The SEC's most statistically improved teams of 2014
With the 2014 season officially in the books, it’s time to see which SEC teams improved the most from a season ago.
Improvement can be marked in a number of ways: win-loss record, the eye test, the numbers, a bowl invitation — these are all metrics people can (and will) use to determine a team’s growth from 2013-14.
We at Saturday Down South chose to look at the numbers from last season and this season to determine which teams improved the most in a number of areas. Here are the findings:
SCORING
Team | 2014 Pts/gm | 2013 Pts/gm | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Florida | 30.5 | 18.8 | 11.7 |
2. Arkansas | 32.0 | 20.7 | 11.3 |
3. Mississippi State | 37.2 | 27.7 | 9.5 |
4. Kentucky | 29.2 | 20.5 | 8.7 |
5. Tennessee | 27.6 | 23.8 | 3.8 |
Team | 2014 Pts/gm allowed | 2013 Pts/gm allowed | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Arkansas | 20.3 | 30.8 | 10.5 |
2. Ole Miss | 13.8 | 23.7 | 9.9 |
3. Georgia | 21.3 | 29.0 | 7.7 |
4. LSU | 16.4 | 22.0 | 5.6 |
5. Tennessee | 23.9 | 29.0 | 5.1 |
Florida’s offense didn’t appear to improve much from last season during this year’s 6-5 campaign, but it actually produced nearly 12 more points per game in 2014 than it did in 2013, marking the greatest rise in scoring offense in the conference.
Four teams in the SEC scored at least eight more points per game this year than last, and those four teams each won at least two more games this year than they did in 2013.
Defensively, Arkansas held opponents to better than 10 fewer points per game this year compared to 2013, thanks to two late-season shutouts of LSU and Ole Miss in back to back weeks. Five teams allowed at least five fewer points per game this season than last, and all five are bowl eligible this season.
TURNOVERS
Team | 2014 Margin | 2013 Margin | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Georgia | 15 | -7 | 22 |
2. Arkansas | 5 | -9 | 14 |
3. Kentucky | 8 | 0 | 8 |
4. Florida | 6 | -2 | 8 |
5. Ole Miss | 7 | 1 | 6 |
Georgia had one of the worst turnover margins in the SEC in 2013, but boasted the single best turnover margin in the conference in 2014 with a margin of plus-15. The Bulldogs’ improved their margin by a whopping 22 takeaways, far more than any other team in the conference. Only Arkansas experienced a rise in turnover margin even remotely comparable to Georgia.
The Hogs improved their margin by 14 takeaways from last year to this year. However, Arkansas had the worst turnover margin in the SEC in 2013, giving it plenty of room to improve this season.
PROTECTION
Team | 2014 Sacks | 2013 Sacks | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Tennessee | 35 | 18 | 17 |
2. Mississippi State | 36 | 20 | 16 |
3. Texas A&M | 32 | 21 | 11 |
4. Florida | 26 | 19 | 7 |
T5. Alabama | 28 | 22 | 6 |
T5. Ole Miss | 25 | 19 | 6 |
Team | 2014 Sacks allowed | 2013 Sacks allowed | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Florida | 14 | 27 | 13 |
2. Vanderbilt | 21 | 33 | 12 |
T3. Georgia | 15 | 22 | 7 |
T3. Missouri | 20 | 27 | 7 |
T5. Alabama | 13 | 17 | 4 |
T5. Auburn | 14 | 18 | 4 |
The addition of freshman Derek Barnett and the emergence of Curt Maggitt helped Tennessee nearly double its sack total from 2013 to 2014. Mississippi State’s sack total increased by 80 percent, and Texas A&M, led by freshman Myles Garrett, improved its sack total by nearly more than 52 percent from 2013-14.
Florida allowed 13 fewer sacks in 2014 than in 2013, and even though the Gators played one fewer game than a year ago (thanks to the Idaho cancelation) that improvement remains noteworthy. Vanderbilt allowed 12 fewer sacks in 12 games than it did in 2013, while a handful of other teams experienced a modest improvement in pass protection.
THIRD DOWN SUCCESS
Team | 2014 3rd down % | 2013 3rd down % | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Auburn | 54 | 47 | 7 |
2. Alabama | 54 | 48 | 6 |
3. Georgia | 47 | 42 | 5 |
4. Mississippi State | 46 | 40 | 6 |
5. Arkansas | 46 | 42 | 4 |
Team | 2014 Opp. 3rd down | 2013 Opp. 3rd down | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
Ole Miss | 31 | 40 | 9 |
Tennessee | 35 | 43 | 8 |
LSU | 33 | 38 | 5 |
Arkansas | 40 | 43 | 3 |
Mississippi State | 33 | 35 | 2 |
It’s no surprise to see a correlation between the SEC’s best scoring offenses and the offenses with the greatest success rates on third downs. The SEC’s top four scoring offenses this season were also the four teams in the conference that experienced the greatest improvement on third downs from 2013-14.
Arkansas made a modest improvement in third down success rate, but rose from 12th in the SEC in scoring in 2013 to seventh in the conference in 2014.
Ole Miss, which boasted the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, experienced the greatest improvement in third down defense, followed by Tennessee, which earned its first bowl berth since 2010 with a 6-6 record this season.
Four of the SEC’s top five scoring defenses are among the most improved teams regarding third down defense. The lone exception is Arkansas, which was still one of the most improved scoring defenses from last year to this year thanks in part to a modest improvement in third down defense.