SEC Football: Alabama and Auburn pound the rock

We are 33 days away from the college football season, and today we focus on two of the best rushing attacks in the SEC.

SEC football is all about running the football. It doesn’t matter if you run a pro-style or a spread offense, you have to be able to establish the run if you’re going to win in this league. And there’s no better example of that than the two teams in the Yellow Hammer State.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers run two distinctly different offenses, but last season they had two of the best rushing offenses in the Southeastern Conference. And that leads us to no. 33 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.

Alabama and Auburn had 33 rushing touchdowns last season

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Auburn

Auburn led all SEC football teams with 271.3 rushing yards per game, which also ranked sixth in the nation. The Tigers return arguably the best backfield in the conference with Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson.

Pettway led the Tigers with 1,224 yards and scored 7 touchdowns, while Johnson led Auburn with 11 touchdowns while rushing for 895 yards. 11 different players scored a rushing touchdown for Auburn last season, while seven different players scored multiple touchdowns.

If transfer quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, can keep defenses honest by making plays with arm and his legs, Gus Malzahn’s offense could be tough to stop this season.

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Alabama

The Crimson Tide averaged 245 rushing yards per game last season, which was second in the SEC and 12th in the country.

Alabama’s backfield is going to be loaded in 2017. Not only are they returning their top four rushers from last season, but they also brought in Najee Harris, the no. 2 running back and no. 3 overall player in the country according to 247sports’ composite rankings.

Damien Harris led the Crimson Tide with 1,040 rushing yards but only 2 touchdowns. Jalen Hurts led the Tide with 13 rushing touchdowns while racking up 954 yards. Bo Scarbrough also rushed for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

There’s a new man calling the plays in Tuscaloosa in Brian Daboll. So while we still don’t know exactly what his offense will look like, you can guarantee that they will be pounding the rock.

Next: What should we expect from Calvin Ridley in 2017?

SEC football games are often decided by who runs the ball better, and Alabama and Auburn are built for that. These two teams will be on a collision course for the Iron Bowl on Nov. 25.