Buck Allen, Devontae Booker Square off in Showcase of Best Pac-12 Backs

Put the statistics of USC running back Javorius "Buck" Allen side-by-side against those of Utah's Devontae Booker, and they look an awful lot alike.  

Allen leads the conference with 909 rushing yards on 150 carries, and he's scored eight touchdowns on the ground. Booker has 742 yards with seven touchdowns but has appeared in one fewer game. His 6.18 yards per carry edges Allen's 6.06 average. 

Statistically, they are the Pac-12's top ball-carriers, and one will leave Saturday's showdown between the No. 20 Trojans and No. 19 Utes with claim to the distinction as the conference's best back. 

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham started the conversation in earnest last week following the Utes' 29-23 overtime win at Oregon State. 

"Devontae Booker, that guy is a beast," Whittingham said in his postgame press conference, via UtahUtes.com. "I think he's the best back in the Pac-12."

Booker rushed for 229 yards and three touchdowns, the culmination of a three-game tear that has pushed the junior running back into the spotlight.

But Booker is not the only back riding a stretch of prolific production into Rice-Eccles Stadium this Saturday. Allen's rushed for six of his eight ground scores in the last three weeks and has eclipsed the century mark for four straight weeks. 

Player	Carries	Rushing Yards	YPC	YPG	Rush TD
Buck Allen	70	476	6.8	158.7	6
Devontae Booker	89	563	6.3	187.7	5

The numbers tell a story of two comparable backs, and even their differences play out as similarities. 

"Allen's a little bit bigger kid. Devontae's not all that big," Whittingham said on Tuesday's Pac-12 coaches teleconference, referring to the USC back's 6'1", 220-pound frame. 

Allen's physique makes him look like he'd be right at home playing strong safety, if not linebacker, on the Trojans defense. He uses his size to overpower would-be tacklers, turning short-yardage plays into big gains. 

Yet despite the size difference—he is listed at 5'11", 203 pounds—Booker runs with a similarly physical style. 

"[Booker] runs much bigger than that," Whittingham said. 

USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said he does not "like to compare players" when asked how Allen and Booker stack up. However, Wilcox offered lofty praise of Booker that sounds reminiscent of a certain Trojans running back's style.

"[Booker] plays very physical," Wilcox said after USC's practice Wednesday at Howard Jones Field. "He's not trying to run away from people. He pulls out of as many tackles as any back we've seen this year. He runs through people, and he will test you out on the edge."   

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and Wilcox both used one phrase in particular to summarize Booker's style: "He runs angry."

"He almost appears to get stronger as the game goes on," Sarkisian added.

Booker's performance against Oregon State corroborates Sarkisian's assessment. All three of Booker's touchdowns against the Beavers came in either the fourth quarter or overtime.  

The USC defense is tasked with playing a full 60 minutes, something Sarkisian made a point of emphasis after the Trojans' Week 6 loss to Arizona State.  

Another gauntlet laid out for the Trojans defense this week: swarming to Booker. 

"He usually never goes down on the first tackle," linebacker Anthony Sarao said. "We've got to get every hat to the ball. Eleven hats. We can't have just one guy trying to make one tackle." 

USC can invest more of its defensive focus on stopping the run game in general—and Booker in particular—because Utah has struggled to pass in recent weeks. 

Quarterbacks Travis Wilson and Kendal Thompson have flip-flopped behind center, but neither has reached the 100-yard mark in Utah's last two games. 

"Our throwing game has struggled, to say the least," Whittingham said. "Having Devontae back there to pick up the slack and give us those rushing yards has been big for our football team." 

Conversely, USC is fresh off its best passing effort of the season. Quarterback Cody Kessler threw for a program-record seven touchdowns in the Trojans' 56-28 rout of Colorado. 

With the passing attack clicking, Allen rolled off a season-best 8.53 yards per carry.  

He said following last week's win that the added element of a clicking pass game made his job as primary ball-carrier "very easy." 

Don't expect much to come easy against the Utah defense, however. The Utes are allowing opponents just 2.84 yards per carry and have given up just three rushing touchdowns all season. 

Allen said when it comes to the Trojans offense, "It's not all about Buck Allen." 

Never more has that needed to be the case than this weekend. USC needs a balanced offensive approach with Kessler spreading the pass all over the field and Allen exploiting any gaps he might find in the Utah defense. 

And the Trojans have to do it all against the nation's most prolific sacking defense, which Wilcox said can flourish with either four-man rushes or fire-zone blitz packages.

The challenge Utah's stout defensive front presents was already a topic of conversation in the moments following USC's Colorado win. 

"Coach [Sarkisian]'s mind's on [Utah] already," Allen said. "It's going to be a dogfight. I'm excited." 

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com.