Nov. 5, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Kamryn Pettway, the runaway train, was heading for another touchdown when an injury sidetracked him Saturday.
The medical report? "He pulled something, obviously," said coach Gus Malzahn.
Join the injury club, Kamryn Pettway, join the injury club.
Pettway, the SEC's leading rusher, went for 173 yards and smashed through the 1,000-yard barrier for the season in Auburn's 23-16 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, but he could have gone for more. His last run was 61 yards, but that was only because he appeared to pull a muscle, limping almost 20 yards to the 12.
He still pushed his rushing total for the year to 1,106 yards, rushing for more than 150 yards for the fourth straight game. That's the first time that's happened at Auburn since the days of Bo Jackson. Malzahn wouldn't guess on Pettway's availability for next Saturday's game at Georgia.
Pettway's running mate, Kerryon Johnson, isn't exactly a picture of health, either. Malzahn said Johnson is still only about 80 percent healthy, though he still gained 36 yards and scored Auburn's first touchdown Saturday. "The run he made for a touchdown was phenomenal," Malzahn said "We've got to get him healthy."
Auburn also played without leading receiver Tony Stevens for the second straight game, without linebackers Tre' Williams and Andrew Williams, without linebacker Deshaun Davis, at least after he was ejected in the first quarter on a targeting penalty; and quarterback Sean White, who didn't play in the first half because of an injury, but came off the bench to spark Auburn's comeback in the second half.
"We're a pretty beat up team," Malzahn said.
And, "We're just about out of linebackers."
"We faced probably about as much adversity as we faced in a win in a long time. We had some injuries and some guys weren't able to play. We had one of our top defensive guys kicked out of the game early.
"We had some guys that really stepped up and did a super job. In every year that we've won a lot of games there has been a game like this where our guys found a way to win."
"Our team has a lot of heart, a lot of a gut, and a lot of fight."
And Auburn finds itself on a six-game winning streak and within grasp of winning the SEC West. If the Tigers beat Georgia and Alabama, they will go to the SEC Championship Game.
"We aren't looking ahead," Malzahn said. "That has been our formula this year and we will continue to do the same thing."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine
Auburn's Kerryon Johnson salutes teammate Kamryn Pettway, who smashed through the 1,000-yard rushing barrier Saturday. Video pic.twitter.com/xnGehGkfEt
-- Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) November 5, 2016