For the first time this season, LSU will face an opponent with an equally formidable offensive backfield.
The Tigers’ trio of sophomore running backs, along with senior dual-threat quarterback Jordan Jefferson and freshmen running backs Kenny Hilliard and Terrence Magee, have lit up the field, punching in touchdowns left and right.
Sophomore Spencer Ware has earned a reputation as a bruiser that will bowl over opponents regardless of their size, while fellow sophomores Michael Ford and Alfred Blue provide blazing speed to sprint by the defenses Ware has often already battered.
What LSU doesn’t have is a Heisman candidate rusher or a backup running back ranked in the top 10 nationally in yards per carry.
Alabama has both of those.
Junior running back Trent Richardson’s 123.63 yards per game ranks seventh in the nation.
ESPN’s Heisman Watch has Richardson in second place, behind Stanford senior quarterback Andrew Luck.
“He’s just a bulldozer,” said sophomore defensive tackle Michael Brockers. “One-on-one, I think he can take anybody in the nation, so we’ve just got to corral him and get all of our people to the compete.”
Miles also made note of Richardson’s ability to shake opponents out of their cleats.
“I saw the move he did against Ole Miss,” Miles said in reference to a Richardson juke that threw Ole Miss freshman defensive back Senquez Golson off balance. “That would have thrown my hip out its joint.”
Richardson’s 17 rushing touchdowns on the season rank third in the nation.
The talent doesn’t stop with Richardson, though.
Sophomore running back Eddie Lacy, a Louisiana native, is averaging eight yards per carry, the third-best average in the nation.
While Alabama’s rushing attack has been focused around Richardson and Lacy, LSU’s offense has been spreading the ball around.
Ware, Ford, Blue, Hilliard, Magee and Jefferson have all contributed rushing touchdowns this season.
Ford said the Tigers like to surprise opponents with their depth in the backfield.
“We want to make it a mystery,” he said. “We just want to be like big clones going into the game. You never know who it’s going to be.”
Though both teams have displayed talent at running back, ESPN college football analyst David Pollack said Alabama has an edge.
“With the running back spot, I think Trent Richardson has the advantage,” Pollack said. “He’s one of the best players in the country when you give him the ball.”
Both teams’ run games will be put to the test, as both the Tigers and Crimson Tide have proven to be defensive stalwarts.
Alabama ranks first in the nation in rushing defense, allowing only 1.67 yards per carry and 44.88 yards per game.
“Yeah, we’ve got a great defense, and I’m pretty sure they’re going to … try to break their will [to fight],” Richardson said. “But at the same time we’re trying to help our defense as an offensive unit and try to break their will as well as we can.”
LSU comes in fourth in the nation in yards allowed per carry, with 2.5 and third in yards per game, with 76.63. The Crimson Tide defense has allowed two rushing touchdowns all season.
 
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