I enjoy using Bill Connelly’s advanced stat profiles not only for writing here but also just for my general edification. I can also imagine that they can look impenetrable for those of you who maybe haven’t been known to make spreadsheets for fun from time to time.
There is a rich set of contrasts between the Gators and Seminoles this Saturday, and the stat profiles do lay those bare. So as a service to y’all, I’ve gone through the wall of text and numbers to pull out the most interesting ones for you as you get ready to watch the big game.
Efficiency and Explosiveness
Efficiency here refers to success on a down-by-down basis. It’s what coaches are talking about when they refer to “staying on schedule” and trying to avoid “getting behind the sticks”.
Explosiveness is the inverse, as it’s about big plays. How many do you generate, and how good are you at preventing them? When you do get or allow gains, do they tend to be big or small?
Just like his Mississippi State offense a year ago, Dan Mullen’s Florida attack has been far more efficient than explosive. You know this instinctively when you envision Lamical Perine getting six yards on a run and Feleipe Franks overthrowing Van Jefferson on a deep go route.
Specifically, UF is 16th in the country in Connelly’s efficiency metric but 100th in his explosiveness metric. The Gator defense is much the same. It’s 20th in efficiency but 70th in explosiveness.
The FSU offense is the opposite.
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