I have said it several times this season, and no time has been sweeter than this time: “Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat, the way you’re supposed to beat them.”
It was a helluva win for the Florida Gators, the eighth biggest (of 35) in series history, at 41-14 – and between us, could have been a lot bigger had the first few RedZone drives gone better.
Florida put together their most complete game on offense – Feleipe Franks had a perfect passer rating in the pocket; defense – five sacks, two interceptions; and special teams – perfect on field goals and PATs and a 51.40 yard per punt average.
A win against Florida State is always great, but this win – a win to keep them out of a Bowl Game and to end their consecutive winning seasons streak – is the cherry on top of about as good of a season you could have asked for in Dan Mullen’s first season.
Dan Mullen showed what good coaching can do, and the numbers show it.
- The Gators 536 yards against FSU is the most they’ve had in a game against FSU since 2009.
- The Gators had 282 yards on the ground against FSU – their third straight game above 200 yards, the first time they’ve had three straight games above 200 yards since 2014.
- Jachai Polite had 2.5 sacks in the game and ended the regular season with 11.5 sacks – the most by a Gators player since Carlos Dunlap in 2008
- The Gators destroyed FSU in field position – averaging receiving the ball on the 35-yard line compared to the 18.7-yard line for FSU.
Here is a review of the season – more to come in the next few weeks.
- The Gators averaged 13.7 points per game in the 1st half and 16.1 in the 2nd half against FBS opponents. Including Idaho and Charleston Southern: 18.67 in the first half and 15.83 in the 2nd half. Last season, they averaged 10.7 in the first half and 11.4 in the 2nd half.
- Against FBS opponents, Florida averaged 5.9 yards per play (4.9 last year).
- Florida ranked 37th in scoring margin against FBS opponents – and when you factor in FCS teams, they ranked 16th in the country.
- Florida climbed from 123rd to 20th in sacks allowed per game and rank 1st in the country in fewest sacks allowed per game on “passing downs”. Feleipe Franks sack rate went from 11.2% of dropback plays down to 3.9%.
- The Gators averaged net 13 more turnovers over last season (+10 this season). The Gators haven’t finished double-digit turnover margin since 2012.
- Offensive efficiency climbed from 113th to 15th.
- Between the top three running backs, they got tackled behind the line of scrimmage for just -24 yards – all season.
- The Gators had one fewer game averaging more than 6.0 yards per play (7) than the previous three seasons combined.
- Feleipe Franks had a 63.1% completion rate on 1st down, 64.8% on 2nd down, but just 43.2% on third down.
- Florida ranked 127th in 1st quarter scoring against FBS opponents (2.6), 18th in 2nd quarter scoring (11.1), 86th in the 3rd quarter (5.6), and 11th in the 4th quarter (10.5).
- The Gators 30 RedZone touchdowns are the most in a season since 2010.