More than a year ago, Auburn hosted West Virginia in a late September matchup. That night, Mountaineer running back Noel Devine torched the Tigers for 128 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.
The makeup of that 2009 Tigers squad and the team set to play in the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game differ significantly. Despite the lapsed time, Auburn senior linebacker Josh Bynes says similarities can easily be drawn between Devine and Oregon sophomore LaMichael James.
“It was kind of crazy trying to catch a guy so small and so quick,” Bynes recalled, “because if you don’t wrap up he can definitely get loose and break for 60, 70 yards.”
Devine scored twice in the first five minutes of action — from one and 71 yards out — and then again early in the third quarter. Sounds an awful lot like some of James’ stat lines this season. In his first three-touchdown performance of the year against Stanford, James broke scoring runs that were five, three, and 76 yards from the goal line.
At the time of West Virginia’s matchup with Auburn, Devine stood five-foot-eight and weighed a generous 180 pounds. Oregon’s star is listed at five-foot-nine and 185 pounds, but has a more powerful approach between the tackles to compliment his shiftiness on the perimeter.
The trouble with containing Devine, Bynes said, came when the Auburn defense struggled to wrap up and bring him to the ground. Those fundamentals were preached repeatedly as the Tigers prepared for James and fellow sophomore Kenjon Barner.
“When you get full contact and you wrap up, they’re not hard to bring down,” Bynes said. “But the fact that when you don’t wrap up and you don’t drive your feet, that’s when they break the tackles and go all over the place and play hot potatoes behind the offensive line.
“Then all of a sudden they turn it into a nice run for a touchdown.”
Auburn has given up just 111.7 rushing yards per game this season and allowed only 16 touchdowns on the ground in 13 games played. James’ yearly totals far surpassed both of those numbers (152.9 yards per game and 21 rushing touchdowns), but he isn’t the only player on that side of the ball Auburn is preparing for.
Sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas falls in that category, too.
Auburn defensive lineman Nick Fairley compared Thomas to Kentucky athlete Randall Cobb, a junior who’s listed as a wide receiver and quarterback on the depth chart but has also seen time at running back during his career.
Cobb put all three of those skill sets on display when Auburn went to Lexington back in early October, finding the end zone running, passing and receiving. Auburn snuck away with the win as Wes Byrum converted on a 24-yard field goal as time expired.
Thomas is not expected to venture off the beaten path on Monday, but Fairley and the Tiger defense want to be prepared for it all.
“That’s one thing we did in the Kentucky game that we’re going to have to do this game — gang tackle,” Fairley said. “Hopefully we can cause some turnovers and get the ball back to our offense.”
The Tigers forced 20 takeaways in 2010 (10 interceptions, 10 fumbles recovered) while the Ducks turned the ball over 22 times on the year (15 fumbles lost and seven interceptions).
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Fairley, Tigers concentrate on wrapping up Ducks
Daily Emerald
January 8, 2011
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