Auburn OC Joel Gordon Provides Update on Auburn’s Rushing Philosophy

The Tigers struggled to run the ball at times, but both of their scores came on the ground in their opening win of the season.

Auburn Tigers running back Jeremiah Cobb (23) runs the ball against the Baylor Bears in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From his very first press conference as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, Alex Golesh made it known that his offense would run the ball heavily throughout his tenure. However, against Baylor, the Tigers struggled to establish the rushing attack, which led to many offensive struggles throughout the game. 

On Monday, Auburn co-offensive coordinator Joel Gordon shed some light on exactly what went wrong with the Tigers’ rushing attack and explained what needs to change going forward.

“It didn't work out exactly like we wanted to,” Gordon said. “We've got to have better balance with who's touching it... That's a huge thing that we've got to fix.”

Perhaps the Tigers’ rushing struggles would not be so confusing–or frustrating–to Auburn fans if the team had adhered to the strategy that Golesh promised earlier in the offseason, which was to rotate RB1 and RB2 on a drive-to-drive basis, while working in RB3 when needed.

Instead, the Tigers seemed to rely almost solely on Jeremiah Cobb for the rushing attack, as he carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. Byrum Brown added 27 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, but after them, the depth that was supposed to control the game seemed nearly nonexistent. 

Omar Mabson, who was the Tigers’ RB2 coming into the game, carried the ball just five times for 19 total yards, while Baylor transfer Bryson Washington, who was competing for Mabson’s spot, carried the ball just once for seven yards.

Ironically, the Tigers’ top rusher by average, as well as longest rush, was a man who was not even present on the Tigers’ offensive depth chart before the game: Bryce Cain, who carried the ball once on a nice double-reverse play for 25 yards.

The good news for Tiger fans is this: the Tigers have a tune-up matchup this week against Southern Mississippi, which should be massively helpful as they look to figure out how exactly to establish their rushing game. I expect to see each of the three–Cobb, Mabson and Washington–receive a substantial amount of carries as the Tigers continue to figure out who will lead their attack into SEC play.

They’ll need to figure it out in a hurry, though, as the Florida matchup, which is scheduled for the week after, is already beginning to loom large on the horizon. 

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