Latroy Oliver didn’t need to watch film.

Good old network television and ESPN told him all he needed to know about the Auburn running game. He knows if Syracuse (1-2) plans to beat the Tigers (3-1) tomorrow at 9 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it had better play smart defensively and tackle well.

“Even though the coaches stress it,” Oliver said, “we watch college football, and we see that they’re a really good football team. The secondary has got to tackle.”

Luckily, it should have help. Nose tackle Christian Ferrara, who sat out the last two games with a left knee sprain, will likely start. The Orangemen also hope to have defensive end Josh Thomas, who has also missed the last two games with torn muscles in his left foot.

Ferrara, Thomas and the rest of defensive line will face the formidable task of stopping Auburn running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. The 5-foot-11, 202-pound sophomore has rushed for 437 yards and seven touchdowns on 73 carries through four games.

Against Vanderbilt two weeks ago, Williams scampered for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He touched up Mississippi State for 106 yards and two touchdowns last week, helping the Tigers to a 42-14 SEC win in Starkville, Miss.

“Penetration kills their offense,” Ferrara said. “If Cadillac finds his seam, he’s a great running back, one of the best I’ve seen. If you see when Mississippi State shut him down, it was with plays in the backfield.”

The Orangemen have struggled in that department thus far, surrendering 214 rushing yards per game.

“I’d like to know why people can run against us,” Ferrara said. “When we’re playing well, I don’t think people can run against us, our front seven or front eight.”

But if they do, the SU defense needs strong tackling from its secondary — something it lacked through the first three games.

Instability and inexperience in the defensive backfield have led to some of the problems. Will Hunter, a cover corner by trade, has played mostly at strong safety to fill in for the banged-up Keeon Walker. At free safety, sophomore O’Neil Scott has struggled with recognizing the complicated offenses of SU’s first three opponents.

This week, though, Walker expects to start, which may move Hunter back to corner instead of redshirt freshman Steve Gregory.

“If there’s a game where you have to be sound or get hurt, it’s this game,” Walker said. “You have to play gap defense, or they’re going to run all over you.”

“What we can do well against the run,” Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said, “is get some support from the secondary. You need more than the front seven guys to stop the run.”

The Auburn passing game merits attention, too. Senior Daniel Cobb, who completed 2 of 3 passes in relief of Jason Campbell when Syracuse played Auburn last season, will start for the Tigers.

Cobb has tossed for 596 yards, four touchdowns and an interception on 43-of-77 passing this season. He faces a Syracuse defense that yields 284 yards in the air per game.

In fairness, though, that average was elevated by Brigham Young quarterback Bret Engemann, who shredded the Syracuse defense for 386 yards in the season opener Aug. 29. More recently, Syracuse allowed 284 passing yards to North Carolina and 172 to Rhode Island last weekend.

“We respect Syracuse because of what they’ve done in the past and how they’ve done,” Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said. “They’re a hard-nosed football team and have a lot of good players. We found that out last year.”

That’s when the Tigers fell, 31-14, to SU at the Carrier Dome. It won’t be so easy, though, at the 86,000-seat Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“We love shutting down the run,” Ferrara said. “If we take away someone’s running game, and we play the pass like we know we can, it’s going to be a good day for us.”

Published on September 26, 2002 at 12:00 pm