Final SEC, NCAA Football Numbers for Ole Miss

The play down the stretch of quarterback Jordan Ta'amu helped keep Ole Miss one of the top passing teams in the country.

With All bowl games complete here are the final NCAA stats for the 2017 football season.

There’s nothing very surprising for Ole Miss.

Some items to note.

There are 129 FBS teams ranked by the NCAA.

The Rebels led the SEC in kick returns (13th nationally) and passing offense (11th nationally),

The Rebels were really good at limiting their fumbles and in passing efficiency. They improved greatly in rushing offense as the season went along. Final total offense numbers were solid.

They were the worst in the SEC in penalty yards per game.

It’s somewhat odd that Ole Miss and Missouri both finished in the bottom three of the SEC in turnover margin yet combined for 13 wins. Vanderbilt finished between them, but SEC strugglers Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas all had a better turnover margin than Ole Miss and Missouri.

Not surprising, Ole Miss and Missouri were next to last and last in the SEC in time of possession and near the bottom of the national stats as well. Tempo offense who also produce big plays don’t hold the ball long.

At the end of the day you are what your numbers say you are, and here are the numbers:

Third Down Conversion PCT: .381, No. 10 SEC, No. 83 NCAA.

Third Down Conversion Defense PCT: .415, No. 11 SEC, No. 89 NCAA.

Fourth Down Conversion PCT: .400, No. 11 SEC, No. 105 NCAA.

Fourth Down Conversion Defense PCT: .632, No. 11 SEC, No. 110 NCAA.

Completion Percentage: .647, No. 2 SEC, No. 16 NCAA.

Fewest Penalties: 91, No. 12 SEC, No. 108 NCAA.

Fewest Penalties Per Game: 7.58, No. 13 SEC, No. 114 NCAA.

Fewest Penalty Yards: 749, No. 12 SEC, No. 91 NCAA.

Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game: 62.42, No. 14 SEC, No. 104 NCAA.

First Downs Defense: 278, No. 13 SEC, No. 94 NCAA.

First Downs Offense: 71, No. 8 SEC, No. 71 NCAA.

Fumbles Lost: 12, No. 3 SEC, No. 5 NCAA.

Fumbles Recovered: 5, No. 10 SEC, No. 108 NCAA.

Kickoff Return Defense: 20.35, No. 6 SEC, No. 59 NCAA.

Kickoff Returns: 24.71, No. 1 SEC, No. 13 NCAA.

Net Punting: 38.53, No. 11 SEC, No. 48 NCAA.

Passes Had Intercepted: 13, No. 12 SEC, No. 90 NCAA.

Passes Intercepted: 8, No. 10 SEC, No. 89 NCAA.

Passing Offense: 328.4, No. 1 SEC, No. 11 NCAA.

Passing Yards Allowed: 214.2, No. 9 SEC, No. 52 NCAA.

Passing Yards Per Completion: 14.02, No. 4 SEC, No. 20 NCAA.

Punt Return Defense: 9.91, No. 11 SEC, No. 95 NCAA.

Punt Returns: 6.71, No. 13 SEC, No. 76 NCAA.

Red Zone Defense: 0.895, No. 10 SEC, No. 115 NCAA.

Red Zone Offense: .953, No. 3 SEC, No. 6 NCAA.

Rushing Defense: 245.3 yards per game, No. 13 SEC, No. 123 NCAA. (Tennessee passed the Rebels at the end. The Vols gave up 251.3 yards a game, last in the SEC and No. 125 in the NCAA.)

Rushing Offense: 133.9, No. 11 SEC, No. 103 NCAA. (There was a big improvement in this category from the early games of the season.)

Sacks Allowed: 2.67 per game, No. 11 SEC, No. 104 NCAA.

Scoring Defense: 34.6, No. 13 SEC, No. 109 NCAA.

Team Passing Efficiency: 156.32, No. 2 SEC, No. 8 NCAA.

Team Passing Efficiency Defense: 132.83, No. 11 SEC, No. 77 NCAA.

Team Sacks: 2.42, No. 7 SEC, No. 37 NCAA.

Tackles For Loss: 6.2, No. 8 SEC, No. 56 NCAA.

Time Of Possession: 25:12, No. 13 SEC, No. 127 NCAA. (Missouri at 25:01 was last in the SEC and No. 128 in the NCAA.)

Total Defense: 459.5 yards per game, No. 14 SEC, No. 115 NCAA.

Total Offense: 462.3 ypg, No. 2 SEC, No. 18 NCAA.

Turnover Margin: Minus-0.42, No. 12 SEC, No. 97 NCAA.

Turnovers Gained: 13, No. 13 SEC, No. 111 NCAA.

Turnovers Lost: 18, No. 9 SEC, No. 48 NCAA. (By comparison, LSU and Alabama were 1-2 nationally in turnovers lost. LSU lost 8, Alabama 10.)

SOURCE: Parrish Alford.  "Final SEC, NCAA Football Numbers for Ole Miss."  Daily Journal, 11 January 2018, http://www.djournal.com/sports/final-sec-ncaa-football-numbers-for-ole-miss/article_9fe4ea14-28ed-5248-9663-1acea55a6db6.html.