with the ball in his hands last season, but 2015 has been a different story. He's completed 68 percent of his passes this year, and has helped the Utes to a 6-0 start. A more composed Wilson has been a bigger influence in his team succeeding than coercing its flaws, for the most part; something that could be disputed in years past.

Runner Ups

Pita Taumoepenu, DT- Jr. (Utah): he has surpassed his 2014 sack total in half as many games, leading the conference with six.

Ronnie Harris, CB - R-Sr. (Stanford): the fifth-year senior has taken advantage of his opportunity to start, leading the Pac-12 with nine passes defended.

Kevin Hogan, QB - Sr. (Stanford): he's been the conference's most efficient passer thus far after an up-and-down 2014 campaign.

Azeem Victor, LB - Soph. (Washington): tied for fourth in the conference in total tackles (53) after finishing with five total in 2014.