Offense or defense?

Running or passing?

We wanted to know which statistics provided a more accurate gauge of overall success during the 2012 SEC football season.  When talking about the SEC, defense is usually the first word out of the mouth of any coach, fan or pundit.  Should it be?

In an effort to find out, we took six key (but simple) statistics from last season and compared them to the win/loss records of each of the 14 SEC schools.  We used only stats from conference games (SEC versus SEC) and we’ve compared only last season’s conference records.  Last year’s SEC title game was not included in our study.

In this piece, we’ll look at the defensive side of the ball.  Below you will find last year’s SEC teams ranked according to their opponents’ yards-per-pass-attempt average:

2012 SEC Passing Defense / Opponents’ Yards-Per-Pass-Attempt

Observations

*  When it comes to predicting success in the SEC, this statistic is much more helpful than its offensive counterpart.  Being able to throw the ball is important, but not as important as being able to prevent your opponent from successfully throwing the football.

*  With the exception of 2-6 Missouri, every other team in the SEC that held its opponents to 7.4 yards-per-pass-attempt or less won five or more league games.  The top eight teams in this category were a combined 46-18 in the SEC last season.

*  The bottom six SEC squads in this particular pass defense measure were a combined 10-38 in league play.  Of those six schools — Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas — only MSU managed to finish at .500.

*  The quick takeaway: If you want to win an SEC football game, passing the ball isn’t as important as stopping the other team from passing the ball.

*  You can see the breakdown for offensive yards-per-pass-attempt by clicking here.

Offense or defense?

Running or passing?

We wanted to know which statistics provided a more accurate gauge of overall success during the 2012 SEC football season.  When talking about the SEC, defense is usually the first word out of the mouth of any coach, fan or pundit.  Should it be?

In an effort to find out, we took six key (but simple) statistics from last season and compared them to the win/loss records of each of the 14 SEC schools.  We used only stats from conference games (SEC versus SEC) and we’ve compared only last season’s conference records.  Last year’s SEC title game was not included in our study.

In this piece, we’ll start on the offensive side of the ball.  Below you will find last year’s SEC teams ranked according to their yards-per-pass-attempt average:

2012 SEC Passing Offense / Yards-Per-Pass-Attempt

Observations

*  Five of the top six teams in yards-per-pass won at least five SEC games last season.  The lone exception was Ole Miss.  So why didn’t the Rebels’ win on par with the league’s other high-flying squads?  It might have been Mississippi’s turnover woes.  Hugh Freeze’s squad turned the ball over 29 times last season to rank 13th of out of 14 SEC teams in giveaways (only Arkansas had more with 31).

*  For the most part, the league’s bottom-feeders in 2012 (Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn, Missouri and Kentucky) all ranked in the bottom half of the league in yards-per-attempt.  There were two exceptions: Florida (7-1) and LSU (6-2).  Of course, they both had pretty stingy defenses… which we’ll cover in another post.

*  The top four squads in this category all return their starting quarterbacks this season: AJ McCarron, Aaron Murray, Bo Wallace and Connor Shaw.

*  So is this a very telling stat when it comes to predicting SEC success?  You’ll see this afternoon and tomorrow that there are other measures that relate much more closely to SEC wins and losses.  For example, check out the breakdown for defensive yards-per-pass-attempt by clicking here.

SEC Football

1. Former Tennessee defensive end and coach Chuck Smith has been working with Auburn linemen in order to help revive the Tigers pass rush.

2. The biggest surprise on Auburn’s post-spring depth chart? Slot receiver.

3. Biggest question at Arkansas this fall?  Backup quarterback.

4. Nick Saban on being inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: “In the future, I’m going to be more committed in order to justify the honor you’ve given to me tonight.”

5. Clemson AD Dan Radakovich on what he learned from Saban at LSU.  ”With all the distractions around him, Nick stays focused on the things that are important for him and his program.”

6. Young LSU fans get to camp out at Tiger Stadium.

7. The SEC and the NFL draft – uptick can be explained by Alabama and LSU. “They have been pipelining athletes to the NFL far beyond what they’ve ever been able to do previously.”

8. South Carolina an 8.5 point favorite in the opener against North Carolina, Mississippi State a 6.5 point underdog vs Oklahoma State. Spreads for Week 1 are out.

SEC/College News

9. In Michael Adams’  16 years as president of the university, athletic department revenues at Georgia have climbed from $25.7 million to $92.1 milion. Barbara Dooley still upset how her husband was treated: “In my opinion, he has never said anything positive about Vince Dooley’s ability as the athletic director…I take personal offense to that.”

10. Mike Bianchi on linebacker Matthew Thomas who wants out of his commitment to Florida State and reportedly transfer to Georgia or Southern Cal.   “What sort of life lesson is Thomas learning if his first exposure to the adult world is the message that it’s OK to break promises and walk out on commitments?”

SEC Basketball

11. Alabama reportedly agreeing to a series with UCLA.

12. When Andrew Wiggins announced he was going to Kansas, fans started melting down on Twitter.  ”In 140 characters or less, they hoped he’d tear ACLs, be consumed by fire or die in a plane crash.”

Extras

13. O.J. Simpson planning a college speaking tour after he gets out of prison.

14. Questions surrounding Seton Hall’s softball coach -”Is this a coach out of control or overly sensitive players and parents?”

SEC Football

1. More than 3,500 people have signed an online petition supporting suspended Georgia player Kolton Houston.  The offensive lineman has been banned since testing positive for the steroid Nandrolone as a freshman.

2.Vanderbilt coach James Franklin received more than $1.8 million in compensation in 2011.

3. Tennessee coach Butch Jones: “I think the thing that separates our fan base from a lot of other fan bases is we’re very knowledgeable.”

4. Quarterback Wes Lunt is leaving Oklahoma State but the school won’t let him go to Tennessee or Vanderbilt.

5. Alabama coach Nick Saban part of the 2013 class inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Saban’s donated items include binders and handwritten notes – “6 seconds of hell.”

6. Mike Bianchi:  Everybody knows Nick Saban is not really the devil. Urban Meyer is.

7. Will Leitch: “Do not call Nick Saban ‘Satan.’ He will be very disappointed. He also might eat your soul.”

8. Auburn awaits the arrival of newcomers at the safety position.  Until they arrive – “the picture at both safety spots is a little bit murky.”

SEC/College News

9. Paid $1.2 million in his role as athletic director in 2011, Vanderbilt’s David Williams among the top five highest-paid ADs.

10. Former Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe received nearly $4.9 million in compensation and severance in 2011.

11. Andy Staples: In the past five years, the ACC has had more players drafted into the NFL (160) than any conference except the SEC (229).

SEC Basketball

12. Tennessee center Yemi Makanjuola reportedly transferring to UNC-Wilmington,

13. Vanderbilt forward Sheldon Jeter has decided to transfer. Beaver Falls, Pa. native wants to play closer to home. Averaged 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds as a freshman.

Extras

14. Can Orb be the first Triple Crown winner since 1978?

15. Cam Newton’s fluctuating Q Score.

1. Columbia, South Carolina defensive end Christian Miller has decommitted from Florida.  ”After a lot of hard thinking and discussions with my parents, I have respectfully decided to open my recruitment back up,” he posted on his Facebook page. He had previously mentioned Alabama, Florida State and Georgia as schools pursing him.  Florida now has eight commitments in its 2014 class.

2. Bossier City, Louisiana quarterback Robert Harris has a top seven - LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss and Baylor. He unveiled his list last night at his spring game.   LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and area recruiter and tight ends coach Steve Ensminger were on hand to watch him to perform. Harris says he’ll make a decision on July 18.

3. Opelika, Alabama tight end Jakell Mitchell has picked an offer from the Crimson Tide. He has also offers from  Auburn, LSU, Florida, Florida State, among others. Mitchel’s teammate, Stephen Roberts, committed to Alabama in April.

4. Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about recruiting in Georgia Thursday night.  ”It’s (Atlanta) the city in the South, and it’s three hours from Tuscaloosa. It’s important for us to do a good job here. There’s a lot of great (high school) programs and a lot of good players, so we’ve had a lot of good players from here. I think there’s five starters on our team from this area.”

5. Georgia has a rooting interest in the fate of five-star linebacking prospect Matthew Thomas.  He signed with Florida State in February but now says he wants to play at either Georgia or Southern Cal.

6. Florence, Alabama quarterback Kendrick Doss has offers from Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Georgia Tech.  Considered a duel threat quarterback, here’s how Doss’s high school coach described him:  ”Kendrick’s the type kid, like Cam Newton and a lot of other guys, that can develop into a pro-style quarterback. He’s big enough to stand in the pocket. He’s tall enough to see over offensive lines. I think this kid could very easily adapt to a pro-style offense.”

7. District of Columbia metro area linebacker/safety Kobie Walker committed to Kentucky earlier this week.  He’s hoping to open a regional pipeline to the Bluegrass state.  “You don’t see a lot of players come from the DMV and go to Kentucky, so hopefully this will start a new trend.  Walker had narrowed his list to Kentucky, Miami and West Virginia before choosing UK.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s recruitment has stayed the same since he committed to Clemson more than 15 months ago.

He continues to say he’s solid to the Tigers while more and more schools keep recruiting him.

The latest school is Alabama. The Crimson Tide offered Watson a scholarship last week, joining a list that includes Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon and Southern California.

Watson, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 1 quarterback by Rivals.com, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s used to all the attention from other schools.

“I can’t tell them to stop coming by here,” he said. “They can still come by and check out another player on my team but still watch me. You know, I can’t ever tell a school not to recruit me because it’s an honor and a privilege for them to throw me a full ride offer and (tell) me to come play at the school and get a free education.”

Watson, who attends Gainesville (Ga.) High School, has entertained the idea of visiting other schools. He told ESPN RecruitingNation last month that he would take all five official visits this fall but has since softened on the idea. Instead, he told the AJC he has a list of “fallback schools” in case the status of his commitment to Clemson changes.

“For me, it would be Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, USC and Oregon,” Watson said.

Georgia is intriguing. The home-state school has shown strong interest in Watson, who’s the only quarterback in the 2014 class to receive a scholarship offer from the Bulldogs.

“They have let it be known that I am their guy for 2014 and the only quarterback they plan to go after,” Watson told ESPN. “Mike Bobo and Mark Richt said they want a local guy to take over their offense and lead them to a national championship.”

Georgia will be looking for a new starting quarterback in 2014 after senior Aaron Murray departs. Alabama will be as well with AJ McCarron entering his senior year in Tuscaloosa.

Auburn has a group of quarterbacks set to return in 2014 but no one has set himself apart from the others. That opportunity for early playing time, which Clemson can also offer as Tajh Boyd enters his final year in college, will be the sales pitch from several schools recruiting Watson.

He can expect to hear more from those schools between now and the day he finally steps on a college campus. As Gainesville coach Bruce Miller told the AJC, “every school” is interested in Watson. And he doesn’t seem bothered by the attention.

“That’s going to keep on happening,” Watson said.

Leslie eligible for LSU

Wide receiver Quantavius Leslie received good news this week when he learned he will be eligible to play at LSU this fall, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari says his next team will be “chasing perfection,” something that hasn’t been done since Indiana went undefeated in 1976
ESPN analyst Mark May called Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis a “classless backstabbing coward” for calling Alabama coach Nick Saban “the devil himself”
Tennessee says it has reached a four-year deal to re-start the school’s basketball rivalry with Memphis…
Memphis officials say no deal is done yet and that future football games would be required
The Big Ten reportedly made $315 million during its last fiscal year, $42 million more than the SEC during its last fiscal year
Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on his secondary: “We don’t want two corners, we want four corners.”
Former Wyoming punter Tim Gleeson says he will enroll at Tennessee
Follow all 14 SEC teams at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

SEC Football

1. Gator Bowl close to finalizing TV contract with ESPN.  Wants to maintain SEC affiliation as “anchor team” with opponents coming from multiple conferences.

2. Former Ole Miss quarterback Tom Luke joining Hugh Freeze’s staff as director of player development. Mel Kiper on Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace: “Wallace can play.”

3. Can Brandon Allen handle the starting quarterback job at Arkansas?  ”Hard to say.”

4. Athlon Sports previews LSU.  How many games will the Tigers win in 2013?

5. When LSU faces TCU, they won’t see Big 12 defense player of the year Devonte Fields – suspended for first two games of the year.

6. And while we’re on LSU, what about Mike the Tiger? ”There are only about 34 universities in the U.S. that have live mascots, and LSU is the only university in the U.S. with a live tiger living on campus.”

7. With Mike Gillislee and his 1,000 yards gone at Florida, it’s running back Matt Jones turn to step for the Gators. Joker Phillips - master of photoshop?

8. Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on his cornerbacks: “I think at any position you need a little bit of depth and rotation in this league, so we don’t want two corners. We want four corners…”

9. Former Wyoming punter Tim Gleeson says he plans to enroll at Tennessee. Australian native averaged 43 yards a punt as a freshman in 2012.

10. Former Vols cornerback Daniel Gray headed to Utah State.

11. Inspired by Tennessee recruits, Kentucky recruits launch their own Twitter account.

12. Tony Barnhart:  Five Things We Learned about the SEC this Spring.

SEC Basketball

13. Two Las Vegas sports books have Kentucky as the favorite to win it all next season. UK is 5-1, Florida is 15-1.

14. During yesterday’s news conference, where he discussed “chasing perfection,” Kentucky coach John Calipari also gave his take on all 13 players expected to be on his team next season.

15. LSU guard Malik Morgan has reportedly asked for his release after one season.

16. Former Rutgers point guard Jerome Seagears has officially transferred to Auburn.  He’ll petition the NCAA for immediate eligibility.

17. Former Florida point guard Braxton Ogbueze has transferred to Charlotte.

Extras

18. Why is Notre Dame dropping Michigan from its football schedule? “The math is pretty simple for us.”

19. Andy Staples: “When the wealthiest schools inevitably form their own NCAA division, the schools of the ACC will be part of that group.”

20. Here’s the prelude to a fight involving a Colorado lineman: “According to the report, Lewis, who is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, estimated that he had six glasses of wine, 10 beers and six shots.”

21. In just over two weeks, a million hands of legal, online poker have been dealt in the United States.

22. The 19 best sports moments from “The Office.”

SEC Football

1. Missouri now has nine commitments in its class of 2014 after Blue Valley West, Kansas offensive tackle Michael Fairchild and Nasvhille, TN cornerback  Finis Stribling verbally committed on Monday. Fairchild’s father played college ball at Kansas and professionally for the New England Patriots.  Stribling’s coach was impressed  by Missouri’s efforts at recruting in the Volunteer State. “I have noticed a more concerted recruiting effort inside the state lines. They’ve done probably the best of anybody in terms of getting information out and mailing it to kids.”

2. Alabama line coach Mario Cristobal is a big fan of big lineman.  California JUCO lineman Dominick Jackson is the latest in a string of offers to 300+ pound lineman.  He lists Alabama alongside UCLA as his two favorites.  ”I am a West Coast guy, but my dream has always been to play in the SEC.”

3. Auburn coach Gus Malzhan on the Tigers recruiting philosophy: ”It’s all going to start in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, but we’ll nationally recruit, and our guys are doing that.”

4. How is Auburn’s Dameyune Craig making an impact in the Mobile area? ”I don’t know what he does outside of football, but it can’t be much because he’s always recruiting.”

5. Auburn’s top five wide receiver recruiting targets for 2014.

6. 2013 LSU signee  Quantavius Leslie has reportedly gained his academic eligibility and will enroll in June, The JUCO wide receiver played at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Miss.

7. Former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench made an official visit to South Florida this week.  He’ll visit North Carolina State this weekend and Mississippi State next week.

SEC Basketball

8. No Andrew Wiggins for Kentucky, but the Cats recruiting class still considered the best in the country. 247 analyst Jerry Meyer: “It’s still kind of ridiculous, with six guys in the top 15,”

9. Memphis, Tennessee point guard Chris Chiozza is Florida’s first commitment in the class of 2014. ESPN recruiting analysti Dave Telep: “He’s a fearless player. Defensively, he’s a pest. He latches on to you. Offensively, he’s improved to where he’s a reliable scorer.” Chiozza chose Florida over Ohio State, Memphis, Ole Miss, Murray State and Butler.

A MrSEC.com analysis shows that teams winning the turnover margin have won 71.8% of SEC conference games since 2007
The SEC and Big XII will launch a new basketball challenge in the upcoming season.  All 10 Big XII teams will take part, while SEC teams Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee will be left out in this first year
Auburn has hired a consulting firm to help athletic director Jay Jacobs get the Tigers’ program turned around
The SEC and CBS have reworked their contract, but no increase in payment is expected for the league
CBS did wave its exclusivity to the Saturday afternoon timeslot, allowing the league to place an afternoon game on the new SEC Network starting in 2014
Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis told Gator fans that his former boss, Alabama coach Nick Saban, is “the devil himself”
Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs on basketball coach Tony Barbee: “Now he’s got to produce… We’ve got to look for results.”
Follow the SEC all year long at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec