University of Georgia photo
Georgia tailback Caleb King didn’t find much room to run in last Saturday’s win over Arizona State.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia and LSU each enjoy a storied history of running the football.

This week, they're not so proud.

Heading into Saturday's showdown at Sanford Stadium, LSU's No. 4 Tigers are hardly evoking memories of Dalton Hilliard and Kevin Faulk with a rushing offense that is 10th in the Southeastern Conference (130.2 yards per game). They've been better than the No. 18 Bulldogs, who haven't resembled the Herschel Walker and Garrison Hearst days with a running game ranking 11th in the league (112.2).

"We haven't been able to run the ball like we've wanted to," Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said Tuesday. "It's definitely been a little disappointing, and I think a lot has to do with us not being able to get in sync because of the turnovers and the penalties. We've been losing drives and plays in series, and I think that has cost us.

"I do think our willingness to keep running the ball has put people in the box and allowed A.J. Green to have some single coverage."

The Bulldogs had 95 rushing yards on 30 carries in the opener at Oklahoma State and had 92 on 31 last Saturday against Arizona State. A chunk of their 449 rushing yards this season occurred on two plays, Branden Smith's 61-yard reverse against South Carolina and Richard Samuel's 80-yard run at Arkansas.

Georgia has not had another run net 20 yards.

LSU's senior tailback tandem of Charles Scott and Keiland Williams were surprisingly throttled last Saturday at Mississippi State, which successfully sold out against the run. Scott and Williams combined for 35 yards on 15 carries, and the Tigers netted 30 yards on 31 carries overall.

Despite the lack of momentum, each head coach promises he's as committed as ever to establishing a ground game Saturday.

"It's too fundamental to me not to be important, and I want that," LSU's Les Miles said. "I want it for Charles Scott and the offensive line and for Keiland Williams. I want to be able to come off the football."

Said Georgia's Mark Richt: "When you don't do well in a particular area where you've had a history, you're not going to say, 'Hey, let's bail out.' I think both teams are going to be intent on running it in a very physical way."

Georgia and LSU had their ground games going last season when the Bulldogs won 52-38 in Baton Rouge. Knowshon Moreno had 21 carries for 172 yards for Georgia, including a 68-yard touchdown, while Scott had 21 rushes for 150 yards and two scores.

Scott is nicknamed "Chuck the Truck," and Bulldogs junior weakside linebacker Rennie Curran remembers his performance.

"They gave it to us a couple of times," Curran said. "If you don't hit Charles Scott with everything you've got, he's going to keep on trucking along."

Samuel had only 25 yards on 11 carries last week and had the same number of carries as backup Caleb King. Richt considers them "50-50," but Bobo believes the time has come for one of them to take charge.

"We've got to get somebody in a groove and get our running game going," Bobo said.