Behind the Numbers: Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

No one likes to read articles after a loss. We want to move on. We want to think it was just a blip on the radar and we’ve moved past it; that there is no need to look backward.

But, I think we can learn a little bit from the Florida Gators loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but it was also incredible at times (see: seven consecutive goal line stands). It wasn’t executed perfectly at times, but there was also one of the best passes I have seen Feleipe Franks throw in his two years at the helm. And while the Gators had one of their worst performances of the season collectively, there were bright spots – particularly on the offensive line.

The Gators sit at 6-2, probably the best most fans thought the Gators could be at this point in the season – and are currently favored to win their next four games to finish 10-2 (which I was called a homer for saying pre-season).

Florida was not 19 points worse than Georgia yesterday. They were a few lost turnovers and a more complete secondary away from winning.

Now, I know this seems like revisionist history, but if Florida doesn’t lose an early fumble or throw at least one of the interceptions, Florida is only down 10 (at most) – and if they would have hit the first pass of the game on the flea-flicker, the fumble would have never happened, and you have a 7-7 game instead of 10-0. Moreover, if CJ Henderson isn’t hurt early in the game, the Bulldogs don’t likely score 14 points against CJ McWilliams.

Now I know Franks wasn’t perfect, nay, he was bad, and that fumble and interception were unacceptable. But we knew going into the season, that Florida could not rely on Franks to win the game – and with few errors and some bad decision making – Florida still cannot rely on Franks to win. He just simply needs more time than one off-season.

I thought Emory played fine and wish he would have run the ball out of the end-zone rather than Franks, he showed that he is still learning the speed of the game on that pitch but threw a dime pass that could have been a touchdown.

All in all, Georgia was the better team and we knew they would be, and the fact that Florida was chosen to win by some pundits and the fanbase was confident pre-game while keeping the game close in the third – shows just how far this team has come in 10 months.

Some folks are calling for Franks to be benched and for Florida to take their lumps and give Emory a shot. And I could not disagree with that more. Franks still gives Florida the best chance to go 10-2 and that is still the most important thing Florida can do this season.

Now, let’s do what we must do and look at the numbers.

• The Gators 5.0 yards per pass attempt was their lowest of the season and in the last two games against Georgia, Florida has only thrown for 171 yards.
• The Gators have thrown an interception four straight games
• With 17 points against Georgia, the Gators now have more points this season (258) than last season (243). The Gators are 562 yards away from eclipsing last season’s offensive yardage total and just 169 yards away from eclipsing their rushing total.
• In the three games prior to Georgia, the Gators only allowed nine third-down conversions – against Georgia, they allowed eight.
• The Gators are -5 on turnover margin over the last two games, after being +11 after the first six games.
• The Gators didn’t score in the 1^st quarter, which pushed Florida down the rankings in points scored in the first quarter. The Gators now rank 122^nd in the country with 2.9. Their defense ranks 42^nd allowing 4.9.
  • The Gators average 6.9 points combined in the 1^st and 3^rd quarter and 22.4 in the 2^nd and 4^th
• The Gators are just one sack away from tying last year’s sack total (22; 23).
• Right now, against FBS opponents, Florida is allowing four more yards per game than last season.
• Kadarius Toney’s 51-yard kick-off return was the longest by a player in a Gators uniform since October 15, 2016, against Missouri.
• The Gators have now made 30 of their last 32 field goals and 53 of their last 55 PATs.

Now that we have looked back, let’s look forward.