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Inside the numbers for Week 9: Fitzgerald racks up another 100-yard rushing game
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Week 9 saw one of the SEC’s biggest rivalry games turn into one of the series’ biggest blowouts, and a rare completed Hail Mary pass that didn’t end up as a touchdown.
Here are some interesting numbers to come out of Week 9 in the SEC:
Nick Fitzgerald: Another 100-yard game
In Mississippi State’s 35-14 win over Texas A&M, QB Nick Fitzgerald had another big day on the ground, rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. It was Fitzgerald’s third straight 100-yard game rushing, and his second in as many seasons against the Aggies.
Fitzgerald has 12 100-yard rushing games since the start of the 2016 season, second only to Heisman winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville during that stretch.
Vanderbilt: Lots of points, but no win
After losing its first four SEC games by an average of 31.5 points, Vanderbilt came up with a big effort on the road against South Carolina. The Commodores lost by just seven, 34-27, and scored at least 27 points for the second straight week.
It’s pretty rare to see a Vanderbilt team put up so many points in a conference game and lose by less than 10 points. In fact, you have to go back to 2005 to find the last time the Commodores lost an SEC game on the road by single digits while scoring at least 27 points.
In that game, Vanderbilt lost to Florida 49-42 in double overtime. Commodores quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns.
Kentucky: -4 turnover margin in a win
Kentucky’s wild 29-26 win over Tennessee will best be remembered for the game-winning TD run by Stephen Johnson in the final minute and the final-play Hail Mary pass by the Volunteers that came up a yard short of a touchdown.
The Wildcats pulled off a rare feat in the victory. Kentucky won despite committing four turnovers and forcing none.
Kentucky became the first Power 5 team to win a conference game with four or more turnovers, while not forcing one, since Florida did the same thing to Vanderbilt back in 2015. The Gators also had four turnovers, yet beat the Commodores 9-7.
In fact, only one other FBS team in any game this season has managed to achieve what Kentucky did Saturday, and it was also out of the SEC. Auburn committed five turnovers and did not have a takeaway in its win over Mercer.
Jordan Ta’amu: Plenty of yards in a loss
The wild comeback by Arkansas in its 38-37 win over Ole Miss overshadowed a solid passing game by Rebels QB Jordan Ta’amu. Despite a fumble and an interception, Ta’amu passed for 368 yards in his first collegiate start, replacing an injured Shea Patterson.
One thing Ta’amu’s stat line did not have was a passing TD, which is unique. Of the 70 games in the FBS this season in which a quarterback threw for at least 368 yards, Ta’amu is the only one who failed to throw a TD pass.
In fact, since 2000, only one other SEC quarterback has thrown for more yards in a game than Ta’amu without having a TD pass. In 2015, Arkansas QB Brandon Allen threw for 412 yards but no TDs in a loss to Toledo.
Arkansas: Big difference in yards per play
Lost in the impressive 38-37 comeback victory for Arkansas over Ole Miss was the fact that the Razorbacks won despite a huge disadvantage in yards per play.
The Razorbacks gained 5.4 yards per play while allowing 9.6 per play to the Rebels.
How rare was that? Since 2000, the Razorbacks are the only FBS school to win a game with fewer than 5.5 yards per play while allowing more than 9.5 yards per play.
Drew Lock: Dominating out of conference again
In Missouri’s 52-12 win over Connecticut, quarterback Drew Lock once again was dominating against a non-Power 5 opponent. Lock threw for 377 yards and five touchdowns. Against non-Power 5 teams this season (Missouri State, Idaho, UConn), Lock is averaging 455 passing yards, with 18 TD passes and just 2 interceptions.
This should not have come as any surprise. Here are Lock’s numbers against non-Power 5 opponents over the last two seasons: 68% comp, 433.0 pass YPG, 30 pass TDs, 2 INTs.
Georgia: No passes required
Georgia’s 42-7 win over Florida was impressive enough just by the margin of victory.
But the Bulldogs needed just four pass completions to come away with the 35-point win. This season, Army is the only other FBS team to win a game by that many points with four or fewer pass completions. Army has done it twice.
Georgia became the first Power 5 school to win a conference game by 35 or more points while needing just four or fewer completions since Oklahoma did it against Kansas in 2014.
This season, only one SEC team has won a conference game this big with fewer than 10 completions. That team was Georgia, which beat Tennessee by 41 points with only 7 completions.
Florida: Rush yards allowed
The biggest reason Georgia was able to come away with its 35-point win over Florida with only four completions is that the Bulldogs dominated in the running game.
Georgia ran for 292 yards on Florida, the most the Gators have allowed in a game since 2013, when another Georgia school, Georgia Southern, rushed for 429 yards and shocked the Gators in Gainesville, 26-20.
The last time Florida allowed this many rushing yards to an opponent in an SEC game, the Head Ball Coach was on the sidelines for the Gators. Back in 2000, Mississippi State rushed for 351 yards against Steve Spurrier’s Gators.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
