Behind the Numbers: Florida Gators vs. LSU Tigers

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen looks on during the LSU game- 1280x854
Oct 12, 2019; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen watches from the sidelines in the first quarter of their game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

What we saw on Saturday in Baton Rouge, LA between the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers was the best football game of the year so far, but, man, was it a tale of two sides of the ball. We saw a lot of offense, including Dan Mullen’s best-called game all game season, matched with Florida’s worst performance in passing defense in three seasons and Todd Grantham’s worst defensive showing of the season – not a match that will often yield a “W”.

However, what you saw on Saturday is a different Florida Gators team – one that is going to stay on the national scene with Dan Mullen and once some depth is established and not a team that laid down or saw a moment too big for them: they belonged.

It is easy to look back on the game and want “this play” or “that play” back, or question some of the decision-making, and that’s fair, but the game was closer than the final score and Florida still controls their own destiny in the SEC East and has a game plan of what to focus on: at least inside running, nickel, and safety play.

The Gators now look forward with a game against a scrappy South Carolina team fresh-off a victory against the Georgia Bulldogs in Gainesville at noon – and they need to avoid getting beat two weeks in a row because of one tough loss.

Let’s look at the numbers that defined the Gators game against the Tigers.

  • The Gators averaged just 3.65 yards per carry on 40 attempts, their third time this season averaging less than four yards per carry, something they did in 2017, but only did one-time last year.
  • The Gators did throw for 311 yards, however, and for the seventh time this season through for more than 250 yards in a game.
    • However, it happened over the course of 40 throws – and that’s not a recipe for Mullen’s to win. Over the course of his career, Dan Mullen is 32-36 when his teams throw for more than 30 passes in a game and account for 72% of his total losses.
  • Kyle Pitts leads the country in all tight ends in catches (30) and his sixth in the country in yards by a tight end (362).
  • Florida allowed Joe Burrow to complete 87.5% of his passes (to put it in perspective, the Gators have not allowed a completion percentage that high in recorded history, and only five times over the last 11 years, have they allowed greater than 70%) and the 12.2 yards per attempt were the most they’ve allowed in a game since Georgia in 2017 (14.4).
  • The 511 yards is the most the Gators have given up since the 2015 season where they allowed East Carolina to have 536 yards in the Birmingham Bowl.
  • The Gators did not have a sack for the first time in 18 games or cause a turnover for the first time in 10 games.

 

Daniel Thompson
Dan Thompson is a 2010 graduate of the University Florida, graduating with a degree in Economics and a degree in Political Science. During this time at UF, Dan worked three years for the Florida Gator Football team as a recruiting ambassador. Dan dealt daily with prospects, NCAA guidelines, and coaching staff. Dan was also involved in Florida Blue Key, Student Government and Greek Life. Currently, Dan oversees the IT consulting practice of a Tampa-based company. Dan enjoys golfing, country music, bourbon, travel, oysters, and a medium-rare steak. Dan can be found on Twitter at @DK_Thompson.