aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Auburn Football Auburn’s run game has something to build on after first game Today 8:42 AM Sep 30, 2020; Auburn, AL, USA; Shaun Shivers (8) rushes 8 yards for the first down during the game between Auburn and Kentucky at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics By Giana Han Auburn’s run game was quiet against Kentucky, but coach Gus Malzahn drew positives from what the running backs showed. Following a season where they averaged 199 yards per game, the Tigers opened 2020 with just 91 rushing yards. Taking out quarterback Bo Nix’s five rushes and wide receiver Eli Stove’s carry, the running backs had just 50 rushing yards on 20 carries. However, the situation isn’t as bad as it seems at first glance. Taking out the sack, the two bad snaps and the kneels at the end of each half, Auburn averaged over four yards a carry. Malzahn pointed out that three different running backs got involved with the game. Junior Shaun Shivers rushed six times for 29 yards. Sophomore D.J. Williams had 21 yards on eight rushes and scored a touchdown. True freshman Tank Bigsby rushed for 15 yards on six attempts. As a group, they hit gaps well to start the game. They also played a clean game, holding onto the ball without fumbling. “Worm did a really good job early, and Tank came on, and D.J. did his thing, too,” Malzahn said. Auburn also has Mark-Antony Richards as an option. He didn’t rush Saturday but his teammates and coaches have spoken highly of his potential. Stove said he thinks he has a chance to be a “special” player. The running backs picked up those 50 yards as they ran behind an untested, inexperienced offensive line. Not only did the offensive line only have one returning starter, but Malzahn also said the team could not practice with a consistent starting five through camp. As a result, they continued to rotate once the game arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sep 30, 2020; Auburn, AL, USA; Shaun Shivers (8) rushes 8 yards for the first down during the game between Auburn and Kentucky at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics
AUGoo 2,703 Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 "The running backs picked up those 50 yards as they ran behind an untested, inexperienced offensive line" Does anyone else feel like this has been the story for the last 5 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr82b4au 5,576 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 9 hours ago, AUGoo said: Does anyone else feel like this has been the story for the last 5 years? It has been THE story. In my opinion it is the main reason that we fail when we play the big boys (most of the time). We have recruited extremely well in every other area except OL. It is the Gus kryptonite. I feel like if we had recruited well on the oline we would have made the playoffs a few times by now. That being said, I hope that this line does well and starts to gel. There are so many good stories with this crew and I really want them to succeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japantiger 4,117 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Giana Han doesn't know jack-s*** about football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copper4eva 106 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 10 hours ago, AUGoo said: "The running backs picked up those 50 yards as they ran behind an untested, inexperienced offensive line" Does anyone else feel like this has been the story for the last 5 years? More like last three years, but yes. Herb Hand did horrible damage to this OL in his two years. And JB Grimes, while I like him, is not exactly an elite coach. I will say I actually expect this OL to improve over last years at least. Some of the OL actually played really good. Like Brodarious Hamm was pretty solid. My big concern is the center position. Brahms is not good. Can Council not play center or something? Alec Jackson was also not great, I would be surprised to see him start again. Barring injuries of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 9 hours ago, copper4eva said: More like last three years, but yes. Herb Hand did horrible damage to this OL in his two years. And JB Grimes, while I like him, is not exactly an elite coach. They were both bad to begin with, and they were both hindered even further by their boss. Particularly in recruiting. What we were experiencing right now on offense might be pretty much the same thing that we experienced on defense in 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle 9,107 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 5 minutes ago, McLoofus said: They were both bad to begin with, and they were both hindered even further by their boss. Particularly in recruiting. What we were experiencing right now on offense might be pretty much the same thing that we experienced on defense in 2015. Fingers crossed on the last part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodford 3,732 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 23 hours ago, AUGoo said: "The running backs picked up those 50 yards as they ran behind an untested, inexperienced offensive line" Does anyone else feel like this has been the story for the last 5 years? Pretty much, outside a handful of games in 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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