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Penalties are a part of life for your favorite football team. But if it gets flagged for too many, those close games could wind up in the loss column.
Still, not all penalties are created equal. A 15-yard pass interference flag that saves a 60-yard touchdown pass is easier to stomach than a delay of game call because the coaches and quarterback can’t settle on a play call. Or a false start because the left tackle can’t remember the snap count.
So, how does each SEC team rank in penalty yardage over the past five years? With the help of cfbstats.com, let’s have a look:
SEC TEAM PENALTY YARDAGE, PAST 5 SEASONS
Team | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 5-year total |
Tennessee | 561 | 630 | 455 | 444 | 530 | 2,620 |
Mississippi St. | 567 | 538 | 515 | 513 | 506 | 2,639 |
Arkansas | 593 | 528 | 461 | 581 | 477 | 2,640 |
Alabama | 369 | 467 | 520 | 562 | 835 | 2,753 |
South Carolina | 632 | 526 | 543 | 606 | 468 | 2,775 |
Kentucky | 482 | 496 | 593 | 604 | 676 | 2,851 |
Vanderbilt | 653 | 584 | 518 | 630 | 566 | 2,951 |
Ole Miss | 692 | 480 | 541 | 549 | 702 | 2,964 |
Missouri | 593* | 519 | 543 | 815 | 517 | 2,987 |
Georgia | 664 | 749 | 617 | 527 | 592 | 3,149 |
Auburn | 676 | 601 | 569 | 896 | 603 | 3,345 |
LSU | 702 | 753 | 732 | 595 | 784 | 3,566 |
Texas A&M | 855* | 735 | 690 | 663 | 713 | 3,656 |
Florida | 773 | 895 | 711 | 710 | 737 | 3,826 |
* – denotes penalty data from Big 12
MOST PENALTY YARDS BY SEASON
2015: Alabama Crimson Tide (835)
2014: Auburn Tigers (896)
2013: LSU Tigers (732)
2012: Florida Gators (895)
2011: Florida Gators (773)
MOST PENALIZED PROGRAMS IN THE PAST 5 YEARS
1. Florida Gators: Thanks to the Will Muschamp era, the Gators led in this stat last year. The first year of Jim McElwain’s tenure saw the Gators amass 737 penalty yards, which was the third-highest total in the SEC last fall. It’s progress, even if it’s slight.

2. Texas A&M Aggies: The Aggies were right behind the Gators in last year’s rankings, and Kevin Sumlin’s squad is still the second-most penalized team over the past five seasons. In 2015, Texas A&M was flagged for 713 yards in penalties, which was fourth-most in the SEC.
3. LSU Tigers: After being hit with 784 penalty yards last fall, the Tigers edged Auburn for the third-place spot in this dubious category. Auburn dropped to fourth after accumulating 603 yards in infractions, which was almost 300 yards fewer than it had in 2014.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.