Conventional wisdom has it that Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a group of receivers led by last season’s Biletnikoff Award winner Jerry Jeudy would not only be effective – as it has been – but that it would also open up the Crimson Tide running game.

So far, not so much.

Najee Harris, the heir apparent to Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs, who have run off to the NFL, is leading the Crimson Tide in rushing, but that’s only 24 rushes for 120 yards in two games. Top back-up this year, Brian Robinson, has 20 carries for 66 yards.

Bama is averaging 231.5 yards per game, but that number is inflated because the longest “run” of the season for Alabama is by wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, and that was only a technical run. The pass to him got to him behind Tagovailoa, and therefore was technically ruled a run, a 75-yard run on the first play of the game against New Mexico State. Take that out and the Tide is averaging under 200 yards rushing per game.

The second longest run of the year by an Alabama player was by freshman and fourth string tailback Keilan Robinson in mop up work against New Mexico State, 74 yards. The third longest was by third team tailback Jerome Ford, 37 yards against Duke, and the fourth longest by Tagovailoa was 25 yards vs. New Mexico State.

Alabama running back Brian Robinson

Thus, it seems reasonable that Alabama Coach Nick Saban said Wednesday, “We really need to make improvement in the running game. Period. I think that’s everyone.”

Obviously, running success depends on blocking success.

And Saban revealed a trap that depends on the running back. This is different than the well-known trap block, in which a defender is enticed through a hole in the line, only to be taken out of position.

The Alabama coach explained “running the tracks.”

He said, “I think our runners have to do a better job of running the tracks that we need to run to, I think when you run a play people don't understand that by the runner running a track he actually makes the defense react a certain way when the runner's on that track so you actually get the defenders to come to the blocks. The offensive line is taking angles to block people assuming that's going to happen. And we haven't been consistent in that to this point and I think at times it's affected our ability to be consistent in the running game. We need to get all that cleaned up and do that better.”

The next tracks to be run will come against South Carolina in Columbia Saturday. The Southeastern Conference both teams will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 central time) on CBS. Bama is 2-0 and the Gamecocks 1-1.

Saban said that Alabama’s practice this week had been good, and that the players need to continue to improve and “to focus on what we need to do to play to our standard.”

He said, “We have a lot of respect for South Carolina’s team, for (Coach) Will Muschamp and his program, for the way they play, the discipline they play with.”

He added, “I think it's really important that when you play a team that relies on execution, trying to do things correctly and playing with discipline, that you have to match their intensity as well as their mental disposition to complete and play in the game for 60 minutes.”

Saban said, “I'm not disappointed in where this team is from a character and attitude standpoint, but I don’t think we’ve played a complete game yet. I'm not disappointed in the chemistry of our team. I'm not disappointed in the leadership of our team. We have a really good bunch of guys on this team who are trying to do the right thing, and I think that's a good start.”