Trends that each SEC team must put an end to in 2017

Each SEC team has some lingering problems that have persisted for multiple seasons. Here are the main ones each school must prioritize for next season.

ALABAMA

The Crimson Tide have been as stout on defense as a Guinness Foreign Extra under Nick Saban, but opposing teams have found holes over the top.

For three consecutive seasons, Alabama has been among the bottom four in the SEC when it comes to 20-yard passes allowed. Clemson QB Deshaun Watson completed six such passes in the national championship game a little over a week ago.

Prolific aerial attacks were able to produce against Alabama this season as Ole Miss, Arkansas and Clemson all passed for at least 400 yards and 3 TDs.

That’s significant considering there were only three other times in which an opponent passed for at least 400 yards and 3 TDs against Alabama in the nine previous seasons under Saban. Here are the six:

AUBURN

The Tigers need to pounce on game-changing opportunities when they’re presented. Over the last four seasons, Auburn has ranked among the worst in the SEC at recovering fumbles despite not being all that bad in forcing fumbles.

Here’s a look at the Tigers’ SEC rankings over that period.

That issue contributes to a bigger one, which shows that Auburn has ranked among the bottom half of the SEC in turnovers gained in five of the last seven seasons.

ARKANSAS

A lot of schools in the conference would die to have some of the well-rounded talent the Razorbacks have accumulated on offense in recent years, but defense is another story.

Under Bret Bielema, the Razorbacks have ranked 12th or worse in the league in yards per play allowed in three of his four seasons in Fayetteville, the exception being 2014 when the team was tied for fifth.

However, things have gotten really bad for the Hogs in the last two seasons.

FLORIDA

Of these 14 teams, only one has a more persistent trend than the one the Gators have. More on that later. Florida has ranked among the three most penalized SEC teams on a per-game basis since 2003.

Yes, you read that correctly. And Florida ranked dead last in the SEC this past season (6.8 per game). UF had double-digit penalties in three games.

In terms of total flags, there’s only one team that’s racked up more since that 2003 season, according to sports-reference.com.

Texas Tech — 1,410
Florida — 1,378
Oregon — 1,372
Baylor — 1,354

GEORGIA

The Bulldogs have to figure out a way to keep teams out of the end zone when they get inside their 20-yard line. UGA ranked dead last in the SEC this season in doing that as opponents got in 74.4 percent of the time, but this issue goes back longer.

Since 2008, Georgia has ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in opponent red zone touchdown percentage in seven of nine seasons. The exceptions were 2015 (tied for seventh) and 2012 (tied for fourth).

When it comes to this past season, only three Power 5 teams ranked worse, all from the porous defenses of the Pac-12: Oregon, Cal and Arizona.

KENTUCKY

This was something that I touched on in a story from five days ago. Mark Stoops has to reverse the Wildcats’ long-time struggles against the run for the program to take the next step.

Kentucky has ranked 12th in the SEC in rushing yards allowed per game in each of the last four seasons, all under Stoops.

However, this problem didn’t start with him. You have to go all the way back to 1993, just the second season after the East-West split, to find the last time Kentucky ranked higher than ninth in the conference against the run — 23 seasons have passed since then.

LSU

This is certainly a trend that fans in Baton Rouge would like to see come to end under head coach Ed Orgeron. The Tigers have ranked among the four worst SEC teams in passing yards per game in seven of eight seasons since 2009.

The only exception was 2013 (sixth) when LSU had Zach Mettenberger under center.

Running backs the caliber of Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice were able to carry the day against many opponents last season, and Guice returns next season, but you can’t be one-dimensional in the SEC. And certainly not against Alabama.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

The problem lies on the other side of that coin for the Bulldogs, who have been hurt through the air recently.

Mississippi State has ranked last in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game in two of the last three seasons, while ranking 10th in 2015.

In 2016, MSU allowed 11 more passes of 20-plus yards (59) than the next-worst team. And over the last six seasons, the Bulldogs have been very up and down when it comes to preventing big plays.

MISSOURI

The Tigers’ troubling trend is on special teams, where the school has been ranked 13th or worse in yards allowed per kickoff return in each of the last three seasons.

Since joining the SEC in 2012, Mizzou has regressed in this area, starting at fifth in the SEC before falling to ninth in 2013, then dead last in 2014 and 2015.

In 2016, Missouri was 13th (25.8) and allowed a 44-yard kickoff return TD to Florida’s Antonio Callaway on Oct. 15.

OLE MISS

It wasn’t always a problem for the Rebels, but time of possession certainly became one this past season as the team struggled mightily in the second half of games.

Ole Miss has ranked 13th in time of possession in each of the last three seasons. Since Hugh Freeze came to Oxford in 2012, the team hasn’t ranked any higher than 10th in the SEC, but the team will need to figure out a way to stay on the field longer to give its defense rest in 2017.

SOUTH CAROLINA

There’s no doubt Will Muschamp will be working rigorously on this one. The Gamecocks have to be more efficient running the football, which has not been the case for several seasons now.

Over the last 10 seasons, South Carolina has ranked last or next to last in yards per rush in half of those seasons (2007-09, 2012, 2016). The only year the Gamecocks ranked in the top half of the SEC in this area was 2011.

Here’s a look at the SEC teams with the fewest yards per rush over the last decade.

TENNESSEE

The Vols have to bring some D back to Rocky Top. Since 2010, Tennessee has only finished among the better half of the SEC in total defense in six of those seven seasons (seventh in 2015).

This past season, the Vols ranked 11th. Although the injury-riddled unit was missing key players for several games, to say this is a one-season issue would be overlooking the fact that only Auburn and Mississippi State have surrendered more total yards over the last seven years.

The Vols had some horrendous performances towards the end of the year against Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. In 2016 alone, the school had five games that now rank among its worst 10 defensive efforts in school history in terms of yards allowed per game.

The Aggies have lost five of their last seven home games to SEC teams.