Final Scoring Differential Numbers

With the regular season over, just like Florida HC Urban Meyer predicted preseason, the Gators offense was much better this season, improving scoring wise by a league-leading 31%. The Gator defense on the other hand... not so much. As a whole, the league was up significantly from last season (23.59%) despite 3 teams - Vandy, South Carolina, and Auburn - all scoring less than they did last season.

That it was those 3 teams who actually took a step back in scoring is a mystery to me. All 3 returned their starting QBs from last season, and for both the Gamecocks and Tigers, that was in the form of a 5th year senior. For the Commodores, this was supposed to be their year to turn the corner and get bowl-eligible, but their only win of note - at South Carolina on October 20th - hardly looks like an upset anymore as it marked the beginning of the Gamecock's current 6-game losing streak.


BOLD (or maybe not so much) prediction for next year... Ole Miss increases by the largest percentage, Kentucky and Arkansas decrease by the largest percentage. Not really going out on a limb those, but I wanted to be on record as the first to say it.

(Not quite as)High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

With just one week left in the regular season, scoring is still up significantly from last season, just not nearly the rate it was early in the season when it was first pointed out in this article from the Birmingham News.

High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

Sorry for the late posting today. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging though...

Anyway, scoring numbers were up pretty high this past weekend with 9 conference teams scoring 34 or more points, including two losing teams (Alabama and South Carolina). As a whole, the conference scoring average is up more than 32% from last year, which is quite the jump. As usual, for those new to the site, the scoring jump in conference was first pointed out in this article from the Birmingham News


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High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

The scoring numbers suffered a little bit this week as a whole, as Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss were all held below their scoring average. Only Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Georgia exceeded theirs. While the percentage of increase has dropped below 30% for the season, that should improve this weekend, as 4 conference schools play mid-majors or 1-AA teams.

For those new to the site, this an ongoing study of 2007 scoring averages vs last year's, first pointed out in this article in the Birmingham News.

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High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

Here are the updated numbers on scoring differential for each team in 2006 and 2007. For those new to the site, this was first looked at several weeks ago in this article in the Birmingham News.

As a whole, the league is scoring nearly 30% more points than last year. Only South Carolina and Vanderbilt are scoring less than they did last year. That has to be of concern to USC HC Spurrier and VU HC Johnson, as each returned the majority of their starting offense from last season.



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High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

I've been following the high-scoring trends in conference first pointed out in this article from the Birmingham News several weeks ago. While scoring is still up significantly (32%) for the league, it has predictably started to level off some the deeper we get into conference season. The Arkansas/Auburn 9-7 bloodmatch from Saturday night certainly didn't help either team's scoring average.

Kentucky continues to lead the way in both highest scoring offense for 2007, and largest percentage increase over last season. South Carolina, Auburn, and Vanderbilt are the least improved offensively, each scoring less that 5% more than last season. It hasn't hurt the Gamecocks or Tigers though, as each sit in a 1st place tie atop their respective divisions.



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High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

We've reached the half way point of the regular season for 9 of the 12 conference teams, and scoring is up more than 38%. That number has come down a few points since this article first ran in the Birmingham news several weeks ago, but with so many of the nation's top offensive players residing in the SEC, it's not a surprise to see the numbers like they are.


Football in the SEC (Inside College Football)

High Flyin’ SEC (Cont.)

After week 5, every team in the SEC is scoring at a higher clip than they did last season. Kentucky continues to lead the way, as their league leading 46.6 ppg is nearly 75% more than they scored last season. LSU led the league last year in scoring average, with 33.7 ppg. That would currently rank them 6th in the league.

For those new to the site, this is a continuation of this article from the Birmingham News a few weeks back.


A Tailgater's Guide to Sec Football: Traditions of the Sec (Traditions of the SEC)

High Flyin' SEC (cont.)

In a previous post, I referenced this article detailing the significant increase in scoring average for the conference as a whole.

The original article is comparing this season to last after 3 weeks. I've changed the format a little bit, updating this year's scoring averages after each week's games and comparing them to the final scoring averages for each team from last year.

I'll keep this updated throughout the season.

High Flyin' SEC

There’s a lot of talk about the high flying SEC this year, but you may be surprised at just how much scoring numbers are up this season compared to last. According to this article in the Birmingham News, as a whole, the league is averaging 33.7 ppg, up from 23.4 last season, or a 43% increase. Only two teams – Georgia and Auburn – are scoring at a lower clip than they did through three games last season, while two other teams – Arkansas and Vanderbilt – have more than doubled their point totals from last year.

Sure, a lot of it has to do with scheduling, as most teams have played one or fewer conference teams, but it’s impossible to attribute strictly to the schedule. More and more teams are utilizing the spread offense and others have some followed Arkansas’ lead and installed some variation of their “Wildcat Formation”.

There are tons of other interesting tidbits in the article you should definitely check out.