Except for a few teams that have played six games, most of the college football world is like Alabama Football at five games into the season. Going into Week 7, just enough game data provides stats worth considering.
Stats never provide a complete picture to predict how a team will play in a single game. They are indicators for fans trying to measure the overall strengths and weaknesses of their team. This week, Alabama football fans are wondering how good the Crimson Tide and Missouri are.
Per FanDuel, Alabama is currently a 3.5-point road favorite against Missouri. Alabama is ranked at No. 8 in the traditional polls. Missouri is ranked No. 14 in both the polls.
Key Stats for Alabama Football, Missouri, Tennessee, and LSU
The stats below are provided by cfbstats.com. With one exception, they are raw stats, not adjusted to rank team efficiency. The rankings listed below are SEC rankings, rather than the entire FBS.
Also provided for perspective are the Strength of Record (SPR) and Strength of Schedule (SOS) national rankings as calculated by ESPN's FPI.
- Scoring Offense (average per game) - No. 1 Tennessee (51 points), No. 2 Missouri (45.2 points), No. 6 Alabama (36.4 points), and No. 13 LSU (27 points)
- Scoring Defense (average per game) - No. 3 LSU (12.2 points), No. 4 Missouri (14.6 points), No. 5 Alabama (16 points), and No. 15 Tennessee (29 points)
- Rushing Offense (yards per carry) - No. 3 Missouri (5.91 ypc), No. No. 4 Tennessee (5.06 ypc), No. 13 Alabama (3.89 ypc), and No. 15 LSU (3.56 ypc)
- Passing Offense (completion percentage) - No. 1 Missouri (75.8%), No. 2 Alabama (70.5%), No. 5 LSU (68.5%), and No. 10 Tennessee (64.5%)
- Rushing Defense (yards per carry allowed) - No. 3 Missouri (2.64 ypc), No. 6 Tennessee (2.84 ypc), No. 7 LSU (2.91 ypc), and No. 15 Alabama (4.65 ypc)
- Passing Defense Rating (based on yards allowed, stop rate, and opposing passer rating) - No. 3 Missouri (103.13). No. 4 LSU (108.56), No. 6 Alabama (113.02), and No. 12 Tennessee (133.43)
In each category, Missouri has better stats than Alabama. That does not mean Missouri will beat Alabama. It does suggest that Alabama's Saturday opponent might be a tough one. A subsequent post will compare team efficiencies for more insight.
Using ESPN computer calculations, the SOR of the four teams is: Alabama (No. 10 nationally), Missouri (No. 14), LSU (No. 16), and Tennessee (No. 27). In SOS (based on games played), Alabama is No. 3, LSU is No. 17, Tennessee is No. 45, and Missouri is No. 109.