Hate to be negative here but before this season, I thought that Florida would improve upon their 9/10-win average from the last two years. In the summer, there was talk of the offensive line as being the strength of this team, UF would have the best receiving corps in the SEC, and the defense would take a step back from the last two seasons. Florida ended up
4-7 for the
2nd time in the last five years.
It's easy to be optimistic with the new coaching changes, the promise of another top recruiting class but then there is the harsh reality. Florida would be fortunate to finish close to a 10 win season next year.
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Here is what the
raw NCAA statistics from last season bore out:
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http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/742/p2
NCAA Winning%: UF finished
97th (0.364)
Teams like UCF (1.000), Wisconsin (0.923), Georgia (0.923), Clemson, Oklahoma, & Alabama (0.917) lead the way in this category. It's not surprising to see who made the college football play-offs.
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Now let's see the
scoring offense rankings:
At
22.1 ppg (rank 108), Florida again ranks in the 100s for about the 6th/7th time in 8 years (since 2010).
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/27/p3
In
Total Offense,
Florida ranked
#110 (336 yards/G) and
only 25 TD's scored all year! Tennessee did just as badly as Florida this year but every SEC opponent scored more often than Florida this year - talk about misery in the stands for the Florida fans.
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p3
Here is how the other SEC teams & foes fared in the scoring category:
Georgia (57 TD's), Auburn (52),
Alabama (59),
Vandy (41 TD's), FSU (39), Arkansas (42),
LSU (40), Miss St (43), Ole Miss (47)
Kentucky (34), Michigan (34), S.Carolina (31)
UCF (74 TD's)/(49.4 ppg
#1 offense)
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Passing Offense: 179.5 Y/G (#101)
Passing Offense Efficiency: 113.1 (#113)
Rushing Offense: 156.4 Y/G (#76)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/25/p3
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/465/p3
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/23/p2
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How about
red-zone offense?
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/703
Florida ranks a remarkable
3rd best in the nation.
Perhaps that is something to build upon for next season.
Florida had
30 redzone scores in 31 attempts.
However, playoff teams like Georgia, Clemson had more red-zone attempts than the Gators (around 50ish). (Probably that one miss for UF happened when McElwain decided to go for it on 4th down in the UGA loss. That was McElwain's last coached game at Florida).
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In
Turn-Over-Margin, Florida ranks #89 (-3.0):
17 Turnovers gained but 20 Turnovers lost (10 fumbles lost and 10 ints)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/29/p2
In the fabled
Time-of-Possession category, Florida ranks well here
--> 5th best average
at 31 min/G
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/705
However,
"Hogging the ball" by keeping it away from your opponents did not prevent Florida from going 4-7. Interestingly enough, Mississippi St with their ball-control offense led the SEC in TOP with about 33 min/G (3rd best average).
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Now a quick run-down for UF's performance on Defense!
Scoring Defense: 27.3 (#71) <-- Not Florida standard (Best ones give up less than 20 ppg)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/28/p2
Total Defense: 349.1 Y/G (#31) <-- Not bad, but not Elite (i.e, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson are in the top 6)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22
Passing Efficiency Defense: 130.86 (#72)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/40/p2
Rushing Defense: 153.9 (#52) <-- This is where there needs to be significant improvement!
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/24/p2
Red-Zone Defense: 0.829 (#61), Opponents scored on 29/35 red-zone attempts!
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/704/p2
You want to minimize the total number of red-zone attempts by your opponent. For instance both Alabama & Georgia only allowed 21/28 red-zone scores by their opponents which played a huge role in their wins & losses.
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Here is a stat showing the deficiency in
Florida's passing game and offensive line pass protection:
Florida is
ranked 123/129 teams in
allowing sacks at 3.36 sacks/G by opponents!
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/468/p3
As for Florida's Pass rush,
Florida averages 2.09 sacks/G (#58)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/466/p2
Finally, Florida's young secondary rated well after a fast start against Michigan & Tennessee:
UF had
14 int's in 11 games (ranks #31); (Iowa at #1 had 21 ints in 13 games)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/457
Defensive TD's: UF returned 3 ints for TD's (ranked #20)
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/926
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That's All Folks!