If I asked you for the names of two players to watch in Saturday’s night super-mega-uber-showdown between LSU and Alabama, you’d like throw out Trent Richardson’s name first. The brusing Bama back would sit atop our own Heisman list at the moment.
From LSU’s side of things, would you toss out the Honey Badger’s name? Tyrann Mathieu has gotten his own share of Heisman pub, though there’s little chance of him actually winning the trophy.
What about Spencer Ware, the Tiger tailback whose runs can best be described as violent?
Well try the name Rueben Randle. As is the case with Richardson at Alabama, when it comes to yards from scrimmage in SEC contests, Randle is the leading weapon for LSU.
Richardson averages 170.0 yards per game rushing and receiving (again, in SEC contests only). Randle has outgained all his Tiger teammates to the tune of 90.8 yards per game.
There are 12 players in the conference who are averaging more than 75 yards from scrimmage per game in SEC battles. Below is the complete list. If you’re looking for a way to quantify the venerable MVP questions, start here…
| Player |
School |
Position |
Games Played |
Rush Yds |
Rec Yds |
Total Yds |
Yds/Play |
Yds/Game |
| T. Richardson |
Alabama |
RB |
5 |
674 |
176 |
850 |
7.7 |
170.0 |
| M. Dyer |
Auburn |
RB |
6 |
713 |
7 |
720 |
5.0 |
120.0 |
| M. Lattimore |
S. Carolina |
RB |
5 |
460 |
124 |
584 |
5.1 |
116.8 |
| I. Crowell |
Georgia |
RB |
6 |
543 |
45 |
588 |
4.9 |
98.0 |
| Z. Stacy |
Vanderbilt |
RB |
5 |
416 |
70 |
486 |
6.9 |
97.2 |
| V. Ballard |
Miss. State |
RB |
5 |
353 |
117 |
470 |
5.3 |
94.0 |
| R. Randle |
LSU |
WR |
5 |
0 |
454 |
454 |
21.6 |
90.8 |
| D. Johnson |
Arkansas |
RB |
4 |
251 |
110 |
361 |
7.7 |
90.3 |
| C. Rainey |
Florida |
RB |
6 |
328 |
195 |
523 |
5.7 |
87.2 |
| J. Adams |
Arkansas |
WR |
4 |
87 |
255 |
342 | 13.2 |
85.5 |
| O. McCalebb |
Auburn |
RB |
6 |
353 |
128 |
481 |
6.3 |
80.2 |
| S. Ware |
LSU |
RB |
4 |
301 |
15 |
316 |
4.2 |
79.0 |
Richardson averages 50 more yards from scrimmage per SEC contest than any other player in the league. Can LSU stop him or at least slow him down? If not, the Tigers’ chances won’t be too good on Saturday night.
Randle is LSU’s leading yardage-getter in SEC games. And his 21.6 yards-per-tough average shows what kind of big play threat he has become. Will Les Miles rope-a-dope Bama with Jordan Jefferson the runner in the hopes of eventually having his “running” quarterback go deep to Randle once the Tide’s safeties start creeping up?
There’s not a soul who didn’t already know to keep any eye on Richardson. But now you see how important Randle is for LSU, as well.
