Hugh Freeze isn’t going to make any excuses for his team being 3-4 this season, a dismal 1-3 in the SEC. He also rarely mentions the loss of running backs Jordan Wilkins and Eric Swinney.
But on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, the Ole Miss coach did admit it’s something he often ponders.
“I’ll tell you, when I sit alone and think about some of the kids we’ve lost that I think are difference-makers, beginning the year without Jordan Wilkins, without Eric Swinney after one carry, two guys that we thought were going to be really, really good power running backs for us, it certainly has hurt,” Freeze said.
He mentioned those two specifically because whether Freeze likes to talk publicly about it or not, those were the power runners the Rebels were relying on to balance out the otherwise aerial offense.
Wilkins was a casualty of an academic error on the school’s part. Swinney, for the second straight season, was lost for the year. He went down with a knee injury after a carry against Florida State – the same game that top (and really only) cover corner Ken Webster was lost for the year with a knee injury.
“I think you have to have a guy that can get you the three yards,” Freeze said. “In our system, it doesn’t take a whole lot more than that for us to stay balanced and stay on schedule. It’s vitally important, and the defensive lines that we’ve faced, the Alabamas, LSUs and now Auburn are so, so gifted and talented that a back is going to have to run through some tackles.
“You’re not going to block these guys every play. I think Eric and Jordan have that ability.”
Swinney had six yards on his lone carry of the season. No other regular back is averaging better than 4.8, a mark held by Akeem Judd. Eugene Brazley is averaging a shade below six yards on 35 carries, but that bulk was against Memphis. Freshman D’Vaughn Pennamon is averaging 3.2 yards on 19 carries.
To put it in perspective, LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice are averaging 8.1 and 8.0 yards per carry, respectively.
Ole Miss is next to last in the SEC in rushing yards per game with 149. Only South Carolina is worse at a sad 107 per. It is a direct imbalance when compared to the Rebels’ passing numbers. Ole Miss’ 305.4 yards per game ranks first in the SEC. Chad Kelly’s 62 percent completion rate is third. Ole Miss is a touchdown behind Missouri and Arkansas with 17 passing touchdowns.
Freeze can’t help but wonder what would have been if his team was even in the middle of the league in rushing.
Things don’t look any easier Saturday with No. 15 Auburn coming up. The Tigers aren’t only atop the league in rushing now, by far with 303 yards per game, this week former leading rusher Kerryon Johnson will rejoin Kamryn Pettway, who has been unstoppable – 66 carries for 361 yards the last two weeks. The Tigers rushed for a whopping 543 yards in a 53-point win last Saturday against Arkansas.
On the other side, Auburn allows 129.7 rushing yards per game, not good news for Ole Miss since it’s rushing for only 20 more than that already.
That may have been a different story if the Rebels had a couple running backs at its disposal to fill a key role.
