South Bound & Down
Fansided

Florida Gators need to cut down on penalties in 2017

By Matt Green

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 5: Head coach Jim McElwain of the Florida Gators looks on before the SEC Championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome on December 5, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 5: Head coach Jim McElwain of the Florida Gators looks on before the SEC Championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome on December 5, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

There are 58 days till college football season, and today we focus on a statistic that can de-rail any good team: Penalties.

Every head football coach wants his team to be aggressive and intense, but they also must have discipline. And if you judge discipline by penalty yards, then the Florida Gators were the most undisciplined team in the SEC last season.

And that leads us to no. 58 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.

The Florida Gators averaged 58.3 penalty yards per game in 2016

Must Read: South Carolina has one of SEC's most dynamic playmakers

The Gators committed 88 penalties for 758 yards last season, an average of 8.6 yards per penalty and 58.3 yards per game. The 58.3 yards per game were the most in the SEC, and 88th in the country.

Even though they were one of the worst in the country at committing penalties, they actually committed more penalties in their wins than their losses.

More from Southbound and Down

Penalties/Yards (4 losses)

  • 5.8 penalties per game / 51.5 yards per game

Penalties/Yards (9 wins)

  • 8.1 penalties per game / 61.3 yards per game

So while penalties likely wouldn’t have impacted Florida’s 31-13 loss to Florida State or their 54-16 loss to Alabama, in their 38-28 loss to Tennessee, the Gators committed nine penalties for 75 yards, the third-most penalties and yards of any game last season. Had the Gators cut down on the penalties, it may have helped prevent them from blowing a 21-0 lead and the Vols from rattling off 38 straight points.

The Gators have a lot of areas to improve in 2016, and they should start by cutting down the penalties and playing more disciplined football.

Home/Florida Gators