Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
Watching one team play with poise and the other implode last week in Alabama's 41-30 demolition of Georgia, I decided to take a longer look at penalties and their impact.
What I can tell you is that Alabama is the least-penalized team in the SEC in terms of penalty yardage and number of penalties per game since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.
Penalties for SEC teams over past 2 years
| | Team | No. of penalties | Penalties per game | | Alabama | 77 in 18 games | 4.27 | | Vanderbilt | 70 in 16 games | 4.37 | | Tennessee | 103 in 18 games | 5.72 | | S. Carolina | 100 in 17 games | 5.88 | | Arkansas | 105 in 17 games | 6.17 | | Miss. State | 112 in 18 games | 6.22 | | Kentucky | 106 in 17 games | 6.23 | | Ole Miss | 109 in 17 games | 6.41 | | Auburn | 116 in 18 games | 6.44 | | LSU | 141 in 18 games | 7.83 | | Georgia | 144 in 18 games | 8.0 | | Florida | 139 in 17 games | 8.1 |
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In fact, the only team in the country the last two years that has averaged fewer penalty yards per game than Alabama is Navy. The Midshipmen are averaging 29.2 penalty yards over their last 18 games and the Crimson Tide 32.2 penalty yards during that same span.
In number of penalties, Alabama has averaged 4.27 penalties over its last 18 games. Vanderbilt, which has played two fewer games since the start of the 2007 season, is a close second at 4.375 penalties per game.
The Commodores are tied for first nationally this season along with Pittsburgh when it comes to fewest penalties. Both teams have just 11 penalties in their first four games.
The Crimson Tide are tied for third nationally this season with Virginia Tech in fewest penalty yards per game. Through five games, the Tide have been whistled for an average of 25.4 penalty yards per game.
At the other end of the spectrum is Georgia, which racked up 10 penalties for 81 yards in its loss to Alabama.
The Bulldogs have more penalties and more penalty yardage than any other team in the country. They've been penalized 53 times for 437 yards. Granted, not everyone has played the same number of games at this point, but Georgia has 17 more penalties than the second most penalized team in the league (Auburn).
Georgia fans shouldn't be too down in the dumps. While penalties can certainly be the difference in close games, they don't necessarily preclude you from winning championships.
Out of 119 teams, LSU was 117th nationally last season with 117 penalties (8.3 per game) and won the national championship.
Florida was ranked even lower during its 2006 national championship season. The Gators were 118th nationally with 116 penalties for an average of 8.29 per game.
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Chris Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
