Middle Tennessee vs. Alabama by the numbers
Middle Tennessee at No. 4 Alabama
6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday
Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa
1 Of Alabama’s top eight tacklers from the 2022 season is back for the 2023 campaign – linebacker Deontae Lawson, who tied for fifth on the team with 51 tackles last season. Six of the missing seven players were selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
1 Victory in 21 games against ranked opponents for Middle Tennessee since becoming an NCAA FBS member in 1999. The Blue Raiders’ victory came on Sept. 24, 2022, when Middle Tennessee topped No. 25 Miami (Fla.) 45-31.
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2 SEC players have scored more points than Alabama K Will Reichard, who enters the 2023 season with 426. Auburn’s Daniel Carlson holds the SEC record with 480 points from 2014 through 2017, and Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship scored 440 points from 2016 through 2019.
3 Victories for Alabama in its three previous games against Middle Tennessee. The Crimson Tide won 39-34 in 2002, 26-7 in 2005 and 37-10 in 2015.
4 NCAA FBS head coaches have been at their jobs longer than Alabama’s Nick Saban, including Middle Tennessee’ Rick Stockstill, who is beginning his 18th season guiding the Blue Raiders. Stockstill has a 109-103 career record. Kirk Ferentz is in his 25th season at Iowa, Kyle Whittingham his 19th at Utah and Mike Gundy his 19th at Oklahoma State. This is Saban’s 17th season with the Crimson Tide.
4 Victories for Middle Tennessee in 30 games against SEC opponents since the Blue Raiders joined NCAA FBS in 1999. Middle Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt in 2001, 2002 and 2005 and Missouri in 2016. Saturday’s game will be the Raiders’ first against an SEC foe since a 49-7 loss to Georgia on Sept. 15, 2018. Middle Tennessee also takes on an SEC opponent next week when it visits Missouri. Alabama has a 17-1 record against opponents from Conference USA, with the defeat coming on Sept. 16, 2000, when Southern Miss scored a 21-0 victory in Birmingham.
6 Consecutive Alabama quarterbacks have played for SEC championships teams in their first seasons as the full-time starter. The Crimson Tide will have a new QB this year after Alabama’s Bryce Young was the first player picked in the 2023 NFL Draft (although coach Nick Saban has not publicly identified who that quarterback will be). Blake Sims in 2014, Jake Coker in 2015, Jalen Hurts in 2016, Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, Mac Jones in 2020 and Young in 2021 went from their first start in a season-opener to winning the SEC championship. The most recent Alabama quarterback who didn’t accomplish that was AJ McCarron in 2011. While the Tide did not win the SEC title that season, it did win the CFP national championship for 2011.
7 Consecutive Alabama games have featured at least 30 points for the Crimson Tide. Alabama is tied with Penn State for the longest active streak in the nation.
8 Games for Middle Tennessee QB Nick Vattiato over the past two seasons. Vattiato played in six games in 2021 and two in 2022 when Chase Cunningham was hurt and completed 145-of-217 passes for 1,340 yards with seven TDs and seven interceptions.
8 Consecutive losses for Middle Tennessee when the Blue Raiders open the season on the road. The streak started with a 26-7 loss at Alabama on Sept. 3, 2005.
19 Consecutive seasons have featured a victory for Alabama in its first game in Tuscaloosa. The streak started after a 20-13 loss to Oklahoma on Sept. 6, 2003.
21 Consecutive season-opening games have been won by Alabama. The 21-game streak is the second-longest in SEC history, but it is not the school record. Alabama opened its season with a victory 30 straight times from 1904 through 1934. (Alabama did not field a team in 1918.) Only the final two of those victories came as an SEC member. The Crimson Tide’s most recent loss in a season-opening game came 20-17 to UCLA on Sept. 1, 2001. Florida holds the SEC record for consecutive season-opening victories with 27 from 1990 through 2016. Alabama’s season-opening streak is the second longest in the nation behind Ohio State’s 23.
22 Passes defended – 20 breakups, two interceptions – for Middle Tennessee CB Teldrick Ross to rank second in the nation in 2022.
28 Consecutive September games have been won by Alabama, the longest current winning streak in the ninth month in the nation. The Crimson Tide’s most recent September loss came 43-37 to Ole Miss on Sept. 19, 2015.
34 Consecutive September non-conference home games have been won by Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s most recent loss in the ninth month to a non-conference opponent in Bryant-Denny Stadium is a 19-16 setback against Northern Illinois on Sept. 20, 2003.
42 Consecutive non-conference opponents have been defeated by Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide’s most recent loss to a non-conference opponent at home is a 21-14 defeat by Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 17, 2007. Alabama has the nation’s longest such active streak, with Oregon next at 30 in a row. Alabama’s home winning streak against non-conference opponents is the third-longest in SEC history. LSU won 49 in a row between a 13-10 loss to UAB on Sept. 23, 2000, and a 24-21 loss to Troy on Sept. 30, 2017. Tennessee won 44 in a row between a 14-6 loss to Chattanooga on Nov. 8, 1958, and a 17-17 tie with UCLA on Sept. 7, 1974.
56 Consecutive non-conference regular-season games have been won by Alabama — the longest streak in the nation during the SEC era. The Tide’s most recent loss in a non-conference regular-season game came on Nov. 17, 2007, when Alabama fell to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14.
104 Victories, 21 losses and three ties for Alabama in season-opening games. Middle Tennessee is 62-44-2 in its season-openers.
296 Games have been played by Alabama since it was most recently shut out, a school record and the third-longest scoring streak in SEC history. Alabama’s most recent shutout loss came 9-0 to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Florida has a 436-game scoring streak going, and Georgia has scored in its past 358 games. The Crimson Tide’s scoring streak is tied for the 14th-longest in major-college football history.
1,091 Rushing yards in three seasons at Alabama for RB Jase McClellan, who has played behind NFL first-round draft picks Najee Harris and Jahmyr Gibbs and third-round draft pick Brian Robinson Jr. during his time with the Crimson Tide. In 2022, McClellan ran for 655 yards and seven TDs on 112 carries and caught 14 passes for 174 yards and three TDs.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.