Thoughts on our running game...

[StatTiger 3,188]

Since 1987, 13 of the last 19 Auburn offenses have reached 250-yards rushing at least one time during the season. We were unable to reach this mark in 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001. The combined record of those six teams was 42-26-3. The combined record of the 13 teams capable of rushing for at least 250 yards in one game was 107-38-1.

I do realize rushing for 390 yards against Ball State did not resolve our rushing problems but I do believe it shows potential. Don’t forget, the 2001 team rushed for only 142 yards against Ball State. With this in mind I sorted the 13 teams, which reached the 250 rushing mark at least one time, dropping the best and worst rushing-game of the season.

After dropping the best and worst rushing games of the season, here are our rushing averages for those years. Next to the averages is the pct of yardage the “rush-offense” accounted for that particular season.

1988: 213.6 ( 49.4% )

1989: 183.8 ( 48.1% )

1991: 168.3 ( 48.8% )

1992: 155.4 ( 47.4% )

1993: 227.1 ( 52.6% )

1994: 198.2 ( 46.6% )

1995: 192.8 ( 42.7% )

1996: 166.4 ( 39.6% )

2000: 157.5 ( 45.8% )

2002: 199.9 ( 52.6% )

2003: 176.7 ( 48.9% )

2004: 184.2 ( 43.6% )

So far this season, our rushing offense has accounted for 43.5% of our total yardage. This is on track with the 2004 season, which is why I believe our running game doesn’t need to post huge numbers for our offense to be efficient. As I’ve stated before, the quality of our running game is more important in Borges’ offense than the quantity. Looking back at the 1988, 1989, 1991, 2002 and 2003 seasons, you can see how reliant on the running game each offense was. The 91 offense was just about as reliant on the running game as the 1988 team but our rushing average dropped 46 yards per game and so did our record ( 10-2 to 5-6 ).

Last year against the four top-ten defenses we faced, Auburn ran the ball 63.3% of the time. We only averaged 125.2 yards rushing but it was enough to keep the opposing defenses honest. The 501 yards rushing gained against those 4 top defense accounted for only 38.5% of our total yardage. I believe the same will hold true for 2005.

Thoughts?