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Most games played as a Top 25 team in the last decade

Published: Jun 13, 2015 · 6:39 PM EDT

Only one SEC team has been ranked in double-digit games each season in the last decade, and it’s not the program you may expect.

The LSU Tigers have been the SEC’s most consistent program since 2005, clearing second-place Alabama by playing in an additional 19 games as an Associated Press Top 25 team.

Florida, Georgia and Auburn round out the Top 5.

This list is in line with historical figures with two major exceptions: South Carolina, with its tremendous three-year run from ’11 to ’13, launched itself into the top half of the conference. And Tennessee, a program normally in the upper echelon of the conference, has languished near the bottom.

TOTAL GAMES AS A RANKED TEAM, LAST DECADE

Team	Ranked Games
1. LSU	127
2. Alabama	108
3. Florida	101
4. Georgia	97
5. Auburn	83
6. South Carolina	71
7. Missouri	61
8. Texas A&M	52
9. Arkansas	40
10. Tennessee	33
T11. Mississippi State	26
T11. Ole Miss	26
13. Kentucky	8
14. Vanderbilt	3

Here are a few observations based on this list:

Three SEC teams have been ranked in at least one game every season in the last decade: Auburn, Georgia and LSU. (Alabama never was ranked in ’06, coach Mike Shula’s last season, and Florida never was ranked in ’14, coach Will Muschamp’s last season.)
Granted, the SEC included just 12 members prior to 2012. But, despite the end of the conference’s seven-year national championship streak, the league has set all-time records for most games involving ranked teams in both ’13 and ’14. This points to fewer dominant teams at the top and more conference-wide parity, which reflects a changing landscape with facilities, recruiting and coaching salaries.
Alabama has been ranked in every single game the team has played since the start of the ’08 season, coach Nick Saban’s second in Tuscaloosa. No other SEC team has a streak that long.
Every SEC team has played at least three games as a ranked team in the last decade. Kentucky played eight games as a ranked team (peaking at No. 8 after a 5-0 start) in ’07. Vanderbilt’s three came in ’08, before coach James Franklin arrived. (The Commodores finished the season ranked twice under Franklin, but only after bowl wins and never actually played a game as a Top 25 team.)
Mississippi State and Ole Miss are tied for 11th in the SEC with 26 games played as a ranked team (2005-14). Of those games, a combined 34.6 percent came during the magical ’14 season.
Tennessee has played two games as a Top 25 team since ’07: the No. 18 Vols lost at UCLA in the ’08 season opener, and — gasp — the No. 23 Vols lost vs. Florida in the ’12 SEC opener. Yes, Derek Dooley’s last team was ranked.

NUMBER OF GAMES AS A RANKED TEAM BY YEAR

Team	’05	’06	’07	’08	’09	’10	’11	’12	’13	’14
Alabama	9	0	4	14	14	13	13	14	13	14
Arkansas	0	9	3	0	0	13	13	2	0	0
Auburn	8	13	9	7	3	14	7	1	8	13
Florida	12	14	13	14	14	8	6	13	7	0
Georgia	13	7	13	13	5	2	8	14	9	13
Kentucky	0	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
LSU	13	13	14	11	13	13	14	13	13	10
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	0	6	3	8	0	9
Missouri*	0	5	11	14	2	9	2	0	9	9
Ole Miss	0	0	0	2	7	0	0	0	4	13
South Carolina	1	0	7	2	4	13	13	13	13	5
Tennessee	7	13	11	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Texas A&M*	1	5	4	0	0	4	8	8	13	9
Vanderbilt	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
SEC Total	63	69	74	67	60	82	77	87	89	95

*Were not conference members until the 2012 season. These teams are not included in the SEC total prior to ’12, and their number of ranked games in those years are listed for informational purposes only.

Christopher Smith

An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.