Five weeks into the college football season, that national landscape is taking form as the contenders start to separate themselves from the contenders.
The Florida Gators have descended into the latter category after its loss at Kentucky, dropping them to 1-1 in Southeastern Conference play with the thick of the schedule still ahead of them. One of the primary problems that has plagued Billy Napier’s second year on the sidelines has been inconsistency in all aspects of the game.
Coming into last weekend’s matchup, the Orange and Blue’s defense had looked solid, hovering near the top 25 corps depending on the metric. The Athletic published its first college football stop rate study last week, with Florida’s squad coming in ranked at No. 27 with a 75.8% mark.
What exactly are stop rates and how does a sports news website keep track? The Athletic staff writer Max Olson explains it very well.
“It’s a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo college football than yards per game or points per game.”
This week, however, the Gators dropped drastically to No. 52 with a 65.9% stop rate while allowing 1.95 points per drive. This should come as little surprise to anyone who watched Ray Davis bulldoze UF defenders at Kroger Field en route to some near-historic numbers.
Next up for the Orange and Blue are the Vanderbilt Commodores, who come to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, for the school’s homecoming game. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. EDT and the game can be watched on the SEC Network.
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