LITTLE ROCK — Auburn’s running game features a Heisman Trophy candidate, a player who broke Bo Jackson’s freshman rushing record and another who leads the nation in yards percarry.
Alabama counters with a Heisman winner and a backup who might be just as dangerous when healthy.
Tigers quarterback Cam Newtonand Crimson Tide tailback Mark Ingram are merely the headliners Friday in a showcase of two formidable, butaltogether different, ground games.
Welcome to the ground game portion of the 2010 Iron Bowl.
“We’ve talked about Cam,” Tide linebacker Dont’a Hightower said, “but they have other guys.”
It all starts with the apparent Heisman front-runner Newton for second-ranked Auburn (11-0, 7-0). The quarterback hasrun for a league-leading 1,297 yards and 17 touchdowns while ranking second nationally in pass efficiency.
Alongside him the backfield is Michael Dyer (Little Rock Christian) - a compact, powerful runner built like Ingram. Dyer’s 859 yards is sixth-best nationally among freshman runners and tops the school freshman mark previously held by Jackson, the 1985 Heisman winner.
The Tigers also feature slender speedster Onterio McCalebb, who can race to the perimeter on a sweep. His 8.76-yard average per carry is first among the nation’s top 100 rushers.
The trio has forged the nation’s No. 3 rushing attack, and creates challenges for Alabama’s defense.
“This takes a lot of discipline for everybody to do exactly what they’re supposed to do and be where they’re supposed to be, because they attack the perimeter just as effectively as they do the interior,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said. “On every play, you’ve got to be sound in every area.”
To top it off, Auburn’s diverse group of runners practice their craft behind an offensive line that has logged 153 career starts collectively.
Alabama’s backfield doesn’t have the same versatility, but it’s potent nonetheless.
Especially if Trent Richardson, as expected, is able to return after a knee injury has sidelined him the past two games. Ingram missed thefirst two contests of the season following knee surgery.
B oth have had solid, but unspectacular seasons. Nonetheless, they’re the same backs who comprised the preseason first-team All-SEC backfield.
And they might have a grudge. Auburn held Ingram to 30 yards on 16 carries last season and Richardson wasn’t much more successful.
“They shut down the running game completely,” said Ingram, who salvaged his Heisman hopes with a big SEC championship game. “The backs have a little chip on our shoulders, a little edge.”
Alabama hasn’t been able to consistently wear out defenses between the tackles like the Tide did last season, often behind All-America left.
But Auburn defenders are still wary of the Tide’s backs, though.
“You’ve got two tremendous backs like Ingram and Richardson, and we know they’re going to come in and run the football,” Tigers linebacker Josh Bynes said. “We’ve been pretty good at stopping the run this year, but at the same time we know what Alabama’s built off of. ... We know just like we had to play last year, we had to stop the run to at least keep the game in goods hands.
“I think if we do that we’ll control the ballgame.”
Sports, Pages 29 on 11/25/2010