The offseason is now in full swing, and that means it’s time to take a closer look at the 2010 season to determine concrete areas Florida needs to improve in to win games in 2011.
With that in mind, Gator Country begins a series of articles pinpointing five statistical categories that plagued the Gators in 2010 and why Florida must fix these areas to be successful in Will Muschamp’s first season as head coach.
No. 5 – Time of Possession
Statistics
Games: 13
Average TOP: 28:36
National Rank: 94th
While on the surface, Florida’s time of possession didn’t seem so bad at 28:36 per game, the inability to hold onto the football for extended drives gave the Gators trouble throughout the season.
Florida won the time of possession battle in six of its 13 games last season. In the six games the Gators out-possessed the other team, they won five, with the lone loss coming on the road at Alabama.
In games that Florida lost the time of possession battle in, the Gators were just 3-4 with the wins coming against Appalachian State, Miami (Ohio) and Penn State.
Plain and simple, Florida’s offense had trouble sustaining drives last season.
That comes as no shock to Gators fans who watched the offense struggle on a weekly basis, particularly on third down and in the red zone.
Florida ranked 94th nationally in time of possession, and that hurt the Gators in a lot of areas.
For one, it kept a defense that ranked as one of the nation’s best on the field for huge chunks of games. Frequently, that wore them down over the course of a game and allowed teams to control the clock – and the outcome – late in games.
That was never more evident than when Florida lost the time of possession battle to South Carolina by more than 20 minutes (the Gamecocks had possession for 40:46).
It was a combination of things that kept Florida from controlling the clock against opponents.
The Gators’ well-documented struggles on third down were one huge reason many teams out-possessed Florida.
Against South Carolina, Florida converted on just 2-14 third-down attempts, forcing the defense to play more than two-thirds of the game.
The result was written all over the scoreboard.
Florida’s time-of-possession struggles and third-down struggles naturally coincided. In games when Florida lost the time of possession battle, the Gators converted just 34.8 percent of their third downs, more than five percentage points less than when they won the time of possession battle.
Part of Florida’s struggles last season can be attributed to the spread offense.
Only twice in Meyer’s six-year career at Florida (2005 and 2006) did the Gators rank better than 40th in time of possession. Still, the 2010 season ranked as the lowest during his tenure.
Those struggles offensively and the inability to keep the defense off the field might have actually masked just how talented Florida was defensively.
That’s the good news for the Gators.
Despite being on the field for extended periods of time last season, the defense was still among the country’s best.
Should Florida get the time of possession problem fixed, that will only help a defense that has plenty of playmakers returning.
With Janoris Jenkins gone, keeping the defense off the field is even more important now. The defensive line will need to stay fresh to keep pressure on opposing quarterbacks and relieve some of the pressure on a very young and inexperienced secondary.
To do that, they’re going to have to get some help from the offense.
That starts with getting better play on third down and not turning the ball over unnecessarily.
Florida ranked 108th last season in fumbles lost, turning the ball over 15 times by putting it on the turf. That can’t happen again.
Moving to a pro-style offense should naturally shift the time of possession numbers more in Florida’s favor with more emphasis on a power running game.
But no matter how you slice it, the Gators have to control the ball and the clock better in 2011.
As Will Muschamp would put it, they’ve got to “manage the game” better.