Auburn was able to pick up the 45-13 win over Samford Saturday night in a soldout Jordan-Hare Stadium. While the Tigers were able to get their passing attack going for the first time this season, their running backs went silent.
The foursome of [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag], [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] managed just 3.1 yards per carry against a Samford defense that allowed 284 yards on the ground to Western Carolina last week.
The group did not manage a single explosive run, their longest run of the night went for nine yards. Hunter led the group with 37 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
“I thought we left some yards out there in the rushing game, particularly in the first half,” Hugh Freeze said after the game. “I thought the backs didn’t press it enough. The second half, I thought they were better. I like all those guys. We left some yards out there”
He pointed out Samford was focused on stopping the run and that allowed Auburn to have more success throwing the ball.
“They wanted to stop the run and played an odd front with both safeties, they were really active in the box, thus the explosive plays (through the air).”
Quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] was Auburn’s most effective runner, rushing for a career-high 123 yards and two touchdowns, making Auburn’s rushing numbers look much better.
The running backs rarely had room to operate as Auburn’s offensive line was unable to generate any push against the Samford defensive front. Their inability to run the ball proved costly in key situations.
Auburn went for it on 4th-and-2 in Samford’s red zone early in the second quarter but Alston was met in the backfield by the Samford defense and Auburn turned it over on downs, costing them points.
The running back room entered the season as the unquestioned strength of the offense but they have now struggled in back-to-back weeks and now face several questions, as does the offensive line’s ability to block for them.