I’d like to think that I can see the future, but for now, my ability to do that is limited.

To be fair, nobody has a crystal ball for the entire college football season. That’s what keeps us coming back.

Of course, nobody is surprised that Georgia is 4-0 or that Malik Nabers is having a whale of a season. Those things don’t exactly move the needle.

More interesting is the stuff that very few people (if any) predicted. That’s what we’ll look at today.

Through 4 weeks, these are 10 SEC-related stats that I didn’t have anywhere on my radar entering 2023:

1. Xavier Legette leads FBS in receiving yards

If you had told me that Legette would be South Carolina’s leading receiver, I would’ve been surprised. Antwane “Juice” Wells was the obvious candidate to do that. At this time last year, Legette was struggling just to get a ball thrown his way. Instead, he stayed locked in on special teams and used a great 2022 finish as a springboard. With Wells banged up, Legette has emerged into a starring role for Spencer Rattler. He leads FBS in receiving and he’s averaging a ridiculous 20.6 yards/catch. Through 4 games in 2023, Legette already has more receiving yards (556) than he had the previous 4 years (423). Clearly, the man they call “XL” has taken the next step after working out with former Gamecock great Deebo Samuel this offseason (H/T Famously Garnett Sports).

2. The SEC’s leader in rushing attempts and rushing yards is … Mizzou’s Cody Schrader?

Rocket Sanders or Quinshon Judkins don’t lead the SEC in rushing. Schrader does, just as everyone predicted. With all due respect to Schrader, this backfield looked like a timeshare that wasn’t anything to write home about. Neither Schrader nor Nathaniel Peat finished among the top 10 rushers in the SEC last season, and they averaged just north of 4 yards per carry. This year, however, Schrader has been excellent. He has 65 carries for 403 yards, which ranks No. 8 among Power 5 backs. In the second half of games, Schrader is averaging 8.2 yards per carry for a Mizzou team that looks like it’s coming into its own in Year 4 of the Eli Drinkwitz era.

3. The only SEC starting QB who hasn’t thrown an interception is Brady Cook

Speaking of the Mizzou offense, how about the play of Cook? He’s been phenomenal the past 2 games after he heard the boobirds ahead of the Kansas State kickoff. Cook leads the SEC with 10.7 yards per attempt, and Jayden Daniels is the only signal-caller in the conference with a better quarterback rating. And while it’s not necessarily a high-volume passing offense, Cook is tied for No. 2 in FBS with 7 passing plays of 40 yards (Luther Burden III has something to do with that). Not only has Cook fended off the Sam Horn chatter after entering the season in a QB battle, but he put himself in the early discussion for All-SEC honors.

4. Alabama WR Ja’Corey Brooks doesn’t have a catch

No, I didn’t think that a preseason second-team All-SEC selection like Brooks would have more punt blocks (1) than catches (0) through 4 games. It’s not like Brooks hasn’t been out there, either. He played on 87 offensive snaps, 45 of which were passing plays. The lack of chemistry with Jalen Milroe has been evident.

Strange, it is, that someone who looked like perhaps the next great Alabama receiver 2 years ago has been totally invisible in the game plan. Shoot, even last year, Brooks had 674 receiving yards and he was No. 3 in the SEC with 8 touchdown grabs. But freshman Jalen Hale, who had a touchdown grab as Milroe took a clean hit from the Ole Miss defense, might’ve already surpassed Brooks in the pecking order. Strange.

5. Tennessee is No. 1 in the SEC in yards/play allowed

Tim Banks’ defense got punched in the mouth a bit in the first half against Florida, but outside of that, that group has been solid. The Vols are the SEC’s best with 4.2 yards/play allowed, which speaks to the experience they returned on that side of the ball. It helps when you have guys like Aaron Beasley, Tyler Baron and James Pearce Jr. who can get offenses behind the sticks. It also helps when you’ve got a defense that allowed just 9 scrimmage plays of 40 yards (T-No. 8 in FBS). Last year, Tennessee ranked No. 10 in the SEC in that stat. Continuing that defensive efficiency turnaround against the red-hot Spencer Rattler would be as promising a sign as any heading into the meat of the SEC schedule.

6. The only player in FBS with multiple pick-6s is Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston

As in, the guy who had to battle in fall camp for a starting job after recording 2 tackles in his first 2 seasons at Lexington. The third-year player has been a breakout star as an outside corner. He took a pair of AJ Swann interceptions back to the house en route to SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. That gave him 3 interceptions on the season, which is tied for the FBS lead. That was after he came into Week 4 as PFF’s No. 3 graded cornerback in FBS. A guy that Kentucky was hoping to be a breakout candidate last season certainly looks the part this year.

7. Alabama ranks No. 127 in FBS in sacks allowed/game (4.0)

I’m old enough to remember when Alabama’s offensive line was going to be the strength of that team. While the ground game has been decent at times — definitely not “joyless murderball” — the pass protection has been a hot mess. Only 4 Power 5 teams have surrendered more sacks per game than Alabama, which is up to 16 sacks allowed. Last year, the Tide only surrendered 22 sacks in 13 games. Sure, part of that regression was Ty Simpson getting his first meaningful reps and taking too long to get rid of the football. But Milroe took 11 of those sacks, 9 of which came in his 2 games against Power 5 competition. It’s not an injury thing, either. Outside of Tyler Booker missing the USF game, Alabama has been pretty healthy up front. At this point, it feels inevitable that the Tide will take 3-to-5 sacks per contest.

8. Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins is averaging 3.5 yards/carry with 0 runs of 15 yards

There was always going to be concern of a sophomore slump for Judkins. History suggested that was likely after a breakout season wherein he had more rushing yards than any SEC true freshman not named “Herschel Walker.” But whether teams are loading up to stop Judkins or he just doesn’t have the same burst, so far, he hasn’t been the same player he was in 2022. He doesn’t have a game with more than 60 rushing yards, which is startling considering he hit that number in 12 of 13 contests last season. The lack of explosive plays is troubling, too. A year removed from ranking No. 1 in Power 5 with 19 rushes of 20 yards, his longest run of the 2023 campaign is 14 yards (he did have a pair of catches that went for 20 yards). Unless there’s something more to that rib injury that he played through against Georgia Tech, that dreaded “sophomore slump” tag feels fair.

9. Mississippi State’s opposing QB rating is 159.5

Not great, Bob. Mississippi State has been gashed by the 3 Power 5 passing attacks it faced having allowed 9.6 yards per attempt in those matchups. Most recently, Spencer Rattler completed his first 17 passes and he finished the night with 2 incompletions against the Mississippi State defense (1 of them could’ve been called for defensive pass interference, too). That was a week after Jayden Daniels looked like he was playing against air in a 41-14 blowout win in Starkville. The most telling sign that Mississippi State’s pass defense is in shambles might’ve been the fact that after a first quarter in which he threw 3 interceptions, Arizona’s Jayden de Laura completed 28-for-39 passes for 323 yards (8.3 yards/attempt), 2 TDs and 1 interception in the final 3 quarters and overtime. We knew that Mississippi State’s defense had major inexperience outside of Bookie Watson and Jett Johnson, but replacing Emmanuel Forbes looks like a massive uphill climb.

10. Tennessee is last in the SEC in passing plays of 20 yards (9)

Remember when we spent all offseason talking about the arm strength of Joe Milton and how the Tennessee passing attack would pick up where it left off? Well, it turns out that’s harder than it looks. A year after the Vols were No. 2 in the SEC and No. 19 nationally with 55 completions of 20 yards, they rank last in the SEC and No. 106 nationally. Even Florida has 12 completions of 20 yards. That’s not ideal. Part of that is the downfield accuracy of Joe Milton compared to Hendon Hooker, and replacing Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt hasn’t been as seamless as some expected after the addition of Oregon transfer Dont’e Thornton, who has just 1 grab of 20 yards.

Even Squirrel White, who was 2nd in the SEC to Hyatt in 40-yard catches last year, has just 2 catches of 20 yards. That’s tied for Ramel Keyton for the Tennessee lead in 20-yard catches (he had a drop against Virginia that would’ve been a walk-in touchdown).

For whatever reason, the Vols have struggled to connect with the downfield passing game. Any hope of getting back to double-digit wins is predicated on that element of Tennessee’s offense making a prominent return in SEC play.