Auburn's Rushing Attack Stifled in Loss to Oklahoma

During the Auburn Tigers' 24-17 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, the Auburn rushing attack was bottled up to the point it felt as if the run game was completely abandoned. Auburn took a pass-heavy approach coming into this matchup, a detrimental decision for an offense that has been known for running the football all season.

“I thought both defenses stopped the run pretty dang good,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s something you want to stay committed to because you saw what happens when you get a two minute drill and they can pin their ears back. So you’re constantly trying to balance that.”

The Auburn rushing attack, which usually averages 242 rushing yards per game, only accounted for 67 rushing yards on 36 total rushing attempts.

Quarterback Jackson Arnold alone had 21 carries but finished in the negative in rushing yards, that number being -11. Granted, nine of those carries were technically sacks, but on his 12 non-sack carries, he rushed for 33 yards.

Jeremiah Cobb led the team in rushing yards, having 61 yards on six carries. He had an explosive 44-yard run in the middle of the third quarter which set the Tigers up in field goal range. Auburn then proceeded to throw three straight incompletions before kicker Connor Gibbs missed a 50-yard field goal.

Cobb did not have nearly as many rushing attempts as he had in previous matchups after having 19 carries against South Alabama and 11 against Ball State. 

Originally starting running back Damari Alston made his return to the lineup this week alongside Cobb, having seven carries for 25 yards. Alston was relatively contained as much as the next person. The only rushing touchdown that came from the Auburn rushing attack was from wide receiver Malcolm Simmons. 

The lack of rushing against Oklahoma allowed the Sooner defense to have their way with the Auburn offense. 

“You’re staying balanced with trying to have some efficient runs to get you on track, along with your drop back passes," Freeze said. "And like Jackson (Arnold) said, some drives we were pretty efficient at doing that, and then others we weren't, like when they won first down.”

More often than not, the offensive play-calling attempted to get Arnold on a designed quarterback run play that the defense just did not give up. The lack of rushing offense showed some severe weaknesses in the Auburn offensive attack. 

The Tigers have a chance to redeem their rushing numbers next Saturday, when Auburn heads to a hostile environment for the second week in a row to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. 

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