Stats are an important part of learning about a matchup and the two teams involved. Of course, without the proper context, stats are just numbers.

Few teams in college football can make mind-blowing stats look justified the way Alabama does. With another historic defense and an offense that has transformed to include a myriad of moving parts and weapons, the Crimson Tide have some truly interesting numbers.

Before Saturday’s SEC title clash, we decided to dig through the stat sheets and pull out 5 Alabama numbers that you need to know.

13: Alabama’s defense has surrendered only 13 touchdowns this season. You might already know that. The context is what makes it special.

By comparison, the 2011 Crimson Tide defense, considered by many to be among college football’s all-time defenses, allowed 12 the entire year. While there are still potentially three games to go for this year’s squad, there is another relevant stat to be considered.

The 2011 Alabama defense held five opposing offenses without a touchdown, but this Tide defense has already held seven offenses without a touchdown, including its past four opponents. Even more incredibly, opposing offenses have scored only four more touchdowns than Alabama’s defense.

Florida’s offense is averaging 2.27 touchdowns per game and it isn’t likely to have much success in Atlanta.

2,951: Alabama had to replace its starting backfield this year, so naturally there were concerns about how effective its running game would be after the Derrick Henry-led group ran for 2,999 yards in 15 games last season.

How about … better?

The Tide, with 2,951 rushing yards in 12 games, are averaging 246 per game, by far the most during Nick Saban’s decade of dominance in Tuscaloosa.

Saban has never had more than two rushers top 500 yards rushing in a season. He likely will finish 2016 with four. Not only are more players involved, but there’s more variety in how they’re used.

Jalen Hurts already has set a program rushing record for quarterbacks with 840 yards.

Damien Hurts leads the Tide with 897. Josh Jacobs has 516 and Bo Scarbrough has 448.

All four form matchup problems and each gives Alabama a unique skill to use.

Oct 22, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Damien Harris (34) carries up the field against Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Armani Watts (23) during the first quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Henry had a whopping 44 carries in last year’s SEC title game for 189 yards and a touchdown. Harris hasn’t carried it more than 17 times in any game this season. Hurts’ high is 21. That’s what makes Bama’s zone read so effective; defenses can’t key in on the tailback any more.

28.34: The mark of a great defense is the ability to get off the field. Alabama does that better than any team in the SEC. Opponents have converted on third down just 28.34 percent of the time.

Alabama hasn’t just been brilliant on third down, though. The Crimson Tide have forced 56 three-and-outs this season, and most of those possessions have ended in a loss of yards. Among all SEC teams, Alabama is allowing a league-low 13 first downs per contest.

Florida is one of the better teams in the conference at converting on third down. The Gators earn a new set of downs about 42 percent of the time. Despite that high conversion rate, Florida only averages 18.9 first downs per game, which is the second-fewest in the SEC. This points to the Gators struggling on early downs, which Alabama will surely take advantage of.

87.27: Although Saban might not feel this way, Alabama has been largely successful when it reaches the red zone. They score on 87.27 percent of their trips inside the opponent’s 20: the third-best rate in the SEC.

Alabama’s challenge Saturday against Florida is to make sure those trips result in touchdowns, not field goals.

Florida allows opponents to score in the red zone just 69 percent of the time, which is the second-best mark in the conference. Of the 20 scores the Gators have allowed, only 13 have been touchdowns.

41: Like with most aspects of its defense, Alabama leads the SEC in yet another category. The Crimson Tide’s 41 sacks this season aren’t as many as they had heading into Atlanta last year, but it is still an impressive sum.

In last year’s SEC Championship Game, Alabama sacked Florida quarterback Treon Harris five times. The Gators’ offensive line is improved from last season, but Austin Appleby might want to speed up the clock in his head just a little bit.

Sacks are a terrific way to put an offense behind schedule and swing momentum all in one fell swoop. The Crimson Tide do that better than any team in the conference, and it’s a large reason their defense has been so successful.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama for Saturday Down South. For insight on these two SEC powerhouses, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.