Sacks and Sacked: SEC championship to feature SEC’s best pass rush, protection
By Ethan Levine
Published:
Despite failing to record a single sack in its season finale against Arkansas, Missouri closed the regular season with the highest sack total of any team in the SEC at 38. The Tigers also tied Ole Miss, the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, for the conference-lead with 90 tackles for loss on the year.
Mizzou was led by the dangerous tandem of Shane Ray and Markus Golden, who combined to record 22 sacks and 36.5 tackles for loss in 2014. Their 22 sacks were more than five entire SEC teams recorded this season, and 10 more than South Carolina recorded as a team after 12 games.
Mississippi State closed the year with 36 sacks, adding just one to its total in last week’s loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.
Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt led the SEC in Week 14 with three sacks apiece, while Vanderbilt led the conference in tackles for loss with 12 in a loss to Tennessee (Stephen Weatherly had five all on his own). Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss each recorded nine tackles for loss in Week 14.
South Carolina closed the year with the fewest sacks and fewest tackles for loss of anyone in the conference. Worse yet, the Gamecocks ranked 120th nationally in sacks and 126th in tackles for loss.
Here’s a full rundown of every SEC defense’s sack and tackles for loss totals through the end of the regular season:
| Team | Sacks | Sack Yards | Tackles For Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Missouri | 38 | 270 | 90 |
| 2. Mississippi State | 36 | 222 | 78 |
| 3. Tennessee | 35 | 188 | 88 |
| 4. Texas A&M | 32 | 157 | 67 |
| 5. Alabama | 28 | 184 | 79 |
| 6. Kentucky | 27 | 173 | 65 |
| 7. Florida | 26 | 198 | 81 |
| 8. Ole Miss | 25 | 206 | 90 |
| 9. Georgia | 24 | 195 | 67 |
| 10. Arkansas | 21 | 178 | 74 |
| T11. Vanderbilt | 20 | 132 | 70 |
| T11. Auburn | 20 | 123 | 75 |
| 13. LSU | 19 | 115 | 69 |
| 14. South Carolina | 12 | 111 | 44 |
Alabama closed the season with the fewest sacks allowed among SEC teams, and it’ll need its protection to put forth one more dominant performance in Saturday’s SEC championship game against Missouri and the SEC’s best pass rushing defense. The Tide allowed just 11 sacks in 12 games this season and was one of just five SEC teams to allow fewer than 20 sacks on the year.
The 53 tackles for loss allowed by Alabama was actually the second-lowest total in the conference at the end of the year. The lowest total allowed? That goes to Vanderbilt, which allowed just 51 tackles for loss all year.
On the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky and Tennessee were remarkably bad along the offensive line this season. The Wildcats and Volunteers each allowed at least 36 sacks when no other team allowed more than 26. They also each allowed at least 84 tackles for loss when no other team allowed more than 78.
It’s worth noting the Volunteers allowed a whopping 30 sacks in their first seven games alone (more than 12 of the 14 teams in the SEC allowed all season), but just five in their final five games, thanks in large part to the emergence of quarterback Joshua Dobbs. The dual-threat quarterback added mobility to the position that previous starter Justin Worley did not have, helping to limit the Vols’ astronomically bad numbers in pass protection.
Here’s a full rundown of each SEC team’s offensive line play in 2014:
| Team | Sacks Allowed | Sack Yards Allowed | Tackles For Loss Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Alabama | 11 | 79 | 53 |
| 2. Arkansas | 13 | 98 | 59 |
| T3. Florida | 14 | 85 | 60 |
| T3. Auburn | 14 | 88 | 66 |
| 5. Georgia | 15 | 93 | 64 |
| 6. Missouri | 20 | 159 | 70 |
| T7. Mississippi State | 21 | 136 | 58 |
| T7. Vanderbilt | 21 | 149 | 51 |
| 9. LSU | 23 | 173 | 57 |
| 10. Texas A&M | 24 | 170 | 61 |
| 11. South Carolina | 25 | 195 | 61 |
| 12. Ole Miss | 26 | 139 | 78 |
| 13. Kentucky | 36 | 236 | 84 |
| 14. Tennessee | 42 | 302 | 97 |
Ray closed the season as the SEC’s leader in sacks and tackles for loss, although he shared the tackles for loss honor with Tennessee freshman Derek Barnett. Ray’s numbers dipped somewhat in the final month of the season, as he recorded just 1.5 sacks in his final three games after recording 12 in his first nine contests.
However, as Ray’s numbers began to decline, Golden’s numbers began to skyrocket. The senior closed the year with 8.5 sacks to finish sixth in the conference, including 4.5 sacks in his final four games after recording four sacks in his first eight contests of 2014.
Jadeveon Clowney held the freshman sack record at eight sacks when the season began, but two SEC pass-rushers broke that record this season. Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett was the first to do so, closing the year with 11 sacks to finish tied for the second-highest total in the conference. However, eight of those 11 sacks came in the non-conference portion of A&M’s schedule in games against Lamar, Rice and Louisiana-Monroe.
Barnett was the other freshman to break the record, which is technically now held by Garrett at 11. Barnett recorded 10 sacks this season to finish fourth in the SEC, but unlike Garrett all 10 of his sacks came against SEC opponents.
Preston Smith closed a stellar senior season ranked in the top 5 in the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, as did Tennessee junior Curt Maggitt.
Here’s a rundown of the SEC’s top 5 individuals in sacks and tackles for loss this season:
| Name | Team | Position | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Shane Ray | Missouri | DL | 13.5 |
| T2. Myles Garrett | Texas A&M | DL | 11.0 |
| T2. Curt Maggitt | Tennessee | LB | 11.0 |
| 4. Derek Barnett | Tennessee | DL | 10.0 |
| 5. Preston Smith | Mississippi State | DL | 9.0 |
| Name | Team | Position | Tackles For Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1. Shane Ray | Missouri | DL | 20.5 |
| T1. Derek Barnett | Tennessee | DL | 20.5 |
| 3. Markus Golden | Missouri | DL | 16.0 |
| 4. Preston Smith | Mississippi State | DL | 14.5 |
| 5. Curt Maggitt | Tennessee | LB | 14.0 |
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
