A little bit of this and a little bit of that as we point toward Week 12 in the SEC:
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton is 197 yards away from breaking the NCAA single season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. Air Force’s Beau Morgan ran for 1,494 yards in 1996. Newton, with three games remaining, has 1,297 yards. However, Morgan probably won’t have the record for much longer. Michigan’s Denard Robinson has 1,417 yards with three games remaining.
Newton and Robinson are tied for the FBS lead this season with 43 carries of 10 yards or longer.
Arkansas and Auburn are both among the FBS leaders when it comes to the percentage of plays of 20 yards or longer. Boise State leads the way with 9.7 percent of its plays going for 20-plus yards. Hawaii is right behind at 9.6 percent, Auburn at 9.3 percent and Arkansas at 9.2 percent.
Going back to the beginning of the 2009 season, Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett leads all FBS players with 56 completions of 30 yards or longer. The second-place guy, San Diego State’s Ryan Lindley, is 10 completions back with 46. Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor and Boise State’s Kellen Moore are tied for third with 40 completions of 30 yards or longer.
Arkansas has been money in the red zone this season. The Hogs have scored on 37 of 40 possessions inside the 20, which leads the SEC and is tied for fourth in the nation. In the past two seasons, the Hogs are 84 of 89 in the red zone.
Since starting the season 1-2, Mississippi State is averaging eight tackles for loss per game and has 16 takeaways.
Auburn leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 42.8 points per game. At that current pace, the Tigers would finish the season tied for eighth in SEC history for scoring average. At that pace, Auburn would score 599 points in 14 games, which would be second in SEC history -- trailing only Florida’s 611 points in 2008.
With a win Saturday against Ole Miss, LSU can secure its fourth 10-win season in six years under Les Miles.
LSU’s defense is ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring (6th -- 14.6 PPG), passing (4th -- 148.6 YPG) and total defense (5th – 273.6 YPG).
Alabama, which routed Georgia State 63-7 on Thursday night, has given up just 14 touchdowns in 11 games, which is the second lowest total in the nation. West Virginia is the only team that’s given up fewer with 11, but the Mountaineers have also played just nine games.
Ole Miss’ Markeith Summers is second in the nation in yards per reception (20.64). Summers has 22 catches for 454 yards. The Georgia duo of Tavarres King (3rd / 20.48) and Kris Durham (4th / 20.08) and Tennessee’s Denarius Moore (T6th / 19.88) are also in the nation’s top 10 in yards per reception.
Tennessee running back Tauren Poole has six 100-yard rushing games this season, which ties Auburn's Newton for the most in the SEC. Travis Stephens set the Tennessee school record in 2001 with seven 100-yard rushing games. Despite Poole’s big season, the Vols rank last in the SEC and 97th nationally in rushing offense, averaging just 118.9 yards per game.
Tennessee has won 32 of the past 34 meetings with Vanderbilt. The Vols had their 22-game winning streak in the series snapped in 2005 when the Commodores won 28-24 in Knoxville. Vanderbilt hasn’t beaten Tennessee in Nashville since 1982 when the Commodores won 28-21.
A win by South Carolina over Troy on Saturday would give the Gamecocks their 10th eight-win season in school history and their fourth since the 2000 season.