Six different running backs have appeared on the field for Auburn through the Tigers’ first three games with Damari Alston, Brian Battie, Jeremiah Cobb and Jarquez Hunter all having double-digit carries.

However, not one of those guys is Auburn’s leading rusher.

Instead, that distinction goes to quarterback Payton Thorne, who leads all rushers with 140 yards on 22 carries. And while well over half of those rushing yards came against Auburn’s 45-13 win over Samford on Saturday night, it points to Auburn’s running back room sputtering and lacking identity.

“I thought we left some yards out there in the rushing game, particularly in the first half with what they were doing,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said following the game Saturday night. “I think our backs didn’t press it quite long enough to let it develop. Second half, I thought they were better.”

With Hunter, Alston, Cobb and Battie all getting carries in Saturday’s win over Samford, the quartet of running backs was only able to muster a combined 86 rushing yards, while Hunter was the only running back to find the goal line.

However, against Samford specifically, there were factors that attributed to the running back room’s struggles.

The Auburn offensive line took an early hit as it lost veteran guard Kam Stutts to an injury after the first series. Hunter also got “dinged up” and was “gimpy” in the second half, Freeze revealed after the game.

Samford’s defense was also committed to limiting the run game, Freeze says.

“We really didn’t didn’t run the ball as well as I’d hoped in this past game,” Freeze said in his press conference Monday morning. “But some of that they were committed to stopping the run. I mean, they were really anchored in there and bringing the safeties down to the box.”

Fortunately, the Bulldogs crashing in on Auburn’s run game on Saturday paved the way for the Tigers to capitalize on some explosive pass plays.

But if a defense like Stamford’s, which allowed Western Carolina to rush for 284 yards in Week 2, can give Auburn’s backfield fits, what does that say about the prospect of Texas A&M’s defense, which ranks 35th in the nation for rush defense?

Through three games, Texas A&M has held its opponents to less than a combined 300 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown and 3.39 yards per carry.

Auburn’s running backs averaged just 3.07 yards on 28 carries against Samford.

The Aggies’ defense — just as the rest of Texas A&M’s roster — is loaded down with former blue-chip prospects.

Every member of Texas A&M’s projected starting defensive line was either ranked a 4- or 5-star out of high school.

Guys like linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and defensive end Shemar Turner — two former 4-star recruits — are two guys who have tallied a handful of tackles for a loss through three games.

“They’ve got a bunch of 5-stars in the defensive line and at linebacker and at safety and at corner,” Freeze said of the Aggies’ defense. “They are really, really talented. When you put on the film you see that. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front.”

That said, Auburn’s offensive line will need to do its part in helping the running game and bring its best stuff to College Station. But first, the Tigers’ offensive front needs to find its best stuff after being without it against Samford.

“We could’ve played more physically. I do believe that. It wasn’t our best,” Freeze said of Auburn’s offensive line against Samford. “It wasn’t as good as the Cal game or the UMass game.”

Despite Saturday’s struggles in the backfield, Freeze says he still feels good about Auburn’s running back room, just as he has all offseason and through the first three weeks of the regular season.

After scrimmages during fall camp, Freeze gushed about how confident he was in the Tigers’ running backs and even questioned whether Auburn had a really good run game or had a defense that struggled to stop the run.

However, now that Auburn is playing teams with a different name across the chest, the question has shifted to which kind of performance it’ll get out of its backfield on any given Saturday.

In Week 1 against UMass, Auburn’s running backs rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the same group of guys neglected to rush for 100 yards against Samford.

The answer to that question will likely vary from week to week and ultimately fall somewhere in the middle as the Tigers are forced to play to what the opposing defense gives them.

But in this league, opposing defenses won’t be giving them much and that can especially be said of the Aggies.

And as much as Freeze likes to have the throttle wide open on offense and toss the ball around — which was evident in the win over Samford — his history in the SEC has taught him that a team having success on the ground is the lifeblood of an SEC offense.

“We’ve been able to run it,” Freeze said following Auburn’s second fall scrimmage. “Which, teams I’ve coached that have been able to do that, I think you’ve got a fighting chance.”

Auburn isn’t favored to beat Texas A&M Saturday afternoon. ESPN currently gives the Tigers a mere 33% chance to win the game.

If the Tigers want “a fighting chance” to tally their first win in SEC play, they’ll likely need their running backs to put together a performance that mirrors that of Week 1′s showing against UMass. That means the full production — from the offensive line to the play calling — will have to put them in a position to succeed.

After all, Freeze feels the Tigers have the guys to do it.

“We’ve said all along we feel good about that room and I think it’s important that we keep them fresh and rotate those guys and try to play to some of their strengths,” Freeze said. “Like all four of them and like Sean (Jackson) too. So we’ll continue to keep rotating them and trying to use them in different packages.”