Florida football: Gators’ defense ranks No. 2 in the country in vital stat

Florida football has seen its defense take a massive step forward from last year to this one under first-year defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong.

We’ve talked about how highly they rank in the nation in total defense, but the Gators are second in the country in a different stat that not many people talk about, but is vital to any FBS defense.

In terms of defensive red zone snaps per game, the Gators only allow 2.33 every time they take the field, second only to Michigan at 1.67.

Keeping opponents out of the red zone is an easy way to limit the amount of points you give up, and the Gators are one of the best in the country at it.

Florida football: No cakewalk

Michigan, not to take any credit away from their defense, has put up the nation’s best number here against a lot of cupcake schools, and all at home. 

Meanwhile, Florida has climbed up to second on this list going on the road to Salt Lake City and then hosting what was expected to be one of the top offenses in the SEC.

Now I’ll be the first guy who will tell you Tennessee was overrated coming into this season, but doing what they did to Joe Milton and his wideouts was still very impressive.

This is also a reflection of Florida’s ability to get off the field. Their problem with Patrick Toney last season was that they could never get a stop on third down, which allowed teams to march down the field and get to the red zone.

They don’t have that same issue this fall, which gets them off the field quickly and allows the offense to get back to work.

Austin Armstrong’s formula is working, and the Gators have one of the best overall defenses in the country.