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Tennessee's statistical rankings after Georgia

Not a lot of change in this week's statistical rankings, which is a very good thing after playing the 6th-ranked team in the nation.

By Joel Hollingsworth
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the Vols' national rankings in all major statistical categories after six games. Green means Top 30, red means Bottom 30, and yellow is the big, fat middle. Note the caveats before proceeding. First up is the Stuff UT is Doing Well.

What Tennessee is doing well

Really, not much changed after the Georgia game. Tennessee still ranks in the Top 10 in the nation in five different statistical categories. They can still intercept passes (just not against Aaron Murray). They still don't allow defenses to get all up in their backfield. They're still a pretty disciplined team.

The one new arrival to the Top 30 this week is 4th Down Conversion Pct, which is attributable to a series of 4th down calls by Butch Jones and plays by the guys that would have gone down into Tennessee lore had they won (and may regardless). Also, Rushing Offense is knocking on the door to the Top 30 club.

Categories in which Tennessee is in the Top 30
Category 2011 2012 AP WKU OR FL SA GA
Passes Intercepted 86 56 12 1 2 5 1 2
Tackles for Loss Allowed 38 9 54 29 7 11 4 4
4th Down Conversion Pct 91 80 - -

1

 43 42 4
Turnovers Gained 91 95 26 1 3 3 3 6
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game 51 67 - 2 4 3 4 10
Fewest Penalties Per Game 56 92 - 1 3 2 8 17
Red Zone Defense 47 115 - 5 19 30 26 24
Pass Sacks Allowed 40 5 23 18 5 11 19 25

Dropped out: Kickoff Returns (now 36), Fumbles Recovered (now 37)
New Arrivals: 4th Down Conversion Pct (previously 42)

Where Tennessee needs major improvement

The passing game is still bottom of the class. Apart from that, First Downs Defense and Team Pass Sacks need major improvement. Total Offense did manage to escape the cellar this week, so there's that.

Categories in which Tennessee is in the Bottom 30
Category 2011 2012 AP WKU OR FL SA GA
Passing Offense 50 15 101 108 114 114 112 111
Passes Had Intercepted 63 83 1 39 17 99 112 107
4th Down Conversion Pct Defense 48 86 34 70 113 105 91 107
First Downs Defense 18 86 8 39 83 88 98 106
Turnovers Lost 20 58 25 31 32 103 112 106
Passing Yards per Completion 102 90 103 105 105 102
Team Passing Efficiency 69 31 25 46 72 100 100 100
Team Pass Sacks 100 98 41 48 50 77 92 101

New Arrivals: 4th Down Conversion Pct Defense (previously 91), Team Pass Sacks (previously 92)
Climbed out: 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense (now 89), Total Offense (now 90)

THE BIG FAT MIDDLE

And here's the rest, for tracking purposes. Rushing Offense and Punt Return Defense have a chance to get into the Top 30, while Fumbles Lost, 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense, and Total Offense are just barely out of the Bottom 30.

Categories in which Tennessee is in the Middle of the Rankings
Category 2011 2012 AP WKU OR FL SA GA
Rushing Offense 116 61 11 23 29 46 34 32
Punt Return Defense 85 67 2 43 93 80 59 33
Kickoff Returns 41 80 1 7 19 29 28 36
Fumbles Recovered 71 113 - 22 48 15 28 37
Team Passing Efficiency Defense 14 10 71 72 36 37
First Downs Offense 98 20 12 26 43 65 35 41
Punt Returns 61 22 28 40 60 56 47 41
Net Punting 104 52 7 101 104 95 72 44
Turnover Margin 59 88 24 3 4 29 41 53
Scoring Offense 106 22 20 13 41 59 59 55
3rd Down Conversion Pct 56 81 13 26 52 56 58 59
Team Tackles for Loss 67 48 38 29 55 56 81 72
Red Zone Offense 58 29 1 59 52 63 68 73
Scoring Defense 36 104 1 15 73 73 74 75
Kickoff Return Defense 7 47 76 77 78 88 76 76
Passing Yards Allowed 12 111 17 38 102 80 82 78
Time of Possession 37 116 55 70 45 84 85 78
Total Defense 28 107 11 29 90 82 78 79
Rushing Defense 69 85 19 43 65 75 71 80
Fumbles Lost 6 28 57 32 56 92 81 89
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense 57 50 10 60 81 103 96 89
Total Offense 104 18 51 65 78 103 93 90

Players in the Top 30

Rajion Neal is quietly becoming a star. He's 11th and 12th in the nation in Rushing Yards and Rushing TDs. And good for Michael Palardy, who is solid, solid, solid this year.

And welcome to Devaun Swafford, who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Swafford is from Dobyns-Bennett High School, half a mile from my store, and we sponsor their football games. Swafford is awesome, and he was basically the second-best guy on his team last year. Who was first? Malik Foreman. Why haven't we seen more of Malik? He plays the same position as Cam Sutton. Hey, look! It's depth!

Player Stat 2011 2012 AP WKU OR FL SA GA
Devaun Swafford Punt Return TDs 5
Michael Palardy Punting 19 26 22 8
Rajion Neal Rushing Yards 19 11
Rajion Neal Rushing TDs 28 12
Rajion Neal Rushing Yards Per Game 15 25
Brian Randolph Interceptions 3 14 25 21 28
Vincent Dallas Kickoff Returns 12
Rajion Neal Scoring 14
Dontavis Sapp Fumbles Recovered 23
Max Arnold Fumbles Recovered 23
Brent Brewer Forced Fumbles 24
Dontavis Sapp Forced Fumbles 24
Rajion Neal Rushing Yards 15 27
Justin Worley Passing Efficiency 28
Daniel Hood Interceptions 7
Malik Foreman Interceptions 7
Justin Worley Points Responsible For 13
Devrin Young Punt Returns 28 21
Daniel Hood Passes Defended 21
Marlin Lane Scoring 21
Marlon Walls Tackles For Loss 30
A.J. Johnson Tackles 4
Byron Moore Interceptions 13
Cordarrelle Patterson Kickoff Returns 14
Cordarrelle Patterson All-Purpose Runners 16
Tyler Bray Total Offense 19
Justin Hunter Receiving Yards Per Game 22
Tyler Bray Passing Efficiency 29
Austin Johnson Interceptions 23

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