Hey Ucle Al and others - I hear alot about UF's offense, but what is the D like? How well do they defend the pass and the rush? What is better, the pass D or the rush D?
Ellis, here are Florida's latest stats from the NCAA website Rushing - 6th 55.5 ypg passing - 35th 181.25 ypg total d - 5th 236.75 ypg scoring d - 4th 7.5 ppg Of the 4 teams they have played I would say 1 was very pass oriented (Marshall) 2 were balenced and 1 was run oriented(MISS ST). Take the stats for what they are worth. I think the pass D is a little high because teams have been so far behind they have to throw. At times last week Florida rushed 3 and dropped 8 in coverage and Alex Brown was still able to get pressure. This game against LSU was the one I pointed to at the beggining of the year that scared me the most. See you Saturday.
For a quick answer it appears that the rush D is stronger than the pass D. However, to this point, most of the yards gained have been in the second half vs the second and third string players. Now for a longer explanation. The biggest question coming into the season was how well would the young players on the D-line be able to play. We knew that the secondary was solid with Lito Sheppard and Todd Johnson. The LB's looked to be solid if Travis Carroll and Andra Davis could return successfully from injuries suffered last year (they have). Andra has been a real force in the middle and a great run stopper. So that returns us to the D-line. To this point Ian Scott, IMO, has been the standout. Kennard Ellis has also played very well. Teams have had a hard time moving the ball on UF until late in that game. Entering the LSU game here are the UF defensive stats. Rushing D = 55.5 YPG (2nd SEC, 6th NCAA) Passing D = 181.2 YPG (4th SEC, 35th NCAA) Total D = 236.8 YPG (2nd SEC, 5th NCAA) Scoring D = 7.5 PPG (1st SEC, 4th NCAA) Pass Eff D = 99.7 rating (3rd SEC, 23rd NCAA) These stats are available in the pregame notes available on Gatorzone.com's football page. The package is available in .pdf format.
