AU FOOTBALL: Run defense a priority heading to Iron Bowl

A bevy of consistent inconsistencies emerge when the to-date performance of the Auburn defense is analyzed game by game.

Against Jarrett Brown and the West Virginia offense, it forced five interceptions — four coming in the fourth quarter. But when it faced one of the most turnover-prone offenses in the country last week at Georgia, it didn’t come away with a single takeaway.

In its third of three consecutive losses, the Tigers’ defense barely made LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson move out of the pocket, allowing him to pick apart Auburn’s secondary with a number of deep balls. One week later, it pressured Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead so much — three sacks, seven hurries and two interceptions — that he was kicking Auburn defensive end Antoine Carter out of frustration by the end.

Yet when the Auburn rush defense gets its turn under the microscope, there’s nothing but stability on the line graph.

It’s just not the kind of stability Gene Chizik and Ted Roof have been looking for.

Auburn is 10th in the SEC and 91st in the nation in rush defense. The total package, of course, has contributed to the Tigers’ allowing a program-worst 297 points this season, but their opponents’ ability to control the tempo on the ground — no matter how proficient its backs are — definitely merits a hearty share of the blame.

“We’ve got to correct our mistakes,” defensive tackle Mike Blanc said, “just the little things.”

It’s T-minus six days and counting before the Tigers get their toughest test to date against Heisman Trophy frontrunner Mark Ingram and the rest of Alabama’s vaunted running game.

Consider the last few days of practice and the week ahead as the equivalent of a last-minute cram session for one difficult final exam.

“They run the football pretty well,” Roof said. “You go back and use the time to go back and evaluate us, look at the 11 games they’ve got, take a step back and sort things out and then go back and evaluate, things of that nature.

“There are some things that we’ve identified that we need to go back and work on, and we’re going to continue do that.”

Care to share what those things might be?

“I’m not going to discuss that,” Roof said.

If he’s looking for moments where the Tigers have thrived against the run, there aren’t many, but the first quarter against Georgia is a start. That’s when the Tigers appeared to be on to something, limiting the Bulldogs to zero first downs and just 10 yards on the ground.

Like every other game, though, the unit’s ability to stop runs before they started evaporated with time.

The Bulldogs finished with 169 rushing yards, making them the ninth of 11 teams this season to put up more than 120 on the Tigers this season. Only Furman and Louisiana Tech have been unable to crack the century mark against Auburn.

“We know we all have to really improve our run defense,” Blanc said. “We know playing this game, against a great running team, it’s definitely something we’ve been working on getting better every day.”

How good is Alabama’s rushing attack? It’s only one spot behind Auburn in the national rankings.

Ingram has led the charge, plowing his way into Heisman talk as a sophomore with 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns. He still has today’s game against Chattanooga to pad those stats, but it’s likely he’ll get a half or more off before Friday’s Iron Bowl.

That’ll likely just set the stage for Ingram’s bevy of reliable backups, which includes highly touted freshman Trent Richardson and senior Roy Upchurch.

Alabama has yet to be held under 134 rushing yards in a game this season and has cracked 200 seven times.

“They’re just a good team, well put together,” Blanc said. “We’re going to go out there and do our best.”

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