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Florida looked much better on offense in Week 2, especially in the first half. The biggest improvement was in the passing game, where the Gators nearly tripled their yards per pass attempt from the first game to the second.
The main reason for that jump? A big increase in explosive pass plays. Florida completed four passes of 35 yards or more, three of which went for touchdowns.
The Gators were also able to keep their strong running game going. After putting up 400 yards on the ground against FAU, last Saturday saw Florida rush for more than 360 yards for the second straight week.
Some trends are starting to emerge, and Florida’s identity is getting a little more clear. Let’s take a look at the stats by personnel group for the USF game as well as the season to date to find some interesting takeaways.
Florida vs. USF: Offensive Personnel
Florida vs. USF: Personnel + Performance
| Personnel Group | Total Plays | Yards | Yards Per Play | Total Rushes | Run % | Rushing Yards | Yards Per Rush | Total Passes | Pass % | Passing Yards | Yards Per Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel Group | Total Plays | Yards | Yards Per Play | Total Rushes | Run % | Rushing Yards | Yards Per Rush | Total Passes | Pass % | Passing Yards | Yards Per Pass |
| 11 | 51 | 346 | 6.78 | 32 | 63% | 208 | 6.50 | 19 | 37% | 138 | 7.26 |
| 12 | 6 | 32 | 5.33 | 4 | 67% | 19 | 4.75 | 2 | 33% | 13 | 6.50 |
| 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | N/A | N/A | 1 | 100% | 0 | 0.00 |
| Emory Total | 58 | 378 | 6.52 | 36 | 62% | 227 | 6.31 | 22 | 38% | 151 | 6.86 |
| 11-AR | 10 | 213 | 21.30 | 8 | 80% | 136 | 17.00 | 2 | 20% | 77 | 38.50 |
| 12-AR | 1 | 75 | 75 | 0 | 0% | 0 | N/A | 1 | 100% | 75 | 75 |
| AR Total | 11 | 288 | 26.18 | 8 | 73% | 136 | 17.00 | 3 | 27% | 152 | 50.67 |
| Total | 69 | 666 | 9.65 | 44 | 64% | 363 | 8.25 | 25 | 36% | 303 | 12.12 |
11 Personnel
11 (one back, one tight end) personnel was again the main personnel grouping for the Gators. Florida was in this group on 61 snaps (88.41%). Florida gained 559 yards with this personnel, good for 9.16 yards per play.
12 Personnel
Florida ran 12 personnel more often than they did against FAU. When it appeared, it seemed to be part of a concerted effort to use the grouping to take some shots down the field.
Anthony Richardson’s 75-yard bomb to Jacob Copeland was from 12 personnel. Later, Florida took two more shots in the grouping with Emory Jones at quarterback. One resulted in Emory checking down to Dameon Pierce for a 13-yard gain, while the other resulted in his second interception.
In total, Florida used this grouping on seven snaps (10.14%). On those snaps, the Gators gained 107 yards, 15.29 yards per play — both figures were greatly aided by the Richardson touchdown toss, obviously.
13 Personnel
Florida has used this personnel grouping in the low red zone in both games this season. This seems to be their go-to goal line package.
However, unlike in the first game, Florida used this package to throw the ball from the one-yard line against the Bulls. The pass from Jones to freshman Nick Elksnis fell incomplete as Florida bettors everywhere cursed Dan Mullen’s name.
That was the only snap (1.15%) that saw Florida deploy 13 personnel on Saturday.
20 Personnel
This personnel grouping did not make an appearance this week.
Florida Offensive Personnel: Season Totals
Florida Personnel + Performance: Year to Date
| Personnel Group | Total Plays | Yards | Yards Per Play | Total Rushes | Run % | Rushing Yards | Yards Per Rush | Total Passes | Pass % | Passing Yards | Yards Per Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel Group | Total Plays | Yards | Yards Per Play | Total Rushes | Run % | Rushing Yards | Yards Per Rush | Total Passes | Pass % | Passing Yards | Yards Per Pass |
| 11 | 98 | 640 | 6.53 | 56 | 57.14% | 410 | 7.32 | 42 | 37.00% | 230 | 5.48 |
| 12 | 11 | 49 | 4.45 | 8 | 72.73% | 33 | 4.13 | 3 | 33.00% | 16 | 5.33 |
| 13 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | 1 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00 |
| 20 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 3 | 50.00% | -2 | -0.67 | 3 | 50.00% | 18 | 6.00 |
| Emory Total | 116 | 705 | 6.08 | 67 | 57.76% | 441 | 6.58 | 49 | 42.24% | 264 | 5.39 |
| 11-AR | 30 | 436 | 21.30 | 20 | 80.00% | 319 | 15.95 | 10 | 20.00% | 117 | 11.70 |
| 12-AR | 1 | 75 | 75.00 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 1 | 100.00% | 75 | 75.00 | |
| 13-AR | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 2 | 100.00% | 2 | 1.00 | 0 | 0.00% | N/A | N/A |
| 20-AR | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1 | 1.00 | 0 | 0.00% | N/A | N/A |
| AR Total | 34 | 514 | 15.12 | 23 | 73.00% | 322 | 14.00 | 11 | 32.35% | 192 | 17.45 |
| UF Total | 150 | 1219 | 8.13 | 90 | 60.00% | 763 | 8.48 | 60 | 40.00% | 456 | 7.60 |
11 Personnel
Through two games, Florida has been in the grouping on 128 of 150 (85.33%) snaps. They have gained 1,076 yards or 8.41 yards per play with this group. With Emory at the helm, this group has gained 640 yards on 98 plays (6.53 YPP). With Anthony Richardson in, 11 personnel has gained 436 yards on 30 plays (a staggering 21.3 YPP!!!).
12 Personnel
This is the Gators second most frequently used personnel grouping. Florida has been in 12 on 12 of 150 (8.00%) snaps. The Gators have gained 124 yards or 10.33 yards per play with this group. With Emory at quarterback, Florida has gained 49 yards on 11 plays (4.45 YPP). Anthony Richardson has only taken one snap in 12 personnel. He threw a 75 yard td. Florida is averaging 75 yards per play with Anthony Richardson and 12 personnel (Small sample size alert).
20 Personnel
Even without being used in Week Two, this is still the third most frequently used personnel grouping. Florida has used 20 personnel on seven (4.67%) snaps this season. The Gators have gained 17 yards or 2.43 yards per play. The difference between the quarterbacks is negligible here.
13 Personnel
Florida’s goal line personnel grouping has only been used on three snaps (2%) so far this season. The Gators have gained two yards — a whopping 0.67 yards per play, though that’s somewhat expected given how little ground can be gained on the goal line — with this group.
The Quarterbacks
Just as a bonus, and because it will be one of the most talked-about aspects of this team, let’s take a look at the offense based solely on the quarterback.
Through two games, Emory Jones has taken 116 of 150 (77.33%) of the snaps. The Jones led offense has gained 705 yards or 6.08 yards per play. The rushing attack is averaging 6.58 yards a carry with Jones taking snaps, and Jones is averaging 5.39 yards per pass on his 42 attempts.
Anthony Richardson has been the quarterback on 34 of 150 (22.67%) snaps. (Technically, he’s been on the field for 35, thanks to the pre-half Hail Mary, and also saw the field on FAU’s onside kick attempt.) The offense with AR-15 is performing to the standard of his jersey number: It has gained 514 yards, an exceptional 15.12 yards per play. On the ground, the Gators average 14 yards per rush with Richardson at QB, and Richardson is averaging 17.45 yards per pass on 11 attempts.
The sample size is cause for some caution, but it is easy to see why there is a clamoring for Richardson. The guy is just walking TNT. He has already accounted for three plays over 70 yards this season, and while that helps skew the numbers, those plays happened.
And not only are the numbers insane, he may be even more impressive on the eye test.
The question is: Does the number of plays he gets now minimize or maximize his contributions? To borrow from baseball, is Richardson a closer that comes in and throws gas for one inning but can’t get you six outs? Or is he the workhorse starter that you need to give the ball to and get out of his way?
It feels to many of us fans as if Richardson is firmly in the latter camp, but we don’t get to see him as much as the staff. And I generally have to give Dan Mullen the benefit of the doubt when it comes to quarterback development.
But the numbers speak for themselves this year.
And they are starting to speak rather loudly.