Power football is more than a sporting philosophy in the South — it’s a way of life.
Impenetrable defenses meet domineering running backs for some of the most slugfest-style football in the country.
It’s a specialty of the Southeastern Conference.
But the SEC appears to be drifting away from the ‘shove it down the throat’ style of old.
Six SEC quarterbacks rank in the top-25 nationally for passing efficiency through four weeks of play. Teams like Texas A&M, Georgia and even LSU possess some of the most prolific passing attacks in the country this season.
Standout tailbacks are taking backseats in their respective offenses to names like Johnny Manziel, Zach Mettenberger, AJ McCarron and Aaron Murray.
“If you look at the league, [Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina and Alabama], virtually those were the defensive teams in the league a year ago,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “The reality is all those teams that have really quality quarterbacks and are really going to pursue the championship, can score, can throw it and run it.”
LSU travels to Georgia this weekend for a clash of top-10 titans.
These conference rivals never fail to put on an offensive exhibition — only failing once to combine for more than 45 points since 1991 — but Saturday promises added excitement as two of the SEC’s top passers drop behind center in Athens.
For the Tigers, senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger lit a fire in the passing game through the early part of the season.
It took Mettenberger nearly six games in 2012 to throw for as many yards as has accumulated in four games in 2013. He ranks top-10 in the country for passing efficiency (No. 6 with 193.6), passing touchdowns (No. 9 with 10) and yards per completion (No. 4 with 17.39).
“Well, I can tell you the only thing that I can recognize is [Mettenberger] makes a very, very accurate throw,” Miles said. “He can throw a rope when he needs to, put air underneath it when he wants to. He’s so much more athletic.”
The Watkinsville, Ga., native is CBSSports.com’s No. 11 quarterback prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. Normally that would put him as one of the most sought after commodities in the conference, but this season has seen a drastic influx in prodigious throwers.
With seven months before the NFL Draft, Mettenberger sits as the fourth-rated quarterback in the conference behind Manziel, McCarron and Murray. Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell and South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw are the country’s No. 17 and 18 quarterbacks, respectively.
Mettenberger said it was an honor to be included as one of the best in the league, but his current focus is winning football games for the Tigers.
“It’s just an honor to lead this team every Saturday,” Mettenberger said. “If my name is put in the hat of the best in this league, that doesn’t really matter to me.”
Georgia senior quarterback Aaron Murray enters the game as the winningest active quarterback in the conference with a 30-14 record and is 12 touchdowns shy of former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel’s SEC record of 114 in a career and 880 total yards away from former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s total offensive yardage record of 12,232 yards.
“You can’t overlook [Murray],” said senior safety Craig Loston. “He’s on a great pace to have the most touchdown passes in the SEC. I know he just passed [former Tennessee quarterback] Peyton Manning about 20 touchdowns ago, and he’s about 10 away from [Wuerffel].”
Murray currently sits atop most passing categories in the SEC with 346.7 passing yards per game and a passing efficiency rating of 201.8.
Outside of this weekend’s premier matchup, returning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel holds a commanding lead in total SEC passing yards with 1228 and rushing yards with 255 yards.
LSU senior linebacker Lamin Barrow said he’s looking forward to facing Manziel as much as anyone this season. He said Manziel’s dynamic play-making ability makes him one of the biggest offensive threats in the conference.
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron is gunning for his third consecutive national championship, but isn’t quite on pace for as productive a season in 2013.
Through three games, McCarron averages two touchdowns and .67 interceptions a game with a 64.1 completion percentage, slightly down from last season’s 67.2 completion percentage, 2.14 touchdowns and .21 interceptions per game.
South Carolina’s Connor Shaw is also emerging as a serious contender in the conference with his large frame and quick legs. He’s able to perform as a dual-threat quarterback in South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier’s system. He’s No. 12 among all SEC players in rushing with 67.3 yards per game.
Still, Barrow looks forward to facing whatever top-ranked quarterback the SEC throws at him each week.
“I’m anticipating [Tyler] Murphy, the kid who came in from Florida just last week,” Barrow said. “I was able to watch a little bit of that game, and I feel like he’s a young player on the rise. … Bo Wallace at Ole Miss. Really all of them, I can’t really pick one.”
2012
Average yards/game
Manziel- 285.1
McCarron- 209.5
Mettenberger- 200.7
Wallace- 230.3
Murray- 278.1
Shaw- 177.8
TDs
Manziel- 26
McCarron- 30
Mettenberger- 12
Wallace- 22
Murray- 36
Shaw- 17
Passing Efficiency
Manziel- 155.3
McCarron- 175.3
Mettenberger- 128.3
Wallace- 142.7
Murray-174.8
Shaw- 158.1
2013
Average Yard/game
Manziel- 307.0
McCarron- 234.0
Mettenberger- 256.5
Wallace- 216.0
Murray- 346.7
Shaw- 220.3
TDs
Manziel- 12
McCarron- 6
Mettenberger- 10
Wallace- 4
Murray- 7
Shaw- 6
Passing Efficiency
Manziel- 192.5
McCarron- 160.0
Mettenberger- 193.6
Wallace- 142.1
Murray- 201.8
Shaw- 166.7