from the skrublinski
Fun fact of the week: T.J. Yeldon is the fifth straight Alabama running back to make the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The sophomore appears on one of the magazine's six different College Football Preview covers with the Tide the SI pick as preseason No. 1.
Yeldon follows Eddie Lacy, Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram and Glen Coffee as a Sports Illustrated cover boy. Which raises a question: Who's the real Running Back U. in this state - Alabama or Auburn?
Let's have some fun with numbers to kick off the debate. We'll look at the top 20 rushers in SEC history in several different categories to see how many Tide and Tigers we find there.
In rushing yards gained in a season, Alabama has three of them. So does Auburn, with one asterisk.
No. 3: Bo Jackson, Auburn (1,786 yards).
No. 6: Trent Richardson, Alabama (1,679).
No. 7: Mark Ingram, Alabama (1,658).
No. 12: Rudi Johnson, Auburn (1,567).
No. 14: Cam Newton, Auburn (1,473).
No. 15: Bobby Humphrey, Alabama (1,471).
The asterisk for this discussion, of course, is Newton. He played quarterback, not running back.
In SEC career rushing yards, Auburn has four of the top 20. So does Alabama.
No. 4: Bo Jackson, Auburn (4,303 yards).
No. 11: Carnell Williams, Auburn (3,831).
No. 12: Shaun Alexander, Alabama (3,565).
No. 13: James Brooks, Auburn (3,523).
No. 14: Bobby Humphrey, Alabama (3,420).
No. 15: Joe Cribbs, Auburn (3,368).
No. 17: Mark Ingram, Alabama (3,261).
No. 18: Kenneth Darby, Alabama (3,324).
Impressive. The Tigers and Tide have combined for almost half of the top 20 career rushers in SEC history.
We could go on, but you get the point. There are other stats in the SEC media guide, but those two categories alone demonstrate the rich history of running backs in this state.
Those lists don't even include such distinguished names as Auburn's Brent Fullwood. He's second in SEC history for yards per carry in a season with a minimum of 100 carries (8.33 yards a carry on 167 carries in 1986).
Alabama's Lacy is tied for third in SEC history in yards per carry in a season with at least 200 carries (6.48 a carry on 204 rushes last year).
In career yards per carry with at least 400 rushes, Auburn's Jackson and Alabama's Bobby Marlow are still 1-2 in SEC history.
Flip a coin. Throw a dart at a board. Give Auburn the edge because of Jackson's dominance. Or not. It's pretty clear the Tide and Tigers know how to run the football. Now it's time for you to run your mouths on who's run it better on Live at 9.
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