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Inside the numbers: Samuel, Patterson, Vandy defense among best of Week 2
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Two weeks into the college football season, there are SEC notes that are hardly a surprise (Alabama undefeated). But there are also some things that are unexpected (Vanderbilt in the top 3 nationally in total defense and scoring defense).
Here are some of the best numbers following Saturday’s games in the SEC.
Kentucky: +4 turnover margin
Last season the Wildcats were the worst team in the SEC in turnover margin at -7. So far this season they have been +2 in each of their games.
Why is that significant? Last season, Kentucky had just one game with a +2 turnover margin, and you have to go back to the 2014 season to find the last time the Wildcats had back-to-back games with a +2 edge.
Deebo Samuel: 5 TDs in first 2 games
Samuel is quickly establishing himself as one of the best players in the SEC. The junior wide receiver is one of nine players in the FBS with at least five touchdowns so far this season.
In terms of the SEC, the last time a player in the conference scored five touchdowns in his team’s first two games was Alabama running back Trent Richardson in 2011.
Auburn: 14 sacks allowed
The Tigers had an atrocious offensive performance against Clemson on Saturday, failing to score a TD and producing just 117 total yards against the defending national champions.
But it was the sacks surrendered by Auburn that are probably most concerning to the coaching staff. Clemson came up with 11 sacks in its 14-6 win. In two games, Auburn has allowed 14 sacks.
Not only is that as many as Missouri allowed all of last season, when it led the SEC in fewest sacks allowed, but it is already just five shy of Auburn’s total for the entire 2016 season.
Georgia: 19 points allowed on the road
The Bulldogs needed a big-time performance by their defense Saturday at Notre Dame, and that is just what they got in their 20-19 victory. Georgia held the Fighting Irish to 265 total yards, and Notre Dame reached the end zone just once.
The 19 points allowed were the fewest by Georgia in a road game against a ranked non-conference opponent in nearly six years. Back in November of 2011, the Bulldogs went to Atlanta and defeated No. 25 Georgia Tech 42-10.
Mississippi State: 50+ points on the road
The 57-21 win on the road for the Bulldogs over Louisiana Tech not only produced the most points for Mississippi State in a road game since 2011 (59 at Memphis), but dating back to last season, it was the second straight road game in which the Bulldogs scored at least 50 points.
It is the first time in the history of the Mississippi State program it has scored 50 or more points in consecutive road games. Fans shouldn’t expect this streak to go much further, however.
In two weeks, Mississippi State is back on the road at Georgia. Over the last 60 years, Mississippi State is averaging just 7.6 points in games at Athens.
Kyle Shurmur: 70% completion rate
Shurmur had a great game in the Commodores’ 42-0 win over Alabama A&M. The junior threw for 202 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, completing 15 of 18 passes. His 83.3 completion percentage was also a single-game career high.
Shurmur has now started his season with back-to-back games completing at least 70% of his pass attempts. Prior to this season, Shurmur had never had even one game with a 70% completion percentage.
South Carolina: 2-0 but outgained
There are 43 FBS teams that are off to a 2-0 start this season, including South Carolina.
Of those teams, five are getting outgained in total yards for the season, including South Carolina.
The problem for the Gamecocks, however, is that the margin is quite dramatic. So far, South Carolina has been outgained by 161 yards per game.
None of the other four 2-0 FBS teams that are getting outgained on the season – Illinois, California, Virginia Tech and Tennessee – have a margin greater than 60 yards a game.
Alabama: 17 straight games …
The Crimson Tide had little trouble with Fresno State, coming up with a solid 41-10 victory in Tuscaloosa. Alabama held Fresno State to 58 yards on the ground, which was actually more than it allowed in its season opener against Florida State (40).
This marked the 17th straight regular-season game in which Alabama has held a non-conference opponent under 100 yards rushing. The last time a non-conference opponent had 100 or more rushing yards on Alabama in the regular season was the 2013 season opener, when Virginia Tech had 153 yards on the ground.
Shea Patterson: 918 passing yards
Is there a quarterback off to a better start in the SEC than Ole Miss’s Shea Patterson? On Saturday, Patterson, in just his fifth career start, threw for a school-record 489 yards in a 45-23 win over Tennessee Martin. Patterson also threw for five TDs, bringing his season total through two games to nine.
It was also his second straight 400-yard passing game to start the season (428 yards in Week 1 vs. South Alabama). Patterson’s 918 passing yards over the first two games of the season are easily the most by any SEC signal-caller in the first two games since 2000.
The next closest SEC player since 2000 was Kenny Hill of Texas A&M in 2014. Hill had 794 passing yards in the Aggies’ first two games that season.
Vanderbilt: 6 points allowed this season
While the level of competition is hardly SEC-caliber, seeing the Commodores near the top in any FBS defensive category is a sight to behold.
Vanderbilt is currently third in the nation in total defense (159 YPG) and tied for second nationally in scoring defense (3.0 PPG). The Commodores have not allowed more than 215 total yards in either of their first two games, and you must go back to 1970 to find the last time they started a season allowing 6 or fewer points over their first two games.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
