For the purposes of this story, SDS defines an explosive play as a run of at least 20 yards or a pass of at least 30 yards.

EXPLOSIVE PLAY MARGIN

Alabama already boasted the SEC’s best explosive play margin prior to a 59-0 win against Texas A&M in Week 8, but the rout of the Aggies certainly helped the Tide improve that margin even more. Alabama posted five explosive plays on offense in the victory, and held a normally explosive A&M offense without a single explosive play in the lopsided matchup. As a result, the Aggies’ explosive play margin took a greater hit than any other SEC team in Week 8, dropping from plus-11 to plus-6 as A&M fell out of the national polls for the first time this year.

Ole Miss also made a tremendous leap in explosive play margin in Week 8, recording three explosive plays in a 34-3 win against Tennessee while holding the Vols without an explosive gain on the night. Tennessee has executed the fewest explosive plays on offense of any SEC team with just nine in seven games, and it has the second-worst margin in the conference at minus-6.

South Carolina has the SEC’s worst margin at minus-7, thanks in large part to a lackluster defense that’s allowed an SEC-high 22 explosive plays to opponents this season. Ten of the SEC’s 14 member schools have a positive margin through eight weeks, while Florida sits at an even zero with 13 explosive plays on offense and 13 allowed on defense. Vanderbilt joins Tennessee and South Carolina as the only schools with a negative margin at this point in the season.

Team Margin Explosive Plays Explosive Plays Allowed
1. Alabama +21 29 8
2. Georgia +15 26 11
T3. LSU +11 33 22
T3. Mississippi State +11 27 16
5. Ole Miss +9 20 11
6. Kentucky +8 25 17
7. Auburn +7 21 14
8. Texas A&M +6 27 21
T9. Arkansas +1 22 21
T9. Missouri +1 13 12
11. Florida 0 13 13
12. Vanderbilt -5 12 17
13. Tennessee -6 9 15
14. South Carolina -7 15 22

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: OFFENSE

LSU has recorded the most explosive plays of any team in the SEC with 33, although the Tigers are one of only two teams in the conference to have played eight games so far this season. Of teams that have played seven or fewer games in 2014, Alabama leads the pack with 29 explosive plays. Mississippi State has averaged the most explosive plays per game with 27 in six games, an average of 4.5 per game.

LSU and Georgia are tied for the most explosive runs in the SEC with 18, although Georgia required seven games to hit that total while LSU required eight. Again, Mississippi State has averaged the most explosive runs per game with 16 in six games.

Tennessee has the fewest explosive plays in the SEC with just nine, and the Vols also have the fewest explosive runs with just three in seven games. The Volunteers are tied for the fewest explosive completions along with Arkansas and Missouri, all of which have just six explosive passes on the season.

Nine of the 14 SEC teams have at least 20 explosive plays this season, and only Tennessee has fewer than 10.

Team Explosive Plays Rushes For 20+ Passes For 30+
1. LSU 33 18 15
2. Alabama 29 14 15
T3. Mississippi State 27 16 11
T3. Texas A&M 27 10 17
5. Georgia 26 18 8
6. Kentucky 25 13 12
7. Arkansas 22 16 6
8. Auburn 21 12 9
9. Ole Miss 20 6 14
10. South Carolina 15 9 6
T11. Florida 13 6 7
T11. Missouri 13 7 6
13. Vanderbilt 12 4 8
14. Tennessee 9 3 6

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: DEFENSE

The Crimson Tide remains the only SEC team to allow fewer than 10 explosive plays on defense this season, having allowed three long runs and five long completions in 2014. The Tide has also allowed the fewest explosive rushes and fewest explosive passes, although its tied for the fewest explosive completions allowed along with the Ole Miss defense.

Only four teams have allowed more than 20 explosive plays on defense this season, and none of the four teams is ranked in this week’s national polls. LSU has allowed the most explosive rushes for 14, and Texas A&M has allowed the most explosive completions with 12. Only two other teams have allowed more than 10 long completions this season — Arkansas and Mississippi State.

It should be noted that Texas A&M has played eight games, while Arkansas has played seven and Mississippi State has played just six. The Bulldogs have allowed just shy of two long completions per game this year, the most of anyone in the SEC despite their No. 1 ranking.

South Carolina has allowed the most explosive runs this year with 22 in seven games. LSU has also allowed 22 explosive runs, but it did so in a span of eight games.

Team Explosive Plays Allowed Rushes For 20+ Passes For 30+
1. Alabama 8 3 5
T2. Georgia 11 3 8
T2. Ole Miss 11 6 5
4. Missouri 12 6 6
5. Florida 13 5 8
6. Auburn 14 6 8
7. Tennessee 15 8 7
8. Mississippi State 16 5 11
T9. Kentucky 17 11 6
T9. Vanderbilt 17 9 8
T11. Arkansas 21 10 11
T11. Texas A&M 21 9 12
T13. LSU 22 14 8
T13. South Carolina 22 13 9