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Week 1 of the SEC season is (mostly) in the books. And while there were predictable results, there were some surprises, too.
But every week, there are numbers that stand out. Here are some of the best notes and numbers from Week 1.
(-5) – LSU
There were questions about LSU’s offense coming into this season, with new offensive coordinator Matt Canada taking over the play-calling duties.
However, any questions about the Tigers’ defense were answered following their 27-0 shutout of BYU. The Cougars never crossed midfield on LSU’s defense, which pitched its first shutout in nearly two years (Sept. 13, 2014 vs Louisiana Monroe).
The most impressive stat, though, was the Tigers holding the Cougars to -5 yards rushing. It was the second-fewest rush yards allowed by an SEC team in a season opener since 2000. Only Alabama in 2011 was better, as it held Kent State to -9 yards on the ground.
By the way, Alabama went on to win the national title in 2011.g
1 – Alabama
The Crimson Tide completely dominated the second half in the 24-7 win over No. 3 Florida State Saturday. Alabama shut out the Seminoles in the second half, outscoring them 14-0 over the final two quarters.
That Alabama took control in the second half should not have come as too much of a surprise. Over the past five season openers, the Crimson Tide has allowed just one touchdown in the second half, and that came inside of the last five minutes of a 35-17 win (Wisconsin in 2015).
The combined second-half score in those past five season openers: 90-19, in Alabama’s favor.
2 – Florida
Much was made of the Gators’ offensive issues in their loss to Michigan on Saturday. And there certainly is reason to focus on that side of the ball, especially when you run the ball 27 times and gain a total of 11 yards.
But one positive takeaway was their defense. Florida returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
Florida became just the second SEC team since 2000 to return two interceptions for touchdowns in a game and lose. The other team to pull this off was Mississippi State in 2009. The Bulldogs opponent that day?
Florida.
6 – Nick Chubb, Georgia
The news coming out of Athens is really focused on one topic: the health of starting quarterback Jacob Eason. Eason suffered a knee injury in the first half of Saturday’s convincing 31-10 win over Appalachian State.
While the Eason news is huge, what should not be lost is the strong start once again by senior running back Nick Chubb.
Chubb rushed for 96 yards on just 15 carries and had a pair of touchdowns. While he didn’t top the 100-yard mark, he did score two rushing TD for the third consecutive season opener.
Over the past three seasons, Chubb has six rushing TDs in three season openers (2.0 rush TD per game), and just 11 touchdowns in the other 17 games (0.65 rush TD per game).
7 – Mississippi State
Which SEC team has the longest active streak of rushing for 200 yards in its season opener? No, it isn’t Alabama, Auburn or Georgia, traditional powers that love to run the football.
It’s Mississippi State, which was able to keep the streak alive in the 49-0 win over Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs rushed for 281 yards, the seventh consecutive year it opened its season with a 200-yard game.
Unfortunately for Bulldog fans, the streak doesn’t always extend beyond Week 1. Only three times have they managed a 200-yard rushing game in Game 2. Although one of those times was last season against South Carolina (294 yards).
24.8 – Drew Lock, Missouri
Lock began 2017 by setting single-game school records for passing yards (521) and TD passes (7) in a 72-43 victory over FCS opponent Missouri State.
Although those numbers were eye-popping enough, an even bigger note might be this: Lock needed just 21 completions to reach his 521 yards.
Lock — and Missouri — averaged 24.8 yards per completion. Since 2000, that is easily the highest yards per completion of any FBS team that threw for at least 520 yards.
31 — South Carolina
The Gamecocks came up with a solid 35-28 win over N.C. State in Charlotte on Saturday.
What wasn’t solid for South Carolina fans was the Gamecocks’ rushing attack. They rushed for just 31 yards on 21 carries.
It was the fewest rush yards for a South Carolina team in a win since 2000, when the Gamecocks beat Mississippi State 23-19 despite just 30 yards rushing.
312 – Kam Martin, Auburn
As expected, Auburn had the ground going in its 41-7 win over Georgia Southern Saturday. The Tigers, who led the SEC in rushing offense a season ago, rushed for 351 yards in the victory. Dating back to last season, it was the fourth consecutive game the Tigers rushed for 350 yards or more against a non-Power 5 opponent.
Leading the way were Kerryon Johnson and Kam Martin, each with 136 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Seeing Johnson get over 100 yards wasn’t much of a surprise. But for Martin, it was a different story.
A freshman last season, Martin had a small role in Auburn’s rushing success. But in his final game last season against Alabama A&M, he broke loose for 176 yards and two TDs.
Combined with his effort Saturday, and Martin now has 312 rushing yards over his past two games. He is averaging nearly 9 yards a carry over those two games (8.9) and has three TD.
429 — Shea Patterson, Ole Miss
In just his fourth career start, Patterson threw for 429 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 47-27 win over South Alabama. The main recipient of Patterson’s throws was wide receiver A.J. Brown, who set a single-game school record with 233 yards receiving.
Patterson’s 429 yards wasn’t the single-game school record; that belongs to former teammate Chad Kelly (465 yards vs. Auburn last season).
But no player in the history of Ole Miss football ever threw for more yards in a Rebels’ season opener than Patterson on Saturday.
Patterson was also the third Ole Miss quarterback in the past four years to throw for 300 or more yards in a season opener (Bo Wallace, Kelly).
2008 – Vanderbilt
The Commodores dominated Middle Tennessee in their season opener Saturday, winning 28-6. And while much has been made of Vanderbilt snapping a streak of five consecutive losses in season openers, there was an even longer drought that came to an end.
The last time Vanderbilt won a season opener was 2011, when it beat Elon, 45-14. But Elon wasn’t an FBS program, and neither was Western Carolina when the Tigers won another season opener back in 2009.
To find the last time the Commodores opened their season with an FBS opponent and won, you must go back to 2008, when they defeated Miami (Ohio), 14-13.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
