I was looking up some stuff for another discussion and figured I'd share some interesting stat quirks:
Alabama is undefeated v. Arkansas (12-0), Tennessee (12-0), Kentucky (4-0), Missouri (3-0), Vanderbilt (2-0).
Alabama is 5-1 v. Georgia overall but 0-1 at home v. Georgia. All 5 wins came in the State of Georgia (2 regular season road games, 2 SECCGs, 1 CFPCG).
Alabama is 5-1 in Tiger Stadium but 3-3 in Jordan-Hare. Which one is actually Death Valley? Auburn is the only team to hand Saban's Alabama more than one loss while in their home stadium. Seems like Jordan-Hare at 2:30 is tougher than Tiger Stadium at night to me.
While Georgia is the only team undefeated in Bryant-Denny during the Saban era, South Carolina is the only SEC team undefeated at home v. Saban's Alabama. I bet we change that this season.
Alabama has only lost one neutral field game v. the SEC: 2008 Florida in the SECCG.
Maybe this isn't interesting to some but I figured I'd share some interesting facets on just how dominant this era of Bama football has been.
Just so we're clear.....LSU's "Saturday Night in Death Vallley" nonsense is one of those myths right up there with the Loch Ness Monster and Alabama's "57-game home winning streak" or "throw out the records for the Iron Bowl."
I've heard about LSU on Saturday night going way back to the late 1970s, and Cholly Mac's refusal to move the 1979 game up for 230pm telecast. It's always been something of a myth for a very good reason: it's one of those areas where thanks to modern CFB and the eight-game SEC schedule, you can run up huge numbers on out of conference cupcakes.
Entering 2018, there was a big deal made (by LSU, of course) that over the previous 13 seasons (starting with Miles's first game), LSU was 78-13 at home. But three of those losses came in 2008, when they played THREE SEC TEAMS that ended the year ranked and lost all 3 of them. And LSU has lost FOUR STRAIGHT games AT NIGHT to Alabama at home, the last two being shutouts.
Who are their ACTUAL WINS? (We'll start with 2017 and go back)
2017 - UTC, 4-8 Syracuse, Troy, ATM - they also played Auburn IN THE DAY TIME, the West champs no less, and beat them.
So, yeah, they were 4-0 at night, but three of those teams didn't have a pulse and ATM wasn't very good anyway (I will give them credit for a decent win, though).
2016 - Jax State, 5-7 MSU who got an undeserved bowl game, 4-8 Mizzou, Ole Miss - and a loss to Alabama
4-1 and lost to the only decent team they played at night at home
2015 - E Michigan, Florida, WKU, ATM, and a loss to Ole Miss
4-1 again, but okay, TWO good wins and a terrible loss makes you 2-1 against decent teams
2014 - Sam Houston St, ULM, N Mex St, 5-7 UK, Ole Miss, and night losses to Alabama and the eventual #1 (for a month) MSU
So 5-2, with one good one and two losses against good teams yet again
2013 - UAB, Kent St, Auburn, Furman, ATM, Arkansas
OK, a pretty good year this time since Auburn played for the title and ATM was good. 6-0, but they'd have beaten four of those teams with their second string probably.
2012 - UNT, Washington, Idaho, Towson, SCAR, MSU wins - and another loss to Alabama
6-1, and okay, they did well against SCAR and Washington and a decent MSU, but it should be noted they had more talent than those teams and beat them in the daytime, too.
2011 was a helluva good football team, and they went 6-0 at home and would have beaten anybody that year at home - possibly even Alabama. So give them full credit here.
2010 - 9-4 MSU, 9-4 WVA, McNeese, ULM..and their last home win over Alabama IN THE DAYTIME no less.
2009 - 2-10 Vandy, ULL, loss to UF, Auburn, Tulane, La Tech, Arky
6-1 and a couple of decent wins over Auburn and Arky
2008 - UNT, 4-8 MSU, Tulane, Troy
Meanwhile, LSU lost to GOOD teams at home at 230 kickoffs against UGA and UA and Ole Miss
4-0 at night, 4-3 overall, but didn't play anyone worth a damn at night anyway
2007 - MSU (decent), Va Tech, MTSU, Florida, Auburn, La Tech
OK, a really good overall year with 3 good foes they beat at night in Red Stick
2006 - ULL, Tulane, UK, Fresno, Alabama, OT vs 4-8 Ole Miss
Solid foe with UK but the rest were not very good at all; Ole Miss may be a rivalry game, but they were 4-8 under Coach O that year
2005 - Vols (lost to them), Florida, Auburn, UNT, App St
A couple of cupcakes and 3 good foes, beating two of them.
But a count of those games above shows that LSU would have had 40 of those 78 wins if the game was played on the polar ice cap at -40 degrees.....and "Death Valley on Saturday Night" didn't have a damned thing to do with it.
I'm not saying they shouldn't brag, but a little context in all things is in order. That drops you to 38-13 against decent foes, which is still a pretty damned good record save for the fact that rare was the game that LSU won where they didn't have substantially more talent than the opponent. Maybe 2007 Florida. Maybe.
I seem to recall it being pretty dark (after the sun went down) in the afternoon game against Ole Miss in 2009. It wasn't Ole Miss that choked at the end of that game, either. And I'm not even saying it's not probably a pretty crazy place to try and play ball. But it's not some Bermuda Triangle/Loch Ness Monster "hmm, does it exist" mystery, either. The venue and the time of the game just don't have a whole lot to do with it.
