Auburn Tigers Favored By 3 in Battle of True Freshman Running Backs

Call it what you will. Auburn versus South Carolina. Tigers versus Gamecocks. The "head ball coach" versus "Chiz." I'm calling this one Dyer versus Lattimore, "The Battle of Freshman Phenoms.

These days, Mr. Dyer wants to be called Mike; not Michael. He is no longer Michael Dyer, the high school senior recruited out of Arkansas. No more. He is now Mike Dyer, the true freshman running back sensation at Auburn.

His nemesis: Marcus Lattimore, running back, South Carolina Gamecocks. Lattimore hasn't shortened his name to Marc, but he has produced very positive numbers so far in Columbia.

Last season, when Steve Spurrier began to heavily recruit Marcus Lattimore, I personally took time to write Mr. Lattimore a letter in an effort to remind him that Coach Spurrier was famous for the "fun and gun" offense and not for any type of running game.

The "head ball coach" at South Carolina must have convinced Marcus Lattimore that he would implement a running game and after getting the highly sought after recruit to sign, that is exactly what Spurrier did.

Currently, Marcus Lattimore is 18th in the nation in rushing yards with 333 and 4.8 yards per carry. That is very impressive for a freshman. The highest ranked Auburn rusher is the quarterback, Cam Newton. He is ranked 25th with 309 total rushing yards and 6.9 yards per carry. Where is Mike Dyer? He is currently ranked 60th with 212 total yards and 5.4 yards per carry.

Keep in mind, Marcus Lattimore started the season as South Carolina's first string running back and he has accumulated a total of 70 carries. Mike Dyer has only carried the ball 39 times. I look for Mike Dyer to end up with less carries at the end of the season simply because Auburn has other weapons in its arsenal such as Ontario McCalebb.

The shifty McCalebb currently ranks 56th in rushing yards with 225 and 7.3 yards per carry. With this type of additional talent in the Auburn backfield, and with a quarterback who can run the ball at any time, one can see why Mike Dyer will finish the year with less carries than Lattimore.

More carries are on the way for Mike Dyer and if Auburn running backs coach, Curtis Luper, decides to increase those carries on Saturday versus South Carolina, the battle of rookie running back sensations will be on.

Auburn's Mike Dyer was ranked as the number one running back by ESPN for the 2009 class and South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore was next in line, ranked as the number two running back by ESPN. Other recruiting sites saw it the other way around, ranking Lattimore first and Dyer second.

The recruiting wars of last February are over. How do Auburn coaches feel about not being able to get Marcus Lattimore to come to Auburn? Fine. When asked about the one that slipped away, Coach Luper was recently quoted saying,

"Marcus Lattimore is a great kid. He has a great family. He's first-class. I'm happy for him and his success."

When the game clock hits 0:00 Saturday evening, let's hope Coach Luper is not happy for Lattimore's success. Instead, let's hope that Auburn defensive coordinator, Ted Roof, is successful at stopping the South Carolina offensive attack in every area.

Not only do we have an exciting match up between the best true freshman running backs in the nation, we have a match up of extremely tall South Carolina receivers and Auburn's struggling secondary. Shut down Marcus Lattimore. That must be the number one priority. Number two, pressure South Carolina quarterback, Stephen Garcia, into making wild throws.

If the four big men on the Auburn defensive front can pressure Garcia all night, it will free up the linebackers and the secondary to cover those lanky receivers like bees on honey. On the opposite hand, I fear it could be a long and disappointing night for the Auburn Tigers if they are not able to pressure the opposing quarterback with the front four defensive linemen only.

No matter who wins or loses, college football fans everywhere, especially Auburn and South Carolina fans, can look forward to the Dyer versus Lattimore match up for at least two more years. Beginning at 6:45 c.d.t., football fans will tune in for the inaugural match up between the two freshman.

The rookie running back that comes out on top will be the one whose coaching staff implemented the best game plan. South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier took over the offensive play-calling this year and so far, he is showing folks everywhere why he had so many years of success in his past.

On the other sidelines, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik and his staff did a great job of coming up with a second half game plan to claw out a victory versus Clemson last week. This week, they must have a better game plan and they must have the men mentally and emotionally ready to play.

Mike Dyer versus Marcus Lattimore: "The Battle of Freshman Phenoms" is at hand. When the game ends, everyone will be writing or speaking about Mike Dyer and Marcus Lattimore; however, the real battle will be in the trenches.

Whose offensive line will play the best? That question will be answered soon enough. When it has been settled, perhaps we will also know which team has the better freshman phenom at running back. Maybe we will, or maybe...we will be left with more questions than answers.

Determining who is the best may not be possible through statistics but instead, through victory!