Where the SEC ranks nationally in offensive plays per game

There is no causal evidence that directly links the amount of offensive plays a team runs per game to victories.

But there is some intrigue to examining any correlations, and thanks to Phil Steele, we can easily dissect some of the numbers.

Steele’s website, a must-visit for fellow statistics eggheads, has released its annual ranking of offensive plays every team in the FBS ran on average per game this season.

Baylor takes the top spot, with little surprise. The Bears used an average of 84.5 plays on offense to go 10-3 with the nation’s No. 1 team in terms of total offense. Of the top-10 teams in average plays with the ball, five of them — Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas-Christian, Cincinnati and Bowling Green — also finished in the top-10 in total offense. But a high amount of plays is not an indicator of success in the win column, as the top-10 teams nationally in offensive plays combined for a .580 winning percentage.

National champion Alabama, for instance, finished No. 53 in the nation in offensive plays run (72.5 per game), while Clemson ranked No. 11 (80.5). The Crimson Tide didn’t even finish tops in the SEC (No. 5, actually) in plays ran.

Tennessee led the conference in average plays (No. 25 nationally) with 76.0 per contest. That’s almost 15 plays more per game than SEC East rival Georgia. Did it matter? Tennessee beat Georgia head-to-head, but the Bulldogs finished a game better at 10-3 on the year.

The conference apparently didn’t need as many plays as others, as eight SEC teams finished ranked No. 90 or lower (higher?) in average offensive plays run.

Here’s how the SEC stacked up nationally in terms of average number of offensive plays run in 2015.

Chris Wuensch

Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.