Davis, Spiller spell trouble for opponents

TUSCALOOSA - If you follow college football like Javier Arenas does, you probably already know who James Davis and C.J. Spiller are.

If you don't, and you're an Alabama fan, you'll probably have a good idea about Clemson's running back duo by Saturday evening.

"You guys watch them on Saturdays," said Arenas, Alabama's junior defensive back. "You guys have seen what they can do. They do it consistently. They are fast and powerful."

To be specific, Davis is the powerful one at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, but he doesn't lack speed. And Spiller is the fast one at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, although he can provide a little power when needed.

Together, they combined for 1,832 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns last season. Both averaged better than five yards per carry, with a combined total of 55 runs of 10 yards or longer.

Davis and Spiller will test Alabama's defense in Saturday's season opener at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

"Spiller and Davis are as fine a running back combination, tandem - whatever you want to call them - as anyone in the country," Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said.

So how will Alabama go about trying to defend Clemson's running game? Saban has a plan, but Alabama's players don't want to give it away.

"Coach Saban's going to do a good job putting us in great position," linebacker Rolando McClain said. "He's got a great scheme for them, so we're just going to take every day at practice, learning to step up to the game Saturday."

McClain doesn't dispute those who proclaim Davis and Spiller as the best one-two rushing punch in the country.

Davis ran for 1,064 yards on 214 carries last season as Clemson's No. 1 option in the running game. He gained 81.8 yards per game with 10 touchdowns. Spiller rushed for 768 yards on 145 attempts, averaging 59.1 yards per game with three touchdowns.

Clemson split the workload last season to keep the backs fresh. Davis averaged 16.5 attempts per game; Spiller carried 11.2 times per game.

"As a tandem, they're probably one of the best running backs in the nation together," McClain said. "They're good. They're fast. They're powerful. They're quick. So we'll have to do everything we can to prepare for them."

Saban said he wants to bottle up the running game to frustrate the Tigers.

"I think the first thing that's important is when they've struggled to run the ball and make big plays," he said. "That's when they've had the least amount of success offensively. Even though they are a very balanced offensive team and they have a tremendous ability to make big plays throwing the football, the whole synergy of their team seems to center around those guys making great plays.

"I think it's pretty easy to show the defensive players that, if we stop the run in this game, this is going to give us the best chance to be successful on defense."

Part of that game plan is executing the basics.

"No doubt they've got good running backs," defensive end Bobby Greenwood said. "I've said before - we've got to make sure we finish our tackles. Missed tackles are a big key in any game. Most of their offensive line is big guys, so we've got to come off the ball and explode from the start."

Alabama faced another dynamic running back tandem last season in Arkansas' Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

McFadden, a first-round NFL Draft pick last April, gained 195 yards; Jones added 96 in a 41-38 Tide victory.

"We have to compete against a couple of great backs again," Arenas said. "We have that experience, so it makes us that much ready and that much better to stop these guys."

McClain isn't so sure last year's Arkansas game matters.

"I can't compare them two guys," McClain said.

"Darren McFadden, he's a unique player. I'm not worried about Darren McFadden. Hopefully, one day I'll see him down the road."