Stats To Know & Fantasy Takeaways from Every SEC Team’s Sept 26 Game

I take a look at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for every SEC team’s opening game last weekend. The “Stat to Know” is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

Opening Week SEC Passing Leaders (yards):

  • 623 – KJ Costello, Miss St
  • 416 – Kyle Trask, Florida
  • 395 – Matt Corral, Ole Miss
  • 345 – Myles Brennan, LSU
  • 290 – Collin Hill, South Carolina

Opening Week SEC Rushing Leaders (yards):

  • 117 – Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
  • 98 – Najee Harris, Alabama
  • 86 – Ty Chandler, Tennessee
  • 79 – Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
  • 71 – Zamir White, Georgia

Opening Week SEC Receiving Leaders (yards):

  • 227 – Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
  • 183 – Osirus Mitchell, Miss State
  • 170 – Kyle Pitts, Florida (TE)
  • 158 – Kylin Hill, Miss State (RB)
  • 140 – Shi Smith, South Carolina

Teams (listed in alphabetical order):

Alabama – RB Najee Harris (98-3) and WRs Jaylen Waddle (8/134-2) & DeVonta Smith (8/89) all were the studs we expect them to be. What actually stood out to me though was QB Mac Jones’ stats – 18/24-249-2. Not outstanding from a shear volume perspective, but I liked the 75% completion percentage. In 2019 Tua Tagovailoa completed 71.4% of his passes, in 2018 it was 69%. If Jones can complete passes at the same clip as Alabama has the past few years that is a great indicator for the overall success of all the pieces around him.

Arkansas – No one usually runs that well against Georgia, but RB Rakeem Boyd disappointed with an 11/21-0 performance on the ground. WR Treylon Burks hauled in 7/102-1, right at 50% of Arkansas’ 203 passing yards. Burks was targeted 11 times, the next highest was 6.

Auburn – RB by committee led to DJ Williams (8/21-1), Shaun Shivers (6/29), and Tank Bigsby (6/15) all disappointing fantasy owners. The standout was WR Seth Williams with 6/112-2. In 12 games last season Williams had 6 games under 50 yards receiving along with 6 games over 50 yards, so it’s too soon for me to call this a breakout, but it’s a hopeful start.

Florida – When is QB Kyle Trask throwing for 416-6 somehow not the highlight? When your TE (really a hybrid WR) Kyle Pitts catches 8/170 for 4 TDs. 4 TD receptions was the most in a game by any player so far this season. To give Trask his deserved props, 416 and 6 were both career highs.

Georgia – QB D’Wan Mathis just didn’t look ready, passing for 8/17-55-0 in his first game as the starter. Stetson Bennett on the other hand looked like he was comfortable, throwing for 20/29-211-2. JT Daniels will be medically cleared this week, and I’m not writing Mathis off just yet, but it sure seems like Daniels is going to get his chance.

Kentucky – It was RB by committee (which it could be all season) as AJ Rose (10/31), Christopher Rodriguez (9/13) & Kavosiey Smoke (7/62-1) split carries. QB Terry Wilson had a solid first outing after his injury last year (239-1, 13/42), but what stood out to me the most was WR Josh Ali catching 9/98, getting 13 targets while the next highest was 5.

LSU – Yet another SEC team this week that was RB by committee with none of Chris Curry, Tyrion Davis-Price or John Emery getting more than 11 carries or 47 yards. QB Myles Brennan isn’t Joe Burrow yet but the volume was there – 27/46-345-3, which is very promising. As expected Terrace Marshall was the top WR (8/122-2), but the 2nd best of the day may have been a surprise, Jaray Jenkins brought in 5/85.

Mississippi State – You already know QB KJ Costello passed for 623-5, but who did he throw it to? Four players got 9+ targets, but only 3 of those had big stat days – RB Kylin Hill (8/158-1 receiving, 7/34 rush) & WRs Osirus Mitchell (7/183-2), JaVonta Payton (6/122). While Mike Leach offenses typically spread the ball around to a lot of receivers, Mitchell and Payton look to be strong plays right now until we get a few more games of data.

Missouri – QB Shawn Robinson started the game, but QB Connor Bazelak also got time. Keeping in mind that he was playing against the Alabama defense in the season-opener, Robinson’s 19/25-185-1 stood out to me for completing 76% of his passes. Unfortunately Robinson had negative rushing yardage on the day. Bazelak was 7/14-68 as the game got out of hand, but did rush for a TD. Robinson did enough to be the starter, and I’m eager to see what he can do against some lesser defenses.

Ole Miss – Most in the fantasy community may have been hoping for QB John Rhys Plumlee to be the guy this year, but instead QB Matt Corral delivered in a big way. Corral threw for 395-3 and rushed for 13/50, while Plumlee threw 1 pass for 3 yards and rushed 4/4. Corral’s favorite target was WR Elijah Moore with a monster 10/227-0. And for those needing a TE, transfer Kenny Yeboah impressed in his first game as a Rebel with 5/91-1.

South Carolina – QB Collin Hill impressed, throwing for 25/39-290-1 in his first start since transferring from Colorado State. In his first two games last season (at CSU) before getting injured, Hill passed for 374 and 367 yards, so he can sling it. Hill’s go-to WR was Shi Smith, 10/140-1 on 15 targets. I liked Hill a lot last year before he was injured, and Smith should also be rostered/started immediately if he is available.

Tennessee – QB Jarrett Guarantano passed for 19/31-259-1. 259 yards was the 4th highest total of his career. On the ground RB Ty Chandler was much more productive per carry (13/86 – 6.6 avg), than RB Eric Gray (12/40 – 3.3 avg), although Gray had a rushing TD & also caught one pass for 31 yards.

Texas A&M – None of Texas A&M’s unproven receiving corps stood out, as QB Kellen Mond only passed for 189 yards on the day against Vanderbilt. I think RB could be a play this season here, but Texas A&M curiously only gave RB Isaiah Spiller 8 carries as he ran for 117 yards. RB Ainias Smith, a converted WR, rushed for 10/51-1 while catching 2/27.

Vanderbilt – They are extremely inexperienced on the offensive side of the ball this season, and new QB Ken Seals got the start and passed for 20/29-150-1. They are running a new spread offense, and Seals was efficient but only averaged 7.5 yards a completion. Hopefully as he gets more comfortable he’ll start looking downfield more (if the O-line allows time). The only RB or WR who stood out was WR Amir Abdur-Rahman who caught 5/72-1. (If I might editorialize – as I did my undergrad work at Vanderbilt I will say I am pleased at the attempt at a spread offense. Vandy will never out-recruit the rest of the SEC nor will they control the line of scrimmage. Their best attempt at winning in the SEC is out-scheming opponents, so I’m rooting for the spread.)