Florida Gators Mid-Year Stat Review

Sure, you probably read the title “Florida Gators Mid-Year Stat Review” and said to yourself, “Self, Dan must be an idiot, it’s eight games into the season, not six.”

Well, I full expect the Gators to have at least six more games ahead of them on their schedule, so I am only one game behind! Sorry, for the delay.

The most important statistic this season is the only one that matters: the Florida Gators are 7-1 and they control their own destiny in the SEC East for the first time in three years.

If I would have told you that the Gators would be missing their starting quarterback for five games while having Jabari Zuniga, Jonathan Greenard, CJ Henderson, Brad Stewart, Kadarius Toney and others miss significant time – you would have never believed the Gators would be 7-1 – and yet, here we are.

But the season isn’t over, with three SEC East games still remaining and a game against FSU on the horizon – the Gators can’t afford to let their foot off the gas pedal.

Let’s look at the Gators statistics two-thirds of the way through the season and look at what has defined their success thus far.

• Kyle Trask ranks 16^th in the country in passer rating, 19^th in completion percentage, 31^st in yards per attempt, and 21^st in touchdown-to-interception ratio.
• Kyle Pitts sits 3^rd in the country in receptions by a tight end, 4^th in the country in yards and 10^th in the country in touchdowns.
• The Gators have eight players with 10 or more receptions, which matches the past two seasons in total number, however, the Gators are averaging 64 more yards per game. The Gators have three players averaging 40+ yards per game receiving (Pitts, Swain, Jefferson) for the first time since 2007.
• David Reese ranks 46^th in the country in tackles and second in the SEC.
• The Gators rank 8^th in the country in sacks (29), with Jonathan Greenard tied for 83^rd in the country in number of sacks (4) with Zachary Carter ranked 57^th in the country in sack yards (34). Greenard ranks 9^th in the SEC in sacks, with Carter ranking 2^nd in the SEC in sack yardage.
• The Gators are on pace for a 68.6% combined completion percentage, which would be the best by a Gators quarterback group since 2008.
• The Gators rank 41^st in third-down conversion defense and have only allowed Kentucky and Towson to convert at a greater than 50% mark.
• The Gators rank 2^nd in the country in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to only score 57.14% of the time. They rank sixth in the country in fewest touchdowns (by percentage) and 17^th in fewest field goals (by percentage).
• Florida’s defense ranks 38^th in the country in the fewest numbers of big plays (10+ yards), 64^th in the country in plays going 20+ yards, 52^nd in 30+ yards, and 43^rd in 40+ yard plays allowed.
• On offense, the Gators rank 30^th in third-down offense conversion and 76^th in red-zone conversion, although they rank 40^th in the country in touchdown percentage – the Gators did uptick in the red zone offense from last year, when they ranked 91^st.