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Week 4 in the SEC saw Alabama make sure everyone knew it was still the dominant team in college football, while Georgia took a giant step toward establishing itself as the team to beat in the SEC East.
Here’s a look at some of the interesting numbers from this weekend in the SEC.
Alabama: 0 turnovers
While the points and yards stood out for Alabama in its 59-0 win over Vanderbilt, the most pleasing number for Crimson Tide fans should be zero.
That’s the number of turnovers for Alabama this season. In fact, going back to last season, the Crimson Tide have now gone seven straight games without committing a turnover.
The last Alabama turnover occurred in the second quarter of the Auburn game last November. In terms of quarters, Alabama is on a 30-quarter streak of turnover-free football.
Florida: 364th straight game without being shut out
The Gators needed a huge rally to come away with a 28-27 victory over Kentucky, extending their win streak over the Wildcats to 31 straight games.
Also extended by Florida was its streak of consecutive games without being shut out. The Gators have now gone 364 straight, and will have a chance to tie the FBS record Saturday against Vanderbilt.
The record is held by Michigan, a streak that ran from 1984 to 2014. The last time Florida was shut out was Oct. 29, 1988, when Auburn defeated the Gators 16-0.
GAMES WITHOUT BEING SHUT OUT
[table “” not found /]Darrel Williams: 92 rush yards, 50 receiving
With Derrius Guice limited, Williams tied his season high for rushing yards against Syracuse and set a career-high with 142 all-purpose yards.
Williams, who had the second-most carries in a game in his career (16), also became just the fourth LSU player since 2000 to have at least 90 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving in the same game. The others were Leonard Fournette, Joseph Addai and LaBrandon Toefield.
Jake Bentley: 136 fourth-quarter passing yards
Trailing 13-0 entering the fourth quarter, South Carolina and its sophomore quarterback Jake Bentley woke up in a big way.
After a shaky performance over the first three quarters against Louisiana Tech (159 pass yards, 0 TDs, INT), Bentley came up big with 136 passing yards and a TD throw in the fourth quarter, helping the Gamecocks rally for a 17-13 victory at home.
The 136 passing yards by Bentley in the fourth quarter were more than he had in the fourth quarters of his first three games combined (118).
Tennessee: 17 points at home
Yes, it was a win. But offense remains an issue for Tennessee. The Volunteers had just 17 points in their win over Massachusetts, a season low.
It was the fewest points for Tennessee in a non-conference home game since scoring 13 against Oregon in 2010. It was also the fewest points by the Volunteers at home against a non-Power 5 opponent since 2008, when they were held to seven points by Wyoming.
Jake Fromm: 12 pass attempts
In Georgia’s 31-3 win over Mississippi State, freshman quarterback Jake Fromm threw for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns in what was easily the best game of his young, four-game career.
Fromm put up those numbers despite having a season-low 12 pass attempts. It was the fewest pass attempts by Georgia in a game since 2010 against Kentucky, when the Bulldogs also had just 12, all by Aaron Murray.
Christian Kirk: 246 all-purpose yards
Last year against Arkansas, Kirk finished with 11 all-purpose yards, the second-fewest he ever had in a game. Saturday against Arkansas, Kirk finished with 246 all-purpose yards, the second-most he ever had in a game.
By the way, the most all-purpose yards Kirk has ever had in a game is 255. That came back in his freshman season of 2015.
The opponent? Arkansas.
Alabama: 38 first downs
There were many numbers that came out of Alabama’s 59-0 thrashing of Vanderbilt, the most eye-opening of which came from the offensive side of the ball.
There was the 59-point outburst, which was the Crimson Tide’s highest-scoring game since 2014, when they beat Texas A&M by the same 59-0 score.
Then there’s the nearly 600-yard edge in total yards.
Or, how about nearly 500 yards on the ground?
Perhaps the most impressive number from the game was Alabama’s 38-3 edge in first downs. Its 38 first downs were not only a single-game school record, but it was two first downs shy of the single-game SEC record, held by … Vanderbilt (40 vs. Davidson in 1969).
Georgia: 280 total yards allowed
The Bulldogs were expected to have a rock-solid defense, with 10 starters returning from last season. And so far, they have lived up to the hype.
Georgia held Mississippi State to 280 total yards in its 31-3 victory. It marked the fourth straight game to start this season that Georgia has held an opponent under 300 yards of offense.
The last time Georgia opened a season by holding its first four opponents under 300 total yards was 2005. That was also the last time the Bulldogs captured the SEC Championship.
By the way, back in 2005, the fourth opponent Georgia held under 300 yards to start that season? Mississippi State.
Kerryon Johnson: 48 rush yards, 5 TDs
Auburn cruised to a 51-14 victory at Missouri, with Johnson leading the way.
Johnson, who led Auburn in rushing touchdowns last season with 11, entered Saturday with just one on the season.
But against Missouri, Johnson ran for five touchdowns, the most by an Auburn player since Peyton Barber also had five on the ground in 2015 against San Jose State.
What made Johnson’s performance so unique, however, is the fact that he finished with just 48 yards rushing (on 18 carries). It was the second-fewest rushing yards by an FBS player who had five TDs since 2000. Only Trey Burton of Florida in 2010 had fewer yards rushing in a five-TD game (40 vs Kentucky).
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
