Special teams often go under-appreciated, but they can affect a game in a number of ways. Beginning this week, Saturday Down South is giving the SECs special teamers the credit they deserve in the weekly Special Teams Index.

KICKOFFS

There wasn’t much shakeup in the Special Teams Index since last week, as Missouri and Arkansas continue to boast the SEC’s best kickoff return units this season. Both the Tigers and Razorbacks are averaging more than 26 yards per return, although both teams also saw their return averages drop following a pair of wins over woeful teams last week (Vanderbilt and UAB, respectively).

LSU made one of the greatest leaps in return average of any team in the SEC, returning two kickoffs for a total of 57 yards in a huge win over Ole Miss. The Rebels continue to sit at the bottom of the SEC in return average at less than 19 yards per return. The Rebels have returned the second-fewest kickoffs of any team in the SEC ahead of only Mississippi State, which also saw its return average skyrocket following a win over Kentucky last week.

The Bulldogs’ Christian Holmes returned a late onside kick 61 yards for a game-sealing touchdown, marking MSU’s first return touchdown of the year and the first by any team in the SEC to come from an onside kick.

Team Kickoff Returns Yards per Return Return TDs
1. Missouri 16 26.5 2
2. Arkansas 17 26.4 1
3. LSU 19 25.0 0
4. Georgia 14 24.4 1
5. Tennessee 23 23.6 0
6. Texas A&M 28 23.4 0
7. Kentucky 18 23.3 0
8. Alabama 23 23.2 0
9. Mississippi State 13 21.7 1
10. Vanderbilt 35 20.9 2
11. South Carolina 23 20.7 0
12. Auburn 14 20.0 0
13. Florida 22 19.1 0
14. Ole Miss 15 18.5 0

The Bulldogs have also been the stingiest when it comes to covering kickoffs, allowing fewer than 18 yards per return on the season. Four other SEC teams are averaging fewer 20 yards allowed per return, although the number of return touchdowns allowed across the conference has gone up after Kentucky allowed MSU to run back the onside kick late in their game last week.

South Carolina has been the SEC’s worst team when it comes to covering kickoffs, allowing its opponents to amass more than 27 yards per return. That average is still inflated following Darrius Sims’s two-return-touchdown performance against the Gamecocks last month.

Team Opponent Returns Yards per Return Allowed Return TDs Allowed
1. Mississippi State 31 17.7 0
2. Texas A&M 22 19.2 0
3. Georgia 31 19.6 0
4. LSU 19 19.6 0
5. Tennessee 31 19.9 1
6. Missouri 17 20.4 0
7. Ole Miss 29 20.9 0
8. Vanderbilt 17 21.2 0
9. Kentucky 26 21.6 1
10. Alabama 39 22.7 1
11. Auburn 16 23.8 0
12. Arkansas 36 24.8 1
13. Florida 19 26.1 1
14. South Carolina 21 27.0 2

PUNTS

Auburn has returned the fewest punts of any team in the SEC, yet the Tigers lead the SEC in punt return average and punt return touchdowns, thanks in large part to the brilliance of Quan Bray. Bray has both of the Tigers’ punt return touchdowns, which has inflated the team’s return average on the season due to such a small sample size compared to other teams.

Georgia and Kentucky have the most punt returns of anyone in the conference, yet they rank sixth and 10th in the conference in return average, respectively, and have combined for just one return touchdown (by Georgia’s Isaiah McKenzie).

Ole Miss has the worst return average in the SEC at just 4.1 yards per return, and only four teams in the SEC are averaging fewer than six yards per return, although two of those teams are ranked in the Top 4 of this week’s College Football Playoff Top 25 Poll. Vanderbilt is the only SEC team with a return touchdown (by Sims) averaging fewer than 10 yards per return. The Commodores are averaging just 7.2 yards per punt return.

Team Punt Returns Yards per Return Return TDs
1. Auburn 11 23.5 2
2. Florida 12 18.3 1
3. Texas A&M 14 14.9 0
4. Missouri 16 14.8 1
5. LSU 20 11.8 1
6. Georgia 22 11.1 1
7. Alabama 12 10.4 0
8. Arkansas 15 7.7 0
9. Vanderbilt 16 7.2 1
10. Kentucky 22 7.1 0
T11. Tennessee 15 6.3 0
T11. South Carolina 11 6.3 0
13. Mississippi State 17 5.5 0
14. Ole Miss 13 4.1 0

Georgia has been the SEC’s best when it comes to covering punts, allowing fewer than two yards per return on just seven returns this season. Only Alabama (5) has allowed fewer punt returns this season, although Georgia and Alabama are just two of six teams that have allowed fewer than 10 punt returns all season.

Four teams have allowed fewer than five yards per return on the year, three of which are ranked in the top 11 of the most recent CFP Poll. Tennessee has been the most efficient in containing returners, allowing just 3.4 yards per return on a whopping 17 returns, the most returns allowed by any team in the SEC this season.

Kentucky had been among the best in the conference in covering punts before a 38-point loss to LSU two weeks ago, but now the Wildcats are the SEC’s worst in that area. The Cats have allowed 12 returns this season at 12 yards per return, including a touchdown by LSU’s Tre’Davious White.

Team Opponent Returns Yards per Return Allowed Return TDs Allowed
1. Georgia 7 1.9 0
2. Ole Miss 15 3.3 0
3. Tennessee 17 3.4 0
4. Alabama 5 4.4 0
T5. Missouri 14 6.4 1
T5. Vanderbilt 16 6.4 0
7. Arkansas 11 6.9 0
8. Mississippi State 8 7.4 0
9. South Carolina 9 9.6 0
10. Texas A&M 7 10.6 0
11. Auburn 9 10.9 0
12. LSU 16 11.2 1
T13. Florida 10 12.0 1
T13. Kentucky 12 12.0 1

INDIVIDUALS

Nothing changed among the SEC’s best kickoff returners this week, as the top 5 stayed exactly the same since last week. None of the SEC”s top 5 returners posted a single return last week, as Boom Williams was out with an injury, Trey Williams was on a bye and the rest were avoided by opposing kickers, likely on purpose due to their exceptional return skills.

Name Team Kickoff Returns Yards per Return Touchdowns
1. Marcus Murphy Missouri 10 34.3 2
2. Darrius Sims Vanderbilt 14 30.8 2
3. Boom Williams Kenticky 8 30.0 0
4. Trey Williams Texas A&M 11 26.3 0
5. Christion Jones Alabama 17 25.1 0

Bray continues to lead the SEC’s punt returners with his two touchdowns and corresponding 25.2 yards per return average this season. Florida’s Andre Debose is second in the SEC, averaging 5.4 fewer yards per return than Bray has this season. All five of the SEC’s top 5 punt returners have at least one touchdown this season, but only Missouri’s Marcus Murphy ranks in the top 5 in the conference among kickoff and punt returners.

Name Team Punt Returns Yards per Return Touchdowns
1. Quan Bray Auburn 9 25.2 2
2. Andre Debose Florida 11 19.8 1
3. Marcus Murphy Missouri 16 14.8 1
4. Isaiah McKenzie Georgia 12 12.8 1
5. Tre’Davious White LSU 19 12.0 1

South Carolina’s Elliott Fry did not attempt a field goal last week, and thus remains the SEC’s most accurate kicker this season with 12 straight made field goals after a miss from 54 yards away on his first attempt of the season. Florida’s Francisco Velez and LSU’s Colby Delahoussaye can each also claim only one miss, but the two have attempted four fewer field goals than Fry has this season, giving Fry an edge in field goal percentage by a slim margin.

Delahoussaye missed for the first time all year last week against Ole Miss, but he redeemed himself with a make from 21 yards out later in the game to help LSU to a 10-7 win. Delahoussaye had been perfect on the season to that point, but he’d also attempted far fewer field goals than the rest of the SEC’s primary kickers before seeing an added workload in recent weeks.

Name Team Field Goals Made Field Goals Attempted
1. Elliott Fry South Carolina 12 13
T2. Francisco Velez Florida 8 9
T2. Colby Delahoussaye LSU 8 9
4. Josh Lambo Texas A&M 7 8
5. Aaron Medley Tennessee 12 15

Alabama’s JK Scott and LSU’s Jamie Keehn continue to lead the SEC in punting, as both average more than 45 yards per punt this season. Florida’s Kyle Christy and Texas A&M’s Drew Kaser both stayed put in the top 5 after byes last week, and Ole Miss punter Will Gleeson dropped from third to fourth in the conference in averaging 44.3 yards per punt this season.

Gleeson punted six times against LSU, landing four inside the Tigers’ 20 without a touchback. Many of his punts came on the fringe of field goal range, which hurt his average despite his success at pinning LSU deep in its own territory.

Name Team Punts Yards Per Punt
1. JK Scott Alabama 27 46.6
2. Jamie Keehn LSU 52 45.0
3. Kyle Christy Florida 33 44.5
4. Will Gleeson Ole Miss 38 44.3
5. Drew Kaser Texas A&M 36 44.1