We tied with Auburn for 67th in the nation in rushing offense. Not incredible but not “absolutely pitiful”. In fact, we rushed for more yards per game than Clemson did.
Considering we ranked 120th in rushing in 2019 (now that’s what I call pitiful) a 53 spot jump in rushing offense is a significant improvement. If they can improve by even half that much this year, we’re talking about having one of the top offenses in college football.
i LOL'd at that comment too, and just scrolled by.
You don't run for 337 yards in a game against a pretty good G5 defense with an "absolutely pitiful" run game. But even if you want to completely discredit UAB, we ran for over 150 yards 6 times last year in 11 games.
2019 -- 4 times in 12 games
2018 -- 7 times in 12 games
2017 -- 5 times in 12 games
2016 -- 5 times in 12 games
2015 -- 1 time in 12 games
2014 -- 5 times in 12 games
Sure, the run game needs to be better. We all know that. We struggled at times, specifically against Clemson and in big spots when we needed to lean on it, most notably vs UNC. But it was much better than 2019 and certainly not absolutely pitiful.
And all of this with a new OC, new OL coach, late transfer in Jarrid Williams, injury to Donaldson, and no spring ball.
The next step, to me, is eliminating the massive amounts of TFLs we give up. We were 115th in the country last year, allowing almost 8 TFLs per game. Sacks are in that number as well, so that's not all on the run game, but still, FAR too many for a successful offense. That shows a lack of cohesion in your unit (allowing free rushers) and being beaten quickly at the point of attack.
29 teams averaged 5.0 YPC or better last year. I think if we can approach that number this season, we should be really good and I don't think it's an unattainable goal with the quality of backs and depth we have on the OL now.