The second week of the SEC’s 92nd season features the first conference contest of the campaign, with South Carolina visiting Kentucky. The other 14 SEC programs will be engaged in non-conference games on Saturday, including two ranked matchups – No. 3 Texas-No. 10 Michigan in Ann Arbor and No. 24 North Carolina State-No. 14 Tennessee in Charlotte. Here are 10 stats from SEC Football by the Numbers, along with the schedule, TV and betting lines, to get ready for Week 2:
3 Consecutive Kentucky seasons have featured a victory in the Wildcats’ SEC opener. Entering its SEC opener against South Carolina on Saturday, Kentucky has beaten Missouri in 2021, Florida in 2022 and Vanderbilt in 2023 to kick off its SEC schedule. Kentucky has never started four consecutive seasons with a 1-0 record in SEC play. This is the Wildcats’ third three-game on-the-field winning streak in SEC openers. The others occurred from 1933 through 1935 and 1977 through 1979. The former came in the first three seasons of the SEC, and Kentucky had won its opening Southern Conference game in the Wildcats’ preceding five seasons. Kentucky lost its 1976 SEC opener to Mississippi State 14-7, but that game was later forfeited by the Bulldogs due to NCAA sanctions. South Carolina enters Saturday’s game having lost its past six SEC openers, the longest such losing streak in the Gamecocks’ history in any league.
5 Consecutive Vanderbilt games have featured LB Langston Patterson as the Commodores’ leading tackler. Patterson had 10 tackles in Vanderbilt’s 34-27 overtime victory against Virginia Tech in last week’s season-opening game. That pushed his total to 46 tackles in the Commodores’ past five games. He also has 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery in that span.
18 Consecutive games with at least one TD pass for Missouri QB Brady Cook. Cook’s most recent game without a TD pass is a 26-18 loss to Kentucky on Nov. 5, 2022. Cook has passed for 30 TDs during the streak, and Missouri has won 14 of the games. In Missouri’s only previous game against its Saturday opponent Buffalo, Tigers QB Chase Daniel threw for 439 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 victory on Sept. 20, 2008.
25 Years since North Carolina State defeated an SEC opponent in a regular-season game. Since beating South Carolina 10-0 on Sept. 4, 1999, the Wolfpack has lost its five regular-season meetings with SEC foes and has a 1-9 record in all games in that span. The lone victory came 41-17 over Vanderbilt in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 26, 2016. North Carolina State has a 7-32-2 record against SEC opponents. In Charlotte on Saturday, the Wolfpack will square off against Tennessee, which has a 40-16-1 record against ACC opponents and has won the past three meetings. North Carolina State will be seeking to snap a Tennessee streak of 13 straight quarters of non-conference competition without giving up a touchdown. Since Texas-San Antonio scored on a 43-yard pass with 5:16 left in the third quarter of a 45-14 loss to the Volunteers on Sept. 23, 2023, Tennessee has defeated Connecticut 59-3, Iowa 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl and Chattanooga 69-3 in non-conference contests.
27 Consecutive September games have been won by Georgia, dating from a 45-14 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 24, 2016, the longest active streak in the SEC. Facing Tennessee Tech in Athens on Saturday, Georgia has won its past 28 non-conference games in September since a 35-21 setback against Boise State in Atlanta on Sept. 3, 2011, and 53 consecutive non-conference home games in September since a 24-20 loss to South Carolina on Sept. 30, 1989. The Gamecocks were an independent program at the time.
34 Consecutive losses to SEC opponents for Samford, which plays Florida on Saturday. Samford has a 1-39-1 record against SEC opponents. The Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 7-6 on Oct. 20, 1934, and tied Alabama 7-7 on Sept. 28, 1935. The losing streak includes a 70-52 loss to Florida in 2021 that is the highest-scoring game in the history of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Eleven players on Samford’s 2021 roster are back for Saturday’s game, including four offensive-line starters. Florida enters the contest on a six-game losing streak, the first for the Gators since they lost the final eight games of the 1979 season. NCAA FCS teams have six victories in 300 games against SEC opponents since Division I split into Division I-A and I-AA in 1978, including Georgia Southern’s 26-20 victory over Florida in 2013.
44 Years since Arkansas and Oklahoma State squared off, even though their Saturday meeting will be the 47th between the Razorbacks and Cowboys. The teams most recently met on Sept. 20, 1980, when No. 17 Arkansas defeated Oklahoma State 33-20 in Little Rock. The Razorbacks have won the past five meetings to take a 30-15-1 lead in the series. OSU’s most recent victory over Arkansas came on Sept. 20, 1975, when the Cowboys upended the No. 16 Hogs 20-13. Arkansas is playing in Stillwater for the first time since Sept. 23, 1978. Oklahoma State most recently lost a home game to an SEC opponent on Oct. 18, 1947, when Georgia scored a 20-7 win in Stillwater. The Cowboys have won their three home games against SEC opponents since.
450 Auburn games at Jordan-Hare Stadium when the Tigers take the field on Saturday to play California. Auburn and Florida tied 7-7 in Game 1 on Nov. 30, 1939, and the Tigers have a 347-95-7 record in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Five of the victories have come on Sept. 7, with Auburn undefeated on the date by outscoring Southwestern Louisiana, Fresno State, Western Carolina, Arkansas State and Tulane by a combined score of 229-22. Now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, California will be playing the first of its five games in the Eastern or Central time zones this season on Saturday after the Golden Bears played in five such games in the previous five seasons combined.
1,954 Victories for Texas and Michigan entering their meeting on Saturday. With 1,005, Michigan has the most wins in college football history. With 949 victories, Texas is tied for fourth with Notre Dame. Alabama and Ohio State are between Michigan and Texas. None of the Wolverines’ wins came against Texas. In the teams’ only meeting, the Longhorns took a 38-37 victory in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2005.
99,235 Is the largest crowd to witness a South Florida game. USF’s largest crowd came at a 23-13 loss to Penn State on Sept. 3, 2005, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. The Bulls visit Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide’s Bryant-Denny Stadium has a capacity of 100,077. Alabama will honor former coach Nick Saban on Saturday by renaming its football venue Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saban’s Crimson Tide teams won BCS national championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and CFP national titles in 2015, 2017 and 2020.
