SEC Football by the Numbers: Top 10 for Week 4

SEC Football by the Numbers: Top 10 for Week 4

The fourth Saturday of the SEC’s 91st season features five conference games and four non-conference contests. Here are 10 numbers, along with the schedule, TV and betting lines, to get ready for Week 4:

0 Of the previous 69 Arkansas-LSU games have been played in September, as Saturday’s meeting in Baton Rouge arrives on the calendar earlier than any of their other matchups. The earliest the Tigers and Razorbacks had squared off before Saturday’s game came on Oct. 19, when LSU defeated Arkansas 13-7 in 1935. Since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992, all 31 of its meetings with LSU as conference rivals were played in November. Kentucky and Vanderbilt also are holding their earliest meeting ever on Saturday. Only two of the previous 95 Kentucky-Vanderbilt games were played in September. Vanderbilt won 12-0 on Sept. 25, 1937, and Kentucky won 17-7 on Sept. 27, 2014. All their other meetings have been played in October and November.

1 Victory over UAB on Saturday would give Georgia’s Kirby Smart the most wins and the best winning percentage for a coach after his first 100 games at an SEC member. Smart has an 84-15 record with the Bulldogs. Smart is tied for the most wins for a coach in his first 100 games at an SEC school with the 84-16 mark achieved by Nick Saban at Alabama. The best winning percentage for a coach in his first 100 games at an SEC school is .845, achieved by Paul “Bear” Bryant with an 81-12-7 record at Alabama. Even with a loss, Smart still would have sole possession of the most wins and the best winning percentage for a coach in his first 100 games in the SEC. Georgia’s 24-14 victory over South Carolina last week assured Smart of those superlatives regardless of Saturday’s outcome as he surpassed the 83-16-1 record achieved by Steve Spurrier at Florida. Saban and Bryant coached in the SEC before coming to Alabama. With his Kentucky record included, Bryant had a 66-28-6 record in his first 100 games as an SEC coach. With his LSU record included, Saban had a 67-33 record in his first 100 games as an SEC coach.

3 Consecutive games with an interception for Auburn S Jaylin Simpson. With an interception in each of the Tigers’ first three games this season, Simpson became the first Auburn player to accomplish that feat since Jerraud Powers in 2007. Simpson has five interceptions in his past seven games. In his first 31 games at Auburn, Simpson had one interception. Texas A&M has played four consecutive games against Auburn without throwing an interception.

6 Consecutive games with at least one 100-yard rusher for Kentucky against Vanderbilt. RB Benny Snell Jr. had 100-yard games in 2017 and 2018 and RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. did so in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Kentucky QB Lynn Bowden Jr. also was a 100-yard rusher against the Commodores in 2019. Kentucky’s leading rusher, Ray Davis, ran for 112 yards in the Wildcats’ season-opener against Ball State and has 10 100-yard games in his career, including 129 yards against Kentucky for Vanderbilt last season. Davis ran for 1,042 yards as the Commodores’ top ball-carrier in the 2022 season before transferring to the Wildcats.

11 Consecutive seasons have featured a loss for Vanderbilt in its first SEC game of the campaign. The Commodores haven’t been 1-0 in league play since posting a 30-7 victory over Ole Miss on Sept. 17, 2011. Vanderbilt kicks off its 2023 SEC schedule on Saturday against Kentucky.

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13 Is the rank of Alabama in this week’s AP Poll, the worst showing for the Crimson Tide since the Sept. 27, 2015, poll, when Alabama also was ranked No. 13. The Tide rallied to win the CFP national championship that season by upending No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU, No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 18 Florida to reach a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown against Clemson, which the Tide won 45-40 in the CFP national-championship game. Alabama’s drop from No. 2 in the 2015 poll came after a 43-37 setback against Ole Miss. Saturday’s game will be the first for Alabama against Ole Miss with the Tide outside the top 10 since Oct. 13, 2007, when unranked Alabama defeated the Rebels 27-24.

34 Years since Georgia lost a non-conference home game in September. The Bulldogs have won 52 non-conference games in a row at Sanford Stadium in the ninth month since South Carolina took a 24-20 victory in Athens on Sept. 30, 1989. The Gamecocks were an independent program at the time. UAB visits Georgia on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won 22 consecutive non-conference regular-season games, the longest active streak in the nation. Georgia most recently lost a non-conference regular-season game on Nov. 26, 2016, when Georgia Tech topped the Bulldogs 28-27.

112 Years since Kentucky started three consecutive seasons with a 4-0 record, which it would achieve for the second time in school history by beating Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Wildcats carry a 3-0 record into Saturday’s game after winning their first four games in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Kentucky most recently had three consecutive 4-0 records in 1909, 1910 and 1911. In 1909, the victories came against Kentucky Wesleyan, Berea, Illinois and Tennessee. In 1910, Kentucky defeated Ohio, Maryville, North Carolina and Kentucky Wesleyan. In 1911, the wins came over Maryville, Morris-Harvey, Miami (Ohio) and Lexington High School. In 2021, Kentucky’s wins came against Louisiana-Monroe, Missouri, Chattanooga and South Carolina. In 2022, the Wildcats beat Miami (Ohio), Florida, Youngstown State and Northern Illinois. Kentucky has started this season by downing Ball State, Eastern Kentucky and Akron.

281 Passes have been thrown by Missouri QB Brady Cook since he was most recently intercepted. That’s the third-longest streak without an interception in SEC history, behind 325 passes by Kentucky QB Andre Woodson in the 2006 and 2007 seasons and 291 passes by Alabama QB AJ McCarron in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Last week, Cook broke Chase Daniels’ school record of 254 passes without an interception. Cook’s most recent interception came against Vanderbilt on Oct. 22, 2022. On Saturday, Missouri will play Memphis, which has intercepted two passes this season.

299 Games have been played by Alabama since it was most recently shut out. By scoring against Ole Miss on Saturday, the Crimson Tide would have the 14th scoring streak of at least 300 games in major-college football history. The record streak of 439 games belongs to Florida and also is active. There is one other streak in SEC history longer than Alabama’s – Georgia’s current string of 362 games, which is the fourth-longest in major-college football history. Alabama’s most recent shutout loss came 9-0 to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Florida’s streak also dates from a loss to Auburn – a 16-0 setback on Oct. 29, 1988. Georgia’s streak started after a 31-0 loss to Alabama on Sept. 30, 1995.

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This week’s SEC schedule includes (all times are CDT with point spreads from Catena):

Saturday

· Auburn (3-0) at Texas A&M (2-1), 11 a.m. at Kyle Field I Bryan-College Station, Texas (ESPN). Line: Texas A&M by 8

· Kentucky (3-0) at Vanderbilt (2-2), 11 a.m. at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (SEC Network). Line: Kentucky by 13.5

· No. 15 Ole Miss (3-0) at No. 13 Alabama (2-1), 2:30 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa (CBS). Line: Alabama by 6.5

· UTSA (1-2) at No. 23 Tennessee (2-1), 3 p.m. at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee (SEC Network). Line: Tennessee by 21.5

· Arkansas (2-1, 0-0) at No. 12 LSU (2-1, 1-0), 6 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (ESPN). Line: LSU by 17.5

· Charlotte (1-2) at No. 25 Florida (2-1), 6 p.m. at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida (SEC+). Line: Florida by 28

· Memphis (3-0) vs. Missouri (3-0), 6:30 p.m. at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis (ESPNU). Line: Missouri by 6.5

· Mississippi State (2-1, 0-1) at South Carolina (1-2, 0-1), 6:30 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina (SEC Network). Line: South Carolina by 6.5

· UAB (1-2) at No. 1 Georgia (3-0), 6:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia (ESPN2). Line: Georgia by 42.5

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.