Expanding Key Area of Auburn Offense Pivotal to Win in Iron Bowl

The Auburn Tigers will have to keep Alabama guessing if they want to win on Saturday, and opening up this part of their game will be crucial

Auburn has multiple players who can help get this part of the offense going | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.- The Auburn Tigers (5-6) are set to take on the 10th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the 90th rendition of the Iron Bowl this Saturday evening in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn has relied heavily on its run game this year, and interim head coach DJ Durkin knows it is important to continue to do what has worked for Auburn at a consistent level. 

"The running game will be critical, Durkin stated on Monday afternoon in his weekly press conference. “We need to establish our run game. That's the thing for us, we feel that we always need to do. It gives you an advantage in the game. I feel like our running backs will be ready to go, and we have a good plan for them. I think, obviously, Deuce [Knight] had a lot of the rushing yards in [the Mercer] game. Some of it was designed that way, some of it wasn't."

The Auburn rushing attack currently ranks 43rd in the country, averaging 179.1 rushing yards per game. The leading rusher for the Tigers is Jeremiah Cobb, who has 936 yards on 165 carries and four touchdowns on the year. Cobb was slightly banged up in Auburn’s last matchup against Mercer. Despite this, he will still play against Alabama on Saturday.

The quarterback run game has been just as important for Auburn offensively, despite the quarterback rushing numbers not being as high as Cobbs. The next three leading rushers for Auburn are all quarterbacks, including Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels, and now Knight. 

Arnold leads the team with rushing touchdowns, having eight on the season. The Auburn passing attack has revitalised itself over the last two weeks with Derrick Nix calling the offensive shots, but the rushing attack from running backs took a slight blow against Mercer. 

Against the Bears, Auburn running backs accounted for just 67 total rushing yards. But it was overlooked due to Knight rushing for 162 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the matchup, and the Tigers came out as victors. 

It will be important for Auburn to fix the run game with the running backs during the week and come out physical against Alabama. The Iron Bowl is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ABC.