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1 streak every SEC East team hopes to extend or end in 2016
By Chris Wright
Published:
Some streaks are more notable than others.
Florida, for instance, has beaten Kentucky 29 consecutive times, the longest active win streak over one opponent in college football. But you already knew that.
Others are more obscure … until now.
Here’s one streak every SEC East team will try to extend or end in 2016.
Florida
Streak: 8 years without allowing a Georgia RB to run for 3 TDs in a game
Skinny: Georgia might be Tailback U., but just two Bulldogs RBs have rushed for two or more scores against the Gators since 2000: Musa Smith (2) in 2000 and Knowshon Moreno (3) in 2007. Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb (below) are among the many Bulldogs who ran for just one score against the Gators. Chubb has rushed for two touchdowns seven times in his career. He missed last year’s game against the Gators.
Georgia
Streak: 19 consecutive bowl trips
Skinny: Jim Donnan started the streak in his second year in 1997 … and Mark Richt largely did the rest. The Bulldogs’ streak is the longest in the SEC and third-longest in the country. The Bulldogs don’t just get there, either. They’re 14-5 in those bowl games, including last season’s victory (below) over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Kentucky
Streak: The Wildcats haven’t had a winning SEC record since 1977
Skinny: Their 38-year drought is the longest such streak in the country among Power 5 teams. Even basketball powers/football lightweights Duke, Indiana and Kansas have had more recent winning seasons in their respective conference. The Wildcats went 6-0 in the SEC in 1977. Since then, they’ve had six .500 conference finishes.
Missouri
Streak: No SEC East running back has rushed for 200 yards against the Tigers
Skinny: The Tigers’ streak is at 24 games entering their fifth season in the division. Jalen Hurd, last season, became the first division back to crack 150 yards against the Tigers and just the fourth to top 100.
South Carolina
Streak: 7 consecutive wins over Vanderbilt and Mississippi State
Skinny: Those are the Gamecocks’ longest active streaks over an SEC team. Both streaks will be on the line in 2016 — in back-to-back weeks on the road to open the season.
Tennessee
Streak: 15 consecutive games with a rushing TD
Skinny: Ending losing streaks against Alabama (9) and Florida (11) are obvious objectives. One way the Vols might end both is to extend their rushing TD streak, which is longer than LSU’s (14) and approaching Alabama’s SEC-best 20.
Vanderbilt
Streak: 124 games without allowing a 200-game rusher
Skinny: Think Missouri’s streak is impressive? The Commodores can top it. They haven’t allowed a 200-yard rusher to any running back from anywhere since Tennessee’s Arian Foster went for 223 in 2005. That’s the longest active streak in the conference.
Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
