Florida vs. Oklahoma by the Numbers: The Good, Bad and Ugly
Florida fell to Oklahoma 23-7 on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Oklahoma (5-4, 3-3 SEC) won the first regular-season matchup between the two programs.
Florida (5-4, 3-4) had its college football playoff hopes end after dropping a fourth game. It also eliminated the possibility of a double-digit win season. The Gators haven’t had 10 or more victories since 2019.
Here’s a look at the numbers behind Florida’s fourth loss in five games.
The Good: Punt Return Game (Bailey Stockton Again)
It’s difficult to find anything positive from this game. However, special teams has been the most consistent unit all season, and Saturday night was no different.
Bailey Stockton has been one of the best punt returners in the country, an impressive feat considering his nagging foot injury.
Stockton, the primary punt return specialist since Vernell Brown III went down, is averaging 14.3 yards per return, ranking 23rd in the nation (minimum five attempts).
Against Oklahoma, Stockton had a 31-yard punt return in the second quarter that helped propel Florida to its only touchdown drive.
The Gators average 20.2 yards per punt return, which ranks sixth in the nation and best in the SEC.
The Bad: Getting off the field on 3rd Downs
Third downs make or break games, and they certainly hurt Florida on Saturday night.
The Sooners were 10-of-18 on third down, compared to Florida’s two-of-nine. The Gators’ minus-eight margin in third-down conversions is the biggest differential since last season against Texas A&M.
Florida also allowed South Carolina to convert 10 third downs last month. The Gators hadn’t allowed multiple opponents since 2024 to accomplish that feat (Mississippi State and Texas).
Florida’s third-down defense ranks 124th in the FBS and 15th in the SEC, allowing a 45.2% conversion rate.
The Sooners put together long, sustained drives with those pickups. Oklahoma possessed the ball for 37:50. It’s the longest a Florida opponent has held the ball this season.
In fact, one of Oklahoma’s second-half drives began at its own 11-yard line with 2:34 left in the third quarter before waltzing all the way to the end zone with only 4:56 left in the game, holding the ball for 12:45 on a single possession. It was Oklahoma’s longest drive in 54 years.
“They found ways to get third-and-shorts, fourth-and-shorts and just convert and kept converting,” coach Jon Sumrall said. “Situationally there’s a couple of things I’d like to do differently as a coach there, and it has to be better, and our staff has to be better for our guys on defense next time.”
On that drive alone, the Sooners had six of their 10 third-down conversions. The possession was just one minute and 41 seconds short of the longest drive in NCAA football history. In 2004, Navy put together a 26-play, 95-yard drive that lasted 14:26.
It’s the second-longest possession by a college football team this season. Only Western Michigan, which possessed the ball for 13:40, had a longer drive this season.
The Ugly: Entire Offense
The offensive drop-off since the Ole Miss game has been astronomical. Through the first four games, Florida averaged 53.5 points on 532.8 yards of total offense. Since then, those numbers have dropped to 15.6 points on 296 yards.
It was 203 yards of offense on Saturday. That’s all the Gators managed against the Sooners. It was the fewest yards on offense since facing Miami (141 yards) last season. Furthermore, it was the fewest yards recorded facing an SEC opponent since the 2015 SEC Championship Game against Alabama, where Florida had 180 yards of offense.
“Right now we’re stalling, and there’s not a whole lot of things that we’re making look easy,” Sumrall said. “We’re making some things harder than they need to be, I feel like at times. I don’t really have an explanation for it right here right now.”
QB Tramell Jones Jr. made his second start but struggled once again. For the second consecutive game, Jones committed two turnovers, both of which were interceptions. He’s the first Florida quarterback since Anthony Richardson in 2022 to have multiple turnovers in back-to-back games.
Jones’ third-quarter pick on a fourth-and-3 came on a severely underthrown ball, missing Eric Singleton Jr. wide open in the end zone for a touchdown that would have given the Gators their first lead of the game.
Florida has thrown 10 interceptions this season, tied with Ole Miss for the most in the SEC.
The offensive line continues to struggle. In the first quarter, on one of Florida’s better drives, senior tackle Caden Jones committed back-to-back holding penalties, negating two 18-yard plays. Both penalties wiped out gains that would have brought the Gators close to the red zone.
The senior offensive lineman was benched on the ensuing drive for TJ Dice Jr.
Up next, the Gators travel to Lexington to face No. 6 Kentucky (7-2, 5-2) on Saturday. Coverage begins at 3:15 p.m. on WRUF 98.1-FM/850-AM/103.7 HD2 and at 6:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
