The opening sequence of the Iron Bowl's second half played out like a fantasy sequence of the collective Alabama online community.

Screen pass to Damien Harris for 12 yards. Harris run for 43. Harris run for 1.

Bo Scarbrough run for 14 yards. Scarbrough run for 21. Touchdown.

The Crimson Tide's run-the-ball ideology came together for a textbook march -- five plays, 79 yards -- to take a 14-10 lead on Auburn. That advantage would be fleeting, as would the success on the ground. Alabama would run it 17 more times for 55 yards (3.2-yard average) as afternoon became evening and the undefeated season evaporated.

Postgame chatter surrounded the six carries apiece for the Tide's three top running backs. Harris, Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs had 18 total attempts which equaled quarterback Jalen Hurts' carry count.

It followed a trend from the back half of Alabama's schedule when quarterback runs became more prevalent as running-back carries dropped.

Hurts got 45.5 of the rushing attempts in the final three SEC games compared to Harris's 20.5, Scarbrough's 19.6 and Jacobs' 11.6.

% of carries Season Last 3 games Hurts 27.6 45.5 Harris 21.3 20.5 Scarbrough 21.1 19.6

Take away the 11 sacks in the last three games and Hurts had good rushing numbers. The sophomore averaged 6.4 yards a run in the 40 non-sack carries. Over that same span, Harris averaged 7.7 yards in 23 runs while Scarbrough got 5.4 yards a pop on 22 attempts.

Harris broke big plays on scoring drives against both Mississippi State (48 yards) and Auburn (43). At the same time, Hurts, Scarbrough and Jacobs runs kick started the comeback in Starkville that turned a 24-17 deficit into a 31-24 win.

Of the 26 plays Alabama ran in the fourth quarter against Mississippi State, 19 were rushing plays that netted 135 yards. Hurts had 10 of the carries while the running backs had three apiece.

The direct quarterback runs were also used to set up the biggest passing play of the Iron Bowl. Hurts ran it to the right side three times on the second quarter drive he hit Jerry Jeudy for a 36-yard touchdown on what appeared to be a fourth such QB keeper.

The running game just lost its effectiveness and opportunity after the big start to the second half in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The two drives after the running back-fueled explosion, netted 20 rushing yards from the same group. After that, the Tide played with a two-score deficit that required more throws.

After the game, Saban said his team came out of halftime with more intensity for that big drive. It just didn't sustain that for the rest of the game. Asked if Alabama abandoned the run, Saban paused with a deep exhale.

"Play calling is like anything," he said. "If it works, it's a good play. If it doesn't work, it's a bad play. The way we passed the ball, every pass that we called -- other than about five or six -- were bad calls. Because they didn't work."

Looking at the season as a whole, Alabama's run distribution looks a lot like it did in 2016.

Hurts had 27.6 percent of the runs in the 11 games against FBS opponents this year compared to 28.0 percent a season earlier.

% of carries 2016 2017 Hurts 28.8% 27.6% Harris 23.1% 21.3% Scarbrough 15.0% 21.1%

Sacks lowered Hurts' rushing net by 150 yards last season and 127 this fall.

His share of the total rushing yardage dropped from 30.4 percent to 25.8 in 2017 as Alabama spread the ball around more as early-season blowouts bumped up the rushing numbers overall.

% rushing yards 2016 2017 Hurts 30.4% 25.8% Harris 32.5% 30.6% Scarbrough 16.3% 17.3%

Overall, Harris' 874 rushing yards in the 11 FBS games leads Hurts' 738 and Scarbrough's 495.

The big plays from Harris helped push his average carry to 8.4 yards compared to Hurts' 5.5. Scarbrough's longest run spanned 44 yards with an average of 4.8 in the 11 games against top-level competition.

A full visualization of the seasons for Alabama's top three running backs who appeared in all 11 games against FBS teams: