SEC Running Back Success Rates | Week Nine

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For those of you who are new to this, the Running Back Success Rate is a measure of how "successful" each of a running back's rushing attempts are. A "successful" run is one that :

Gains at least 40% of the yardage needed to move the chains on 1st down
Gains at least 60% of the yardage needed to move the chains on 2nd down
Gains at least 100% of the yardage needed to move the chains on 3rd and 4th down

On to the numbers...

WEEK NINE

Michael Dyer y'all!  It took a defense as bad as Ole Miss's to get him back above 50% and the best two backfields in the conference idle to ensure he led in all categories but that's just Auburn y'all, they're just special and magical and they got that talent and coaching and God and family and WDE and whatnot, and you just can't ever write 'em off cause they don't know the meaning of the word quit or lose or viscosity and you just never know what kind of magic is being unleashed down on the plains!

In other news, pretty much every other running back in the SEC besides Trent Richardson and Spencer Ware is very much average (or less).

CUMULATIVE

Speaking of everyone being pretty much average...

Only Bama's top three backs, LSU's Spencer Ware and Michael Ford, Mississippi State's Vick Ballard, and the no longer playing due to injury Marcus Lattimore are above 50% after nine weeks of play.  Ballard has trended downward the whole season and I don't really expect that to change, though chances to inflate his numbers against Tennessee-Martin and Ole Miss should probably help him when all is said and done. 

Michael Dyer is the new workhorse of the bunch, leading the pack in total carries and tieing Richardson for total yards, but his 48% success rate is pretty indicative of his boom or bust performances.  Also consider Onterio McCalebb's 42% success rate despite and identical 5.3 ypc.  When it comes down to it, Auburn's ground game is going to gash you for 20+ yards or lose 2, and until they figure out a way to consistently grind out four and five yards per carry against a defense with a pulse you're going to see those kind of numbers from them pretty much every season.

For anyone that thought the early season numbers on Florida's Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey were all smoke and mirrors against cupcake defenses...well, 38% and 49% don't lie, especially when you look at this week's numbers against Georgia.  They simply can't run the ball down there, and it's gotten uglier and uglier as the season wears on.

Isaiah Crowell is hanging around the 40% mark despite a heavy work load and decent yardage and ypc numbers.  He's a true freshman and it shows, but he's shown a lot of ability to generate explosive plays (had 3 10+ yard carries against Florida including a 22 yarder), but he's raw and has been basically been thrown to the wolves as an every down back before he was really ready.  With a year under his belt, though, he should be something special next year.

Finally, Tauren Poole.  You just gotta tip your hat to this kid.  He's about the only thing Tennessee has left on offense and he's taking a crazy beating for it.  Hope he makes it out of this season with his knees intact.