Ole Miss has spent much of this season trying to figure out how to stop opposing running backs.
That challenge isn’t going away, but the Rebels’ biggest rushing concern this week plays quarterback.
Auburn’s Byrum Brown isn’t just capable of running the football. He’s pretty good at it and is the Tigers’ leading rusher through seven games, and it’s not particularly close.
Brown has rushed for 479 yards and six touchdowns on 126 carries. Running back Jeremiah Cobb is second with 320 yards, while Omar Mabson II has added 240.
That creates an interesting problem for an Ole Miss defense that has already had more than its share of problems stopping the run.
The Rebels enter Saturday’s game allowing 161.1 rushing yards per game, which ranks last in the SEC and 94th nationally. And unlike some of the running backs they’ve struggled against, Brown can hurt them even when Auburn calls a passing play.
That’s what makes him especially dangerous.
There’s the designed quarterback running game, where Ole Miss must account for Brown as another potential ball carrier. Then there’s what happens when the Rebels successfully cover Auburn’s receivers, only for Brown to escape the pocket and turn a potential defensive stop into another first down.
Pete Golding knows both possibilities have to be accounted for.
“Obviously, there’s quarterback-designed runs and then the ability to extend the play,” Golding said Monday. “But the key to the drill, to me, is you’ve got to eliminate the quarterback run game.”
Auburn’s upset victory over then-No. 1 Georgia two weeks ago demonstrated what happens when Brown gets going.
He rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, becoming just the second Auburn quarterback in 40 years to rush for at least 100 yards against Georgia.
A week later, LSU provided a different example.
The Tigers limited Brown to 21 net rushing yards on 19 carries, sacking him six times in a 38-17 victory. Brown still broke loose for a 34-yard scramble, but LSU largely kept him from controlling the game with his legs.
And that’s the challenge for Ole Miss. It isn’t necessarily about preventing Brown from running altogether. It’s about making sure those runs don’t consistently keep Auburn’s offense moving.
Interestingly, the Rebels already have some experience with that challenge this season.
Remember Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz?
In Ole Miss’ 41-38 season-opening victory, Kienholz led the Cardinals in rushing with 69 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss had some success containing him early. The Rebels recorded three sacks and limited Louisville to six first-half points.
But Kienholz became increasingly troublesome as the game progressed.
He broke loose for a 41-yard designed run in the third quarter, helping set up a Louisville field goal. Later, he extended a passing play before finding Lawayne McCoy for a 54-yard touchdown.
And with 1:28 remaining, Kienholz scored on a 7-yard quarterback run to tie the game at 38-38.
That’s a pretty good illustration of why defending a mobile quarterback requires more than simply getting pressure.
Brown presents a somewhat different challenge because Auburn relies more heavily on its quarterback in the designed running game.
Golding emphasized Monday that Ole Miss needs to create negative plays early and force Auburn into obvious passing situations.
“You’ve got to create some negative-yardage plays early to get them into obvious passing downs so you can change the picture and the coverage for him,” Golding said. “No different than every week in this league, to me, you’ve got to stop the run. I think there’s a little more quarterback-designed run than we’ve seen this year up to this point.”
That’s easier said than done against a quarterback who can turn those passing situations into running opportunities.
And for an Ole Miss defense still searching for consistency after excellent performances against Vanderbilt and Missouri were followed by another difficult outing against Texas, Brown represents another significant test.
The Rebels have already seen what happens when a mobile quarterback finds room to run.
Now they have to demonstrate they’ve learned something from it.
