SEC Nuggets to Know for Week 9: Stats and historical context

Here’s a look at some eye-popping stats and historical context entering Week 9 for select games. This week, we focus on the two matchups involving ranked SEC teams.

No. 11 FLORIDA vs. GEORGIA

The kicking game may be a big factor in today’s meeting, and a lot has been made of the Gators’ field goal kicking situation entering this week. Florida’s rare mid-season announcement for a kicking tryout drew 216 people to respond. The winner was Neil MacInnes, a standout soccer player and track athlete at Chamberlain High in Tampa. That call for kickers came after Jorge Powell was the lost for the season to a knee injury against LSU, leaving Austin Hardin the only healthy placekicker on the roster.

The Gators have only made 5 of 9 field goals this season, making just 55.6 percent of their attempts. Only Tennessee (52.9 percent off 9-for-17) has been worse in the SEC.

However, Florida is no stranger to having issues in the kicking game. In fact, the last time the Gators had a game-winning field goal with less than 2:30 left came in 2010 by punter Chas Henry, who was filling in for injured kicker Caleb Sturgis. Henry made the game-winning 37-yard kick against none other than the Bulldogs. In fact, two of the last three game-winning kicks for the Gators have come against the Bulldogs.

Here’s a look at Florida’s all-time game-winning field goals coming with 2:30 or less remaining:

The Gators have done an excellent job at winning the turnover battle this season with a margin of +9, which is 5th-best in the FBS and 2nd-best among Power 5 teams. The Bulldogs are tied for 62nd in the FBS at just +1. As always, winning that battle is always crucial and that’s proven true in this rivalry also.

If we look at the last 10 years, the team winning the turnover battle has gone 7-1. Interestingly enough, the only loss came in the last instance that a team won (or lost) in that department when Georgia beat Florida despite coming out on the losing edge there. In the chart below, keep in mind the teams committed an equal amount of turnovers in 2005 and 2014, and that’s why they’re not listed.

No. 19 OLE MISS at AUBURN

The Rebels haven’t been the same team on the road this season, going 1-2 on the road and 5-0 at home. Meanwhile, when Ole Miss has led at halftime, it’s gone 6-0. When it’s trailed, it’s 0-2, and both of those losses have come while visiting Florida and Memphis. Ole Miss barely survived against Alabama on Sept. 19, but it still represented one of three times in which the Rebels have been outscored in the second half, all three of those coming on the road.

Auburn has done a great job of protecting the ball recently. The Tigers are on a streak of 288 consecutive plays without a giveaway, by far Auburn’s longest streak in the last 30 years:

Talal Elmasry

Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.