Florida-UT Martin pregame notes
Florida-UT Martin pregame notes
After a season opening win over the Miami Hurricanes in a week 0 match up, the Florida Gators are at home this weekend against Tennessee-Martin. The game will kick off at 7:30 pm ET from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and will broadcast on ESPN U.
Below are the game notes for the game provided by the University of Florida.
• Since 2000, Florida is 25-1 against first-time opponents. The Gators have never faced UT-Martin, and they will also have their first-ever meeting with Towson later this month.
• Florida has won 19 consecutive games against first-time opponents, with ve of those wins coming against FCS foes.
• This is the second consecutive year Florida will begin two new series. UF beat Colorado State, 48-10, and Idaho, 63-10, in its first meetings with those programs last year.
• The Gators are seeking a second consecutive 10-win campaign for the first time since posting 13 wins in both 2008 -- head coach
Dan Mullen’s final year as offensive coordinator -- and 2009.
• Florida’s 10 sacks were not only the highest total by an SEC team since 2008 , they marked just the eighth game of 10-plus sacks by any FBS team since the start of the 2015 season.
• Last year, Army (10 against Houston - Dec. 22) was the only FBS team with 10 in a game. In 2017, Clemson (11 vs. Au- burn - Sept. 9) and New Mexico State (11 vs. Idaho - Nov. 25) were the only FBS teams with a game of 10-plus sacks.
•
Kadarius Toney (66-yard touchdown reception) and Josh Hammond (65-yard reception) gave the Gators two passing plays of 65-plus yards in a game since 2014, when
Mark Herndon had a 78-yard touchdown catch, and
Demarcus Robinson had a 70-yard touchdown reception in a rout of Eastern Michigan.
• UF had two passing plays over 60 yards all of 2018, while 2016 was the last time it had two 65-plus yards in a season.
• Florida went 4 for 4 on fourth down, and since the start of last season the Gators are tied for ninth nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage among FBS teams with at least 20 attempts on fourth down (15 of 24 / 62.5 %).
• The Gators were held below 60 rushing yards for the rst time since the 2017 season-opening loss to Michigan. Since 1996, Florida has been held below 60 rushing yards 24 times and it holds a 3-21 record in those games.
• Florida’s only wins with less than 60 rushing yards since 1996: vs. Miami (last Saturday), 24-20; vs. Georgia (Nov. 2, 2002), 20-13; at Tennessee (Sept. 16, 2000), 27-23.
• Florida committed four turnovers for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Florida lost to Florida State in 2017, but it beat Missouri, 40-14, in 2016 and Vanderbilt, 9-7, in 2015. Since 1996, UF is 17-15 when committing four-plus turnovers.
• The Gators improved to 4-0 in games decided by fewer than 10 points or less with Mullen as head coach.
•
Feleipe Franks, whose 254 passing yards tied the third-highest total of his career, was the first quarterback since Wisconsin’s
Alex Hornibrook (258 yards - Dec. 30, 2017) to throw for 250 yards against Miami’s defense.
• Franks was also the first quarterback since Hornibrook (same 2017 game) to attempt at least 25 passes and nish with a completion percentage of 60-plus percent (he was 17 of 27 / 63.0 %) against Miami’s defense.
• Florida had two passing plays of 65-plus yards against a Miami defense that did not surrender a passing play longer than 45 yards since it gave up a 75-yard touchdown pass to Virginia on Nov. 18, 2017.
• Josh Hammond posted a career-high 93 receiving yards against a Miami defense that allowed just two players to amass 90-plus receiving yards last season.
• Aside from the 10 sacks (which nine different Gators combined for), Florida amassed 16 tackles for loss in its first game without NFL Draft selection
Jachai Polite, who ranked eighth nationally last year with 11.0 sacks.
• In 14 games under defensive coordinator
Todd Grantham, Florida has five-plus sacks in six of them, as well as eight-plus tackles for loss in seven of them.
• Florida had five-plus sacks in five games last year, eclipsing the 1996 and 1997 Gators and becoming the only UF team since 1990 with that many games in a season. UF had a season-high six sacks at Mississipppi State.
• UF’s pressure also led to the Hurricanes going a combined 2 of 15 (13.3 %) on third and fourth down.
• Florida has held four opponents under a 20 percent third-down conversion rate in Grantham’s 14 games.
• Last year, UF’s defense--in spite of a depleted secondary and being without starting cornerback
Marco Wilson after Week 2--made improvements in Grantham’s first year.