Seven Year Review: SEC WEST Passing Numbers
Football is now just months away and we intend to take you all the way to kickoff and beyond here at MWN and today we continue looking at the “Seven Year Review”. In the SYR we will look back at different stats and trends among the SEC West teams, ranking each team accordingly showing you trends and numbers, which should give you an idea what to possibly expect from teams this year within each category. We will also see how the Bulldogs have fared in these categories and what they need to do to move up the charts.
Today we look at the passing numbers amongst SEC West teams in terms of yards, touchdowns, interceptions and completion percentage of each team over the last seven years. Seven years is a long time and we have seen many coaching changes, as well as Texas A&M come into the league, but this gives us a great base of numbers to review. So without further ado, let’s get right to it.
Passing Yards:
This should be no surprise, Texas A&M ranks first in total yards over this time span as the Aggies love to throw it all over the yard and do it often. Arkansas checks in at number-two, but most of that yardage comes from the Bobby Patrino days.
And there is sneaky Alabama slipping in at number three. Bama gets the nod as a “defensive football team”, but we are seeing in this study that they are scary good on offense.
Mississippi State checks in at number-five on the list, surprisingly ahead of Auburn and just behind Ole Miss.
Touchdowns Thrown:
There is ole Texas A&M again at the top of the list at 217 touchdown passes, followed by the same group of Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss, MSU. Again, like with total yardage, look for Arkansas’s touchdowns through the air total to go down; likewise, we have seen an increase in both passing yardage and touchdowns for the Bulldogs. I also expect Auburn to continue to climb in this catigory as well, based on how they want to execute offensively.
Interceptions Thrown:
This is an inverse list of interceptions as we ranked number one by who has thrown the least amount of interceptions over this time period. Alabama and LSU are at the top of the list and honestly if you think about this, it shouldn’t surprise you. Nobody takes care of the football like Alabama, rarely turning it over – likewise for LSU, who gets knocked about their lack of production at quarterback, but while the Tigers may lack big time production at quarterback, they do a great job of protecting the football.
Mississippi State has done a better job recently of protecting the football and while they are sixth in the West in this catigory, we are seeing their turnover numbers decrease every year which is a good thing. Ole Miss checks in with 20-more interceptions than MSU, and 62-more than leader Alabama. While coaches have come and gone in Oxford, the one constant is their quarterbacks will turn it over, it’s just a matter of time.
Completion Percentage:
Just as Alabama protects the football to a tee, they also do a great job of completing passes when needed and moving the chains. The Tide has done a fantastic job at quarterback over the years in making the right checks and getting the ball safely to open receivers. The Aggies again check in at number-two and this should be no surprise the way Sumlin likes to run his offense. The ball is gone from the quarterbacks hands with a quickness, on safe easy throws which will drive up the completion percentage.
Mississippi State is again right behind Auburn and tied with the rest of the teams in the West, minus LSU. It’s truly an interesting trend we see here, in that there is Bama and A&M – then everybody else is about the same when talking about completion percentage.
The Trends:
There are several trends that you can look for this year and in the years to come when talking about passing in the SEC West, based on these numbers. First, look for Arkansas’s yardage and touchdowns to decrease over time. But, if the Hogs knock out nine or 10 wins, look at their completion percentage. Odds are it will have improved drastically.
Look for Auburn to potentially climb in yards, touchdowns and completion percentage under Gus Malzahn. There is a slight climb in the stats year by year.
Mississippi State is widening the gap on touchdown to interception ratio and improving efficiency and yardage. Of all the West teams, the Bulldogs have improved in every category the most since Dan Mullen set foot in Starkville. It is remarkable the strides made over six years by Bulldog quarterbacks, as they have moved from the bottom of the SEC to the middle of the pack and continue to climb.
Ole Miss should continue to improve their completion percentage under Freeze as much like A&M and Auburn, they like the quick throws to the flats and seams, getting the ball out of the hands of the quarterback as fast as possible. However, don’t look for those interceptions to drop much at all – if any the way Freeze likes to take shots down the field. His quarterbacks don’t mind throwing it into traffic down the middle of the field or along the boundary.
Final Rankings:
The final numbers look like this after tallying the points, with Alabama being number one, followed by the Aggies.
The Bulldogs check in at fifth, but as you can see over the years, there just hasn’t been much difference in Auburn, MState and Ole Miss.
The biggest takeaway for me is how strong Alabama is at quarterback and honestly on offense. We saw the other day how powerful they are running the ball over this time frame, and now we see they are the premiere passing team in the conference. We will see if they can keep this trend alive this year with yet another new quarterback, or if Auburn and Miss. State can live up to their preseason billing as the teams with the top quarterbacks in the SEC West.