A collection of stats and facts, feats and streaks from the first weekend of the SEC football season.
The SEC posted a 12-1 record on the opening weekend of the season, with Vanderbilt the only loser. LSU canceled its game with McNeese State because of bad weather after each team had the ball for one possession. Some notable numbers from the opening weekend:
0 Losses in 16 non-conference games for Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC, a record kept perfect by a 38-17 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night. The Aggies' non-conference winning streak is 17 games overall. Texas A&M's most recent non-conference loss was inflicted by SEC member Arkansas on Oct. 1, 2011, when the Aggies were in the Big 12.
2 Accepted penalties in Saturday's New Mexico State-Florida game. Each team was penalized for an illegal block once in the game. It was the Gators' first game with only one penalty since Dec. 3, 1977, against Florida State. At the other extreme,Alabama was penalized 11 times for 120 yards in its 35-17 victory over Wisconsin, and Bowling Green was penalized 12 times for 128 yards in its 59-30 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. Florida defeated New Mexico State 61-13.
2 Punts were blocked by Georgia in its 51-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, the first time the Bulldogs have blocked two punts in one game. LB Lorenzo Carter blocked Louisiana-Monroe's first punt in the first quarter to set up Georgia's first touchdown, and LB D'Andre Walker blocked a punt in the third quarter, with the ball going out of the end zone for a safety.
5 Consecutive games scoring at least 35 points for Alabama, a streak extended in the Crimson Tide's 35-17 season-opening victory over Wisconsin on Saturday. The current streak ties the school record established in 1973 and matched in 2013. Alabama closed the 2014 season by beating Western Carolina 48-14, Auburn 55-44 and Missouri 42-13 before losing to Ohio State 42-35.
5 QBs in SEC history have at least 2,000 career rushing yards, with Mississippi State's Dak Prescott joining the list on Saturday. Prescott ran for 72 yards in the Bulldogs' 34-16 victory over Southern Miss to boost his career total to 2,005. The SEC's other 2,000-yard rushers from the QB spot are Florida's Tim Tebow (2,947 yards from 2006 through 2009), Arkansas' Matt Jones (2,535 2001-04), Mississippi State's John Bond (2,280 1980-83) and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel (2,169 2012-13).
5 Games with at least 76 points for Ole Miss after the Rebels opened the season with a 76-3 victory over UT Martin on Saturday. All five of the games have come against opponents from Tennessee. Ole Miss defeated Southwestern Baptist 114-0 in 1904, West Tennessee State Teachers 92-0 in 1935, Union 86-0 in 1920 and West Tennessee Normal 82-0 in 1921. Southwestern Baptist became Union in 1907. West Tennessee Normal became West Tennessee State Teachers in 1925 before becoming Memphis State in 1941 and the University of Memphis in 1994.
7 Consecutive first quarters played by Arkansas' opponents without scoring. The most recent team to score in the first quarter against the Razorbacks is Georgia on Oct. 18, 2014.
7 Consecutive victories for Alabama in neutral-site openers, a streak extended by a 35-17 win over Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday. The Crimson Tide defeated Ohio State 16-10 to start the 1986 season in East Rutherford, N.J.; Clemson 34-10 to start the 2008 season in Atlanta, Virginia Tech 34-24 to start the 2009 season in Atlanta, Michigan 41-14 to start the 2012 season in Arlington, Texas; Virginia Tech 35-10 to start the 2013 season in Atlanta and West Virginia 33-23 to start the 2014 season in Atlanta.
9 Consecutive 100-yard rushing games for Georgia RB Nick Chubb, a streak extended by a 120-yard performance in the Bulldogs' 51-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, even though the game was stopped with 9:54 still to play because of bad weather. It's the longest 100-yard streak for the Bulldogs since Herschel Walker ripped off 11 in a row in 1982 on his way to the Heisman Trophy. Chubb has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game he's started for Georgia.
9 Sacks for the Texas A&M defense in its first game under coordinator John Chavis. Daeshon Hall contributed four sacks in the Aggies' 38-17 victory over Arizona State on Saturday.
16 Consecutive seasons have started with Alabama scoring in the first quarter of its opening game. Derrick Henry ran 37 yards for a TD with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter against Wisconsin on Saturday night for the Crimson Tide's first points of the 2015 season. Alabama's most recent scoreless first quarter in its season-opening game came in 1999 against Vanderbilt, when Shaun Alexander's 2-yard run for a TD with 18 seconds left in the second quarter produced the Tide's first points for the year. That's the only time in the past 30 season-openers that Alabama failed to score in the first quarter.
26 Consecutive season-opening games won by Florida after the Gators kicked off the 2015 campaign with a 61-13 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday. The next-best streak in SEC history is 16 season-opening games won by Ole Miss from 1947 through 1962. Florida hasn't had an 0-1 record since a 24-19 setback against Ole Miss on Sept 19, 1989. The Gators own the longest active season-opening winning streak in the nation after Nebraska had its 29-year streak ended by a 33-28 loss to BYU on Saturday.
43 TD passes for quarterback Dak Prescott, the Mississippi State career record. Prescott threw for two TDs in the Bulldogs' 34-16 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday to pass Tyler Russell, who had 42 TD passes from 2010 through 2013, at the top of MSU's all-time list.
44 More yards, 10 more first downs and 14:10 more time of possession for Louisiana-Lafayette than for Kentucky on Saturday, yet the Wildcats beat the Ragin' Cajuns 40-33. Louisiana-Lafayette lost two fumbles and two interceptions while Kentucky had two turnovers. In a similar statistical incongruity, Vanderbilt had 147 more yards, nine more first downs and 13:18 more time of possession than Western Kentucky, but lost to the Hilltoppers 14-12. The Commodores lost a fumble and two interceptions while WKU had no turnovers. Vanderbilt came up 1 yard short on a 2-point conversion run with 33 seconds to play.
56 Yard field goal made by Auburn PK Daniel Carlson in the Tigers' 31-24 victory over Louisville on Saturday. Carlson set a personal-best by 5 yards and connected on the third-longest field goal in Auburn history. Neil O'Donoghue kicked a 57-yard field goal against Tennessee in 1976 and Phillip Yost kicked a 57-yarder against Western Kentucky in 2003. John Riley also hit a 56-yard field goal for Auburn against Tennessee in 1969.
75 Yards covered by Stanley Williams on a TD run on the Kentucky offense's first snap and 12 yards run by Mikel Horton for a TD on the Wildcats offense's final snap against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. Horton's TD with 57 seconds to play lifted Kentucky to a 40-33 victory.
82 Yard fumble return for a TD by Auburn LB Justin Garrett in the Tigers' 31-24 victory over Louisville on Saturday. It's the longest fumble return for a TD in Auburn's record book, which for this stat dates to 1969. Until Garrett did it, an Auburn player hadn't returned a fumble for a TD since Daren Bates went 62 yards for a score against New Mexico State in 2012.
106 Yards on six receptions for Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk against Arizona State on Saturday to become the first freshman receiver with a 100-yard debut in Aggies' history. The true freshman, who caught a 66-yard TD pass, also returned a punt 79 yards for a TD in Texas A&M's 38-17 victory.
144 Rushing yards for RB Alvin Kamara in Tennessee's 59-30 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday, the most in Volunteers' history for a player in his first game. Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd also reached triple digits with 123 rushing yards. The Vols ran for 399 yards, their most in one game on the ground since picking up 406 against Vanderbilt in 1994. The game featured 1,161 yards of offense. The Volunteers had 604 yards, including 205 passing, and the Falcons had 557 -- 124 rushing and 433 passing.
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The SEC posted a 12-1 record on the opening weekend of the season, with Vanderbilt the only loser. LSU canceled its game with McNeese State because of bad weather after each team had the ball for one possession. Some notable numbers from the opening weekend:
0 Losses in 16 non-conference games for Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC, a record kept perfect by a 38-17 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night. The Aggies' non-conference winning streak is 17 games overall. Texas A&M's most recent non-conference loss was inflicted by SEC member Arkansas on Oct. 1, 2011, when the Aggies were in the Big 12.
2 Accepted penalties in Saturday's New Mexico State-Florida game. Each team was penalized for an illegal block once in the game. It was the Gators' first game with only one penalty since Dec. 3, 1977, against Florida State. At the other extreme,Alabama was penalized 11 times for 120 yards in its 35-17 victory over Wisconsin, and Bowling Green was penalized 12 times for 128 yards in its 59-30 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. Florida defeated New Mexico State 61-13.
2 Punts were blocked by Georgia in its 51-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, the first time the Bulldogs have blocked two punts in one game. LB Lorenzo Carter blocked Louisiana-Monroe's first punt in the first quarter to set up Georgia's first touchdown, and LB D'Andre Walker blocked a punt in the third quarter, with the ball going out of the end zone for a safety.
5 Consecutive games scoring at least 35 points for Alabama, a streak extended in the Crimson Tide's 35-17 season-opening victory over Wisconsin on Saturday. The current streak ties the school record established in 1973 and matched in 2013. Alabama closed the 2014 season by beating Western Carolina 48-14, Auburn 55-44 and Missouri 42-13 before losing to Ohio State 42-35.
5 QBs in SEC history have at least 2,000 career rushing yards, with Mississippi State's Dak Prescott joining the list on Saturday. Prescott ran for 72 yards in the Bulldogs' 34-16 victory over Southern Miss to boost his career total to 2,005. The SEC's other 2,000-yard rushers from the QB spot are Florida's Tim Tebow (2,947 yards from 2006 through 2009), Arkansas' Matt Jones (2,535 2001-04), Mississippi State's John Bond (2,280 1980-83) and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel (2,169 2012-13).
5 Games with at least 76 points for Ole Miss after the Rebels opened the season with a 76-3 victory over UT Martin on Saturday. All five of the games have come against opponents from Tennessee. Ole Miss defeated Southwestern Baptist 114-0 in 1904, West Tennessee State Teachers 92-0 in 1935, Union 86-0 in 1920 and West Tennessee Normal 82-0 in 1921. Southwestern Baptist became Union in 1907. West Tennessee Normal became West Tennessee State Teachers in 1925 before becoming Memphis State in 1941 and the University of Memphis in 1994.
7 Consecutive first quarters played by Arkansas' opponents without scoring. The most recent team to score in the first quarter against the Razorbacks is Georgia on Oct. 18, 2014.
7 Consecutive victories for Alabama in neutral-site openers, a streak extended by a 35-17 win over Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday. The Crimson Tide defeated Ohio State 16-10 to start the 1986 season in East Rutherford, N.J.; Clemson 34-10 to start the 2008 season in Atlanta, Virginia Tech 34-24 to start the 2009 season in Atlanta, Michigan 41-14 to start the 2012 season in Arlington, Texas; Virginia Tech 35-10 to start the 2013 season in Atlanta and West Virginia 33-23 to start the 2014 season in Atlanta.
9 Consecutive 100-yard rushing games for Georgia RB Nick Chubb, a streak extended by a 120-yard performance in the Bulldogs' 51-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, even though the game was stopped with 9:54 still to play because of bad weather. It's the longest 100-yard streak for the Bulldogs since Herschel Walker ripped off 11 in a row in 1982 on his way to the Heisman Trophy. Chubb has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game he's started for Georgia.
9 Sacks for the Texas A&M defense in its first game under coordinator John Chavis. Daeshon Hall contributed four sacks in the Aggies' 38-17 victory over Arizona State on Saturday.
16 Consecutive seasons have started with Alabama scoring in the first quarter of its opening game. Derrick Henry ran 37 yards for a TD with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter against Wisconsin on Saturday night for the Crimson Tide's first points of the 2015 season. Alabama's most recent scoreless first quarter in its season-opening game came in 1999 against Vanderbilt, when Shaun Alexander's 2-yard run for a TD with 18 seconds left in the second quarter produced the Tide's first points for the year. That's the only time in the past 30 season-openers that Alabama failed to score in the first quarter.
26 Consecutive season-opening games won by Florida after the Gators kicked off the 2015 campaign with a 61-13 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday. The next-best streak in SEC history is 16 season-opening games won by Ole Miss from 1947 through 1962. Florida hasn't had an 0-1 record since a 24-19 setback against Ole Miss on Sept 19, 1989. The Gators own the longest active season-opening winning streak in the nation after Nebraska had its 29-year streak ended by a 33-28 loss to BYU on Saturday.
43 TD passes for quarterback Dak Prescott, the Mississippi State career record. Prescott threw for two TDs in the Bulldogs' 34-16 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday to pass Tyler Russell, who had 42 TD passes from 2010 through 2013, at the top of MSU's all-time list.
44 More yards, 10 more first downs and 14:10 more time of possession for Louisiana-Lafayette than for Kentucky on Saturday, yet the Wildcats beat the Ragin' Cajuns 40-33. Louisiana-Lafayette lost two fumbles and two interceptions while Kentucky had two turnovers. In a similar statistical incongruity, Vanderbilt had 147 more yards, nine more first downs and 13:18 more time of possession than Western Kentucky, but lost to the Hilltoppers 14-12. The Commodores lost a fumble and two interceptions while WKU had no turnovers. Vanderbilt came up 1 yard short on a 2-point conversion run with 33 seconds to play.
56 Yard field goal made by Auburn PK Daniel Carlson in the Tigers' 31-24 victory over Louisville on Saturday. Carlson set a personal-best by 5 yards and connected on the third-longest field goal in Auburn history. Neil O'Donoghue kicked a 57-yard field goal against Tennessee in 1976 and Phillip Yost kicked a 57-yarder against Western Kentucky in 2003. John Riley also hit a 56-yard field goal for Auburn against Tennessee in 1969.
75 Yards covered by Stanley Williams on a TD run on the Kentucky offense's first snap and 12 yards run by Mikel Horton for a TD on the Wildcats offense's final snap against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. Horton's TD with 57 seconds to play lifted Kentucky to a 40-33 victory.
82 Yard fumble return for a TD by Auburn LB Justin Garrett in the Tigers' 31-24 victory over Louisville on Saturday. It's the longest fumble return for a TD in Auburn's record book, which for this stat dates to 1969. Until Garrett did it, an Auburn player hadn't returned a fumble for a TD since Daren Bates went 62 yards for a score against New Mexico State in 2012.
106 Yards on six receptions for Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk against Arizona State on Saturday to become the first freshman receiver with a 100-yard debut in Aggies' history. The true freshman, who caught a 66-yard TD pass, also returned a punt 79 yards for a TD in Texas A&M's 38-17 victory.
144 Rushing yards for RB Alvin Kamara in Tennessee's 59-30 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday, the most in Volunteers' history for a player in his first game. Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd also reached triple digits with 123 rushing yards. The Vols ran for 399 yards, their most in one game on the ground since picking up 406 against Vanderbilt in 1994. The game featured 1,161 yards of offense. The Volunteers had 604 yards, including 205 passing, and the Falcons had 557 -- 124 rushing and 433 passing.
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