Florida's 48 for 2014, No. 31: 31 and oh

Earlier this week, I wrote about Florida's stellar record when scoring 35 or more points, which I thought was mostly a feel-good stat meant to illustrate that Florida doesn't tend to get into shootouts and lose.

Some folks pointed out in the comments that that stat actually made them wonder why Will Muschamp was hired as Florida's head coach in the first place — the point being that getting the Gators to 35 points in any given game is a prerequisite for winning games when scoring 35 points. And there's obviously has a point of value there.

But I think the "Florida's only lost four times when scoring 35 points" stat is really less about Florida's offense than its defense. The Gators don't lose these high-scoring games in part because they don't allow them. And because of that stinginess, when Florida's scored points under Muschamp, it's generally won: Florida is 11-0 when scoring 31 or more points since 2011, and 11-16 in its other 27 games.

The Gators scored 31 just once in 2013, topping out for the season in their 31-17 win over Tennessee in September (though they did hit 30 again against Arkansas), and it was Florida's smallest season-high point total since — you guessed it, didn't you? — 1979, when Florida's only time in the 20s came in a 30-24 loss to Miami. And though it's fair to write something like "Scoring that many points has been difficult under Muschamp, for a variety of reasons," it's also true that Florida scored 31 or more points five times in 2011, and five times in 2012: Of Muschamp's three seasons as the Gators' head man, 2013 was the anomalous one on offense.

But this point remains: Florida has had enough defense to record wins if its offense can score points.