WLOCP (partial) tale of the tape

I thought I’d take a look at where Georgia and Florida stand out either positively or negatively in the national statistical rankings. Both schools post identical records: 5-2 overall, 3-2 in the SEC, 3-1 at home and 2-1 on the road. But statistically speaking, they’ve certainly taken different paths to get there.

The Gators rank in the top ten nationally in four categories: scoring offense (9th), kickoff returns (9th), passing efficiency (1st) and sacks allowed (2nd). Florida’s worst ranking comes in pass defense, where it’s rated 95th in the country. The Gators are ranked in the top 50 teams nationally in every other statistical category the NCAA tracks except two, defensive passing efficiency and tackles for losses.

As for Georgia, the statistical story is a little more mundane. Georgia’s best national ranking is in net punting, where the Dawgs are the 11th best team in the nation. At the other end of the spectrum, Georgia ranks 87th among all schools in kickoff returns. Georgia ranks outside the top 50 nationally in five other statistical categories: passing offense, total offense, scoring offense, defensive passing efficiency and sacks.

If you want to draw any generic conclusions from the data, here’s what I think you’d see:

• Both teams should be able to throw the ball with some success.
• Georgia will have a difficult time sacking Tebow.
• Florida may have an edge in field position due to its strength (and Georgia’s weakness) in kickoff returns.

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UPDATE: There probably won’t be a whole lot of turnovers in this game, either. Here’s something David Ching caught:

… Did you know that Georgia is second-to-last in the country in turnovers created? I didn’t know that until Thomas Flowers told me this evening. Georgia (6) is 118 out of 119 teams, ahead of only Marshall (3). Incidentally, Florida is tied for 111th (8). On the other end of the spectrum, Georgia leads the nation with only five giveaways. Florida is tied for second with seven. Those are truly crazy statistics…