First, the good news — 13 out of 14 SEC teams managed to avoid getting shut out in 2015 (sorry, Vanderbilt).
That was a big offensive improvement for the conference after five members were held scoreless at least once in 2014 (sorry again, Vanderbilt).
Offenses have been getting better and, even with a slew of stout SEC defenses, shutouts are hard to come by.
While some teams were blanked as recently as last year, you have to all the way back to the 1990s (or even the ’80s) to find the last time others couldn’t muster at least one score.
Here’s the last time each SEC team failed to score a single point in a game:
Alabama
Date: Nov. 18, 2000
Opponent: Auburn
Score: Auburn 9, Alabama 0
Three field goals were all the Tigers needed to escape Bryant-Denny Stadium with a victory in the 2000 Iron Bowl. Alabama was shut out twice during that 3-8 season, Mike DuBose’s last as the Tide’s head coach.
Arkansas
Date: Oct. 19, 2013
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 52, Arkansas 0
The No. 1-ranked Tide had no trouble dispatching the overmatched Razorbacks in Tuscaloosa. It was just the second time the Razorbacks were held scoreless this century.
Auburn
Date: Nov. 24 2012
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 49, Auburn 0
Auburn’s 2012 season was rough, as the Tigers were held scoreless twice in their last three games, once by No. 6 Georgia and in the 2012 Iron Bowl by the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide.
Florida
Date: Oct. 29, 1988
Opponent: Auburn
Score: Auburn 16, Florida 0
The Gators don’t get shut out very often. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1988 for the last time a team managed to blank the Florida offense, the longest such streak in the SEC. Florida State shut out the offense last season, winning 27-2 in Gainesville.
Georgia
Date: Sept. 30, 1995
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 31, Georgia 0
Georgia also manages to score points in nearly all their games. But against No. 20 Alabama in Athens in 1995, the Bulldogs went down without much of a fight.
Kentucky
Date: Nov. 3, 2012
Opponent: Vanderbilt
Score: Vanderbilt 40, Kentucky 0
Ouch. Kentucky was shut out twice in 2012. After this loss to the Commodores in Lexington, coach Joker Phillips was fired.
LSU
Date: Nov. 15, 2014
Opponent: Arkansas
Score: Arkansas 17, LSU 0
The unranked Razorbacks protected their home turf and handed the No. 20 Tigers their third shutout this century. The most painful one, obviously, was the 21-0 loss to Alabama in the January 2012 BCS championship game.
Mississippi State
Date: Nov. 28, 2008
Opponent: Ole Miss
Score: Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0
The 2008 season ended on a sour note for the Bulldogs. Traveling to Vaught-Hemingway stadium for the Egg Bowl, Mississippi State forgot to bring its offense along, resulting in an embarrassing loss to its in-state rival. “I didn’t see that one coming,” Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom told reporters. Croom resigned the next day.
Missouri
Date: Oct. 11, 2014
Opponent: Georgia
Score: Georgia 34, Missouri 0
The Tigers actually had an impressive 2014 season, going 11-3 and defeating Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl. Unfortunately, in early October, the Bulldogs visited Columbia and laid waste to Mizzou in every aspect of the game.
Ole Miss
Date: Nov. 22, 2014
Opponent: Arkansas
Score: Arkansas 30, Ole Miss 0
Fayetteville was a place to avoid in 2014. In back-to-back weeks, the Razorbacks shut out LSU (see above) and Ole Miss. Somehow, that Arkansas squad only finished 7-6. Fascinatingly, those two victories were the Hogs’ only two SEC wins all season.
South Carolina
Date: Sept. 9, 2006
Opponent: Georgia
Score: Georgia 18, South Carolina 0
After shutting out Mississippi State in Week 1, the Gamecocks got a taste of their own medicine in Week 2 when No. 12 Georgia came to Columbia. They’ve only been shut out one other time this century.
Tennessee
Date: Sept. 17, 1994
Opponent: Florida
Score: Florida 31, Tennessee 0
The No. 1 Gators torched the Volunteers in Knoxville, but, as a silver lining for Tennessee, a freshman quarterback named Peyton Manning made his debut the next week.
Texas A&M
Date: Oct. 18, 2014
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 59, Texas A&M 0
The month of October 2014 was an absolute disaster for Texas A&M. The No. 6 Aggies started the month by losing to No. 12 Mississippi State in Starkville. They then dropped to No. 14. The next week, they hosted No. 3 Ole Miss and lost, dropping the Aggies to No. 21 in the AP Poll. That’s when Texas A&M had to travel to Tuscaloosa, where No. 7 Alabama put up 59 points while shutting out the free-falling Aggies. Fortunately, Texas A&M had a much-needed bye the next week.
Vanderbilt
Date: Nov. 21, 2015
Opponent: Texas A&M
Score: Texas A&M 25, Vanderbilt 0
The Commodores were held scoreless at No. 18 Houston in late-October, but the Cougars weren’t the last team to blank Vandy in 2015. That honor goes to Texas A&M, who earned a 25-0 win in Nashville in late November.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
