2022 Advanced Stats for SEC Football

The SEC is gearing up for yet another season where the most talented teams in the country brawl with one another throughout the fall. You already know who the heavyweights are but who carves out a spot the middle class of the league could be interesting this year.

Below, we’ll look at a handful of advanced stats for the SEC ahead of the 2022 season.

SP+ rankings

The SEC once again lays legitimate claim to being the toughest conference in the country with nine of its teams occupying the top 25 of the preseason SP+ rankings. Alabama and Georgia sit at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while this year’s popular College Football Playoff darkhorse Texas A&M sits at No. 8.

Interestingly enough, Tennessee sits right behind those three powerhouses at No. 9 in the country. The story for the Volunteers in 2021 was the quick success of Josh Heupel’s offense, who have the fourth ranked unit in SP+ heading into this season. Quarterback Hendon Hooker is back for another season and could emerge as a potential Heisman Trophy darkhorse should last year’s success carry over.

Returning production

Mississippi State returns a league-high 78% of its production and that could be very beneficial for them on offense, where the Air Raid requires practice and repetition. The Bulldogs return eight starters on both sides of the ball including quarterback Will Rogers, who could threaten to lead the conference in passing this year.

South Carolina is another popular sleeper and that’s buoyed by its 73% returning production. Included into the mix is quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is looking for a bit of redemption after the way things ended for him at Oklahoma.

Positional talent data

You will never believe this, but Alabama is measured as the most talented roster in the entire county. I’ll give you a second to process this information....ok, that’s enough. The Crimson Tide literally return a Heisman Trophy winner in Bryce Young at quarterback and an outside linebacker in Will Anderson that could the the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Even after losing so many monsters from last year’s national championship team, Georgia checks in right behind the Tide at No. 3 and that’s a testament to Kirby Smart’s recruiting in Athens. A&M is No. 4 in the country while LSU sneaks in at No. 5. Lost in the chaos of the end of the Ed Orgeron era was the fact that LSU still had one of the most talented rosters in the nation. We’ll see if Brian Kelly can tap in and harness it immediately.

Latest win totals from DraftKings Sportsbook

Returning production and positional talent data compiled by Seth Varnadore. You can find him on Twitter and YouTube at Varnadore Films where he does game film breakdowns of teams all over college football.

SP+ data compiled by ESPN’s Bill Connelly.