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Christopher Boan is a writer with BetTexas.com, covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Can The Most Penalized SEC Teams Make The Playoff?
The debut season of Texas Longhorns football in the SEC is off to as strong of a start as possible across Texas sports betting, with Steve Sarkisianās team racing their way to a 3-0 start and grabbing the programās first No. 1 ranking in the AP top 25 since the 2008 season.
While UT has one more non-conference game remaining against Louisiana-Monroe in Austin on Saturday evening before the Hornsā SEC opener against Mississippi State next weekend, itās worth wondering where the Longhorns and their in-state rivals from College Station rank when it comes to on-field infractions.
Over in College Station, the Texas A&M Aggies are 2-1 in Mike Elkoās first season as head coach, with wins over McNeese and Florida after losing the teamās opener against Notre Dame.
At the moment, the Longhorns and Aggies bookend the latest top 25 poll, with UT at No. 1 and Texas A&M at No. 25, with UT holding the second best SEC title odds on Bet365 at +190, while A&M is sixth at +1600.
While inevitable, penalties in college football can greatly impact the end result of each game. At BetTexas.com, we wanted to know how penalties impact a teamās chances of making the CFP. Using Sports-Reference.com, we found how many penalties each current SEC team received over the past three seasons and final records. We then took the top five most penalized teams over each season, found the average penalty count, average record and percentage of times one of those teams made it into the CFP.
The current penalty count for 2024 teams is as of Sept. 18.
How Do Most Penalized Teams Do?
Wiining % | Average Penalty Count/Game | Made Playoff |
.627 | 8 | 6.7% |
In the last three seasons, teams that committed the most on field infractions in the SEC have gone on to finish with an average winning percentage of .627, with 6.7% of those teams making the four-team CFP.
Overall, the teams that committed the most sins on the gridirons of the Southeast averaged 194 penalties per season, illustrating how far some teams stray from playing the game the right way each fall.
2024 Most Penalized SEC Teams
Rank | Team | # of Penalties/Game |
T1 | LSU Tigers | 8.7 |
T1 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 8.7 |
T3 | Missouri Tigers | 8.3 |
T3 | Georgia Bulldogs | 8.3 |
5 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 8 |
This season, there are two SEC teams tied for the illustrious title of being the most penalized team in the conference, with the South Carolina Gamecocks and LSU Tigers tied with 8.7 penalties penalties a game, beating out Missouri and the Georgia Bulldogs, which both average 8.3 penalties a game this season.
Throw in the Alabama Crimson Tide (8 penalties a game) and you have the top five teams in the 16-team conference.
Meanwhile, it seems discipline is part of the early success for the Longhorns (ranked 14th in the SEC with 5.7 penalties a game).
Also of interest: CFB NIL Deals vs. Team Records: How the Top 10 Biggest Earners Stack Up.
USA Today photo by Sara Diggins.
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