Time to take a look at some of the perceptions surrounding the SEC and their realities as the conference gears up for Week 10 action.
PERCEPTION: THIS IS ALABAMA’S BEST DEFENSE UNDER NICK SABAN
Alabama is the No. 4 seed in this year’s first College Football Playoff rankings, thanks in large part to a dominant defense that ranks among the Tide’s best units under head coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide rank fourth in the nation in total defense and third in rushing defense (78.5 yards per game). Saban’s squad is particularly tough on first down, where they’re the stingiest defense in the SEC. Alabama’s four defensive touchdowns trail only Buffalo (really? The Bulls have six defensive touchdowns?) for best in the country.
REALITY: NOT EXACTLY, BUT CLOSE…
Led by Reggie Ragland, this year’s Alabama defense can hang with any of the units that came before them in eight seasons under Saban. While this year’s squad still has four games remaining, including a tilt against Leonard Fournette and LSU, the Tide rank favorably to year’s past — but not quite the best. The 2015 team gives up a paltry 275.8 YPG, a number that ranks them fifth-best in the Saban era. It should come as no surprise that the top-three defenses under Saban occurred during the team’s 2009, 2010 and 2011 national-title winning seasons. The 2011 team, in fact, surrendered a miniscule 183.6 YPG. This year’s Tide, however, are among the best under Saban when it comes to creating turnovers and is tied with the 2012 squad for second-most (2.1 per game) during the coach’s era.
PERCEPTION: DAK PRESCOTT IS HAVING A DOWN YEAR (COMPARABLY SPEAKING)
Dak Prescott set the college football landscape on fire last season, leading an upstart Mississippi State to the first No. 1 national ranking in Bulldog team history. The quarterback was in the Heisman conversation for most of the year, earning 21 votes at season’s end for college football’s Holy Grail. But other quarterbacks have surpassed Prescott this season on the hype meter, as the senior ranks lower this year in passing yards (No. 27 nationally this year, No. 18 in 2014) and touchdowns (No. 32 this year, No. 20 in 2014). Mississippi State (6-2, 2-2 SEC) was still undefeated at this point last year and not so much this season, causing Prescott to lose some hype on the national level.
REALITY: HE MIGHT BE BEST QB IN NATION
Dak Prescott is on pace to finish slightly below his 2014 passing totals (3,449 yards, 27 TDs) — a number that evens out if we exclude his 453 yards in the Orange Bowl. But the most remarkable improvement out of Prescott has been his accuracy, where he leads the SEC with a 66.54 percent, up from 61.6 percent from his junior campaign. Through this point last season, the senior had seven interceptions on 216 attempts. This year, Prescott has thrown 260 times and been picked off just once. Prescott is throwing for just as many yards, is more accurate and almost never turns over the ball. He deserves to be in the Heisman conversation once again, but it might take an upset of a national powerhouse – Alabama and Ole Miss still have to come to Starkville this year – to put Prescott’s remarkable season in the national spotlight.
PERCEPTION: THIS IS A BAD YEAR FOR THE SEC EAST
There’s no doubt the SEC East is suffering from a down year. Barring an epic collapse, Florida has basically wrapped up the division by Week 9, as teams such as Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee — squads that were thought to be potential powerhouses during the preseason — have struggled mightily. The West’s dominance is well documented, however, having won six consecutive SEC championship games. So the East’s struggles, while real, are nothing new.
REALITY: THIS IS THE WORST YEAR FOR THE SEC EAST
This isn’t just a down year for the SEC East, it’s the worst year for the division since taking on its current form when Missouri joined the mix for the 2012 season. The division is a combined 1-9 on the year against its counterpart the SEC West, with its lone victory courtesy of Florida’s Week 5 upset of No. 3 Ole Miss. The futility is part of a four-year slide for the East, which has never finished above .500 against the West after the addition of Mizzou. Since finishing 7-7 against the West in 2012, the division has lost two more games than the year prior every season, dropping from 7-7 versus the West in 2012 to five wins in 2013 and three in 2014. During that time frame, the West has a 15-37 record against the East with clean sweeps over Kentucky and Tennessee (both 0-8 versus the West). Only Georgia (5-2) has a winning record against the West since the expansion. There’s still time this season to salvage the divisional rivalry with four contests remaining, but not too many matchups where SEC East teams will be considered the favorite.
Remaining SEC East-West matchups:
Week 10 – Mississippi State at Missouri
Week 11 – Georgia at Auburn
Week 12 – Texas A&M at Vanderbilt
Week 13 – Missouri at Arkansas
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
