If Florida’s offense has been a bit ugly, its defense has made opposing offenses ugly this season as well.
In terms of S&P+, Florida’s defense will be the second-best that Vanderbilt has faced this season. Notre Dame ranks 5th nationally, but Florida’s defense (11th) is better than the one Vanderbilt saw at Georgia last week (19th.) The Gators do well at preventing successful plays (34.6% defensive success rate, 13th nationally) — and when you do create scoring opportunities, Florida snuffs those out as well. Opponents are averaging just 3.11 points per scoring opportunity, the second-lowest mark in the country.