Numbers never lie, but sometimes the stories they tell are a little bizarre.

The SEC was no exception in 2014. There are numbers littered throughout the conference that oppose popular perception, proving once again that there’s not always a direct translation between statistics and results.

Saturday Down South took another look at the numbers and uncovered some of the stranger statistical anomalies from the 2014 season.

  • Seven different SEC tailbacks rushed for at least 1,000 yards, but only Arkansas’ Alex Collins achieved the feat for a second straight season. Collins was also one of nine players to rush for at least 1,000 yards in 2013.
  • For the first time since 2008, the SEC’s leader in combined rushing and receiving touchdowns fell short of the 20-touchdown plateau. This year’s touchdown leader, Georgia freshman Nick Chubb, totaled just 16 touchdowns on the season and didn’t even start his team’s first five games of the year. Ironically enough, in 2008 the SEC’s touchdown leader was also a Georgia tailback — Knowshown Moreno, who led the conference with just 18 scores.
  • Florida was 12th in the SEC in passing offense in 2014, averaging just 180 yards per game through the air. However, the Gators actually led the SEC in completions of at least 60 yards with six on the season. Those six completions accounted for nearly 20 percent of Florida’s passing yards this season despite accounting for less than 4 percent of its completed passes.
  • The SEC’s leading passer in 2014 — South Carolina’s Dylan Thompson — threw for 3,574 yards this season, the fewest by the SEC’s leading passer since the 2008 season. Even more interesting, the SEC’s leading passer in 2008 was eventual No. 1 NFL Drat pick Matthew Stafford, who is one of only five players in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season.
  • Auburn wideout Sammie Coates became the SEC’s first player in more than a decade to average at least 21 yards per catch in back to back seasons. Only one other player has amassed that many yards per catch in even one season since 2006 — Georgia’s Tavarres King in 2012.
  • Alabama and LSU each allowed 27 touchdowns this season, which tied for the second-fewest in the SEC. However, if you don’t think SEC defenses have regressed in recent years, consider that when those same two teams met in the 2011 national championship game, they had combined to allow just 27 touchdowns all season.
  • The SEC’s tackles leader — Arkansas linebacker Martrell Spaight — didn’t hail from the SEC East for the first time since 2008, when Mississippi State’s Dominic Douglas led the conference.
  • Two different Auburn defensive backs — Jonathan Jones and Jermaine Whitehead — tied for second in the SEC with six interceptions apiece, yet the Tigers still boasted the SEC’s third-worst pass defense in 2014 by allowing more than 230 yards per game through the air.
  • Missouri committed more penalties than any other team in the SEC with 102 in 14 games, yet still won 11 games and the SEC East crown for a second consecutive season.