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Week 5 in the SEC saw Alabama and Georgia pull off convincing victories, winning their games by a combined score of 107-3.
Here’s a look at some of the interesting numbers from this weekend in the SEC.
Florida: 5 rushing touchdowns
With all the talk of the Gators’ quarterback issues over recent years, the running game has not exactly been a dominating part of their offense either.
However, that may be changing. Last week the Gators came up with a season-high 186 yards on the ground and scored their first two rushing touchdowns of the season against Kentucky.
On Saturday Florida was even better in the ground attack, rushing for five touchdowns in the 38-24 win over Vanderbilt. Only once since 2011 has Florida had a game in which it ran for five or more scores. That came back in 2015 against Georgia.
It was also the Gators’ 15th straight win in games in which they score two or more rushing TDs. The last time they lost a game in which they scored multiple rushing touchdowns was 2013 vs. South Carolina.
LSU: 206 rush yards allowed vs. Troy
It was the weekend’s biggest shocker in the SEC: LSU losing at home to a non-conference opponent for the first time since falling to UAB in 2000.
What had to be just as disheartening for LSU fans was the way it was run on by Troy. The Trojans rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns in the upset victory.
This season in three LSU wins, the Tigers have allowed just 46.3 rush yards per game and 2.0 per carry.
But in the two losses, LSU has allowed 245.5 rush yards per game and 5.5 per carry.
Devwah Whaley: 10 carries = victory
Arkansas improved to 2-2 on the season with a 42-24 victory over New Mexico State. And sophomore running back Devwah Whaley (19 carries, 119 yards) had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season.
It might be worth it for the Razorbacks to give Whaley the ball as much as possible. Since the start of the 2016 season, Arkansas is 6-1 when Whaley has 10 or more carries, and 3-7 when he receives fewer than 10 carries.
Texas A&M: 279 total yards allowed
The Aggies improved to 4-1 on the season with a come-from-behind 24-17 victory over South Carolina. The big key for the Aggies in the victory was holding the Gamecocks to 279 total yards.
It was a surprisingly dominating effort for Texas A&M, which came into the game 13th in the SEC in total defense. This was just the second time since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012 that they held an SEC opponent under 300 total yards. The other time came in 2015, when they held Vanderbilt to 148.
Jalen Hurts: 0 interceptions
In his second season as the Alabama starting quarterback, sophomore Jalen Hurts continues to be a major dual-threat weapon. But perhaps the best part of Hurts’ game is his ability to avoid turnovers.
Hurts has yet to throw an interception this season, and his streak of consecutive passes without an interception is now at 169. That is the third-longest streak in school history, behind only Brodie Croyle (190) and AJ McCarron (291).
Ralph Webb: 2.64 yards per rush
Entering this season, senior Ralph Webb was arguably the top returning running back in the SEC. But 2017 has been a struggle for Vanderbilt’s all-time leading rusher.
Against Florida, Webb was held under 3 yards a carry for the third time in five games this season (29 yards on 11 carries).
In his previous three seasons, covering 37 games, Webb was held under 3 yards a carry just four times.
Georgia: 41.2 completion percentage
It was another convincing win for Georgia on Saturday, as the Bulldogs shut out Tennessee 41-0. Making the win more impressive was the fact Georgia quarterbacks combined were just 7-for-17 passing, a completion percentage of 41.2.
It was the second lowest completion percentage for a team winning by 40 or more points in an SEC game since 2000. The only SEC team to win a game by more than Georgia’s 41-point margin with a lower completion percentage was LSU in 2010 against Louisiana Monroe. The Tigers won 51-0 despite completing just 8 of 22 passes (36.4 percent).
Kentucky: 13 rush yards allowed
The Wildcats continue to demonstrate they have one of the best defenses in the SEC. At the very least, their rush defense is among the best in the conference.
Kentucky held Eastern Michigan to 13 rushing yards on 27 carries in the Wildcats’ 24-20 victory. It was the second-fewest rush yards allowed by an SEC team in a game this season (LSU held BYU to minus-5 rush yards in Week 1) and it was the fewest allowed by Kentucky against an FBS opponent since 1996 when it held Vanderbilt to minus-29 yards on the ground.
Kerryon Johnson: Back-to-back 3-TD games
On a team loaded at the running back position, Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson is becoming the Tigers’ scoring machine near the goal line.
The junior running back followed up his five-TD performance on the ground two weeks ago against Missouri with three more touchdowns in Saturday’s win over Mississippi State. Johnson is the first Power 5 player this season with consecutive games of three or more rushing touchdowns.
Johnson now leads the SEC in rushing touchdowns with nine, despite missing two of Auburn’s first five games due to injury.
Alabama: Consecutive 50-point wins
Each year is seems Alabama puts up numbers to make fans wonder if this is the best Crimson Tide team ever.
This season, Alabama appears at it again. The Crimson Tide are off to a 5-0 start, which is no big surprise. What is eye-opening is the performance of the last two weeks.
Facing Vanderbilt and Ole Miss over the last two games, Alabama has outscored them by a combined 125-3. Each of the Crimson Tide’s last two wins have come by at least 50 points.
The last time Alabama posted back-to-back 50-point wins? 1944!
For some perspective, the president of the United States back then was Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the nation was deep into World War II.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
