Saturday Blitz
Fansided

SEC Football: Which team boasts the best run game over the last 7 years?

By Jake Wimberly

facebooktwitterreddit

Which SEC west football team has had the most success running the football over the last seven years? The results may surprise you.

Football is now just weeks away and we intend to take you all the way to kickoff and beyond here at Saturday Blitz, and today we take a look at some interesting trends in the SEC west over the last seven years, starting with rushing statistics.

More from Alabama Crimson Tide

In the SYR (seven-year review) 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.

Today we dive into rushing numbers among SEC West teams in terms of yards, touchdowns and averages of each 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.

Over the last seven years the rushing numbers in the SEC west look like this, and each team is ranked accordingly.

Some interesting stats here to look at, as Auburn has led the SEC in rushing, edging out Alabama over the last seven years, but it’s Alabama who has scored the most rushing touchdowns and averages the most on an annual basis.

It’s also astonishing that both Alabama and Auburn have paced on average over 200-yards per game on the ground. It should be no surprise that LSU is at the top of the list the way the Tigers run the football and the total touchdown numbers is where the real separation is at in the group. Auburn, Alabama and LSU are all around 200 – rushing touchdowns or more, and then there is a 31-touchdown gap between the top three teams and the next team; Texas A&M at 166.

Mississippi State ranked fourth in total numbers which is a great place to be, pulling in 184-yards per game over this stretch. Quietly, the Bulldogs have moved right behind LSU when talking about rushing numbers and trends.

With all the glitz and glamour of the modern-day spread offensive attacks, you still have to be able to run the football and it doesn’t matter if you line up and pound the rock like Alabama or get cute like Auburn, rushing the football is still a big time determining factor in football games and will continue to be.

Other notables and observations – I expect Arkansas’s average to increase over the next few years, or as long as Bret Bielema is the head coach in Fayetteville. I would also expect to see Texas A&M’s numbers decrease unless they have a true dual threat quarterback running their show. The Aggies seem to be more comfortable under Sumlin with a scat back or a back that can get out in space and run.

Auburn and Alabama’s numbers should stay on par with what they have been over recent years, as both programs, while doing it very differently, are run first teams and want to establish a presence in the running game on Saturdays.

Next: The Most Valuable Player for Every SEC Team in 2015

More from Saturday Blitz

Home/Alabama Crimson Tide