With the way the Texas Longhorns have been playing recently, they badly need to find some consistency or face the consequences later in the season. Luckily, their next game provides a good opportunity to do just that.

The Florida Gators aren’t a pushover, as they’ve taken Tennessee to overtime and given Georgia a run for its money with their third string quarterback. However, if the Longhorns play their best ball (easier said than done, of course), then they should win handily based on their better talent and coaching.

That said, let’s look at what the numbers say and see what each team does well and not so well.

Starting off the Gators, who rank in the bottom half of the SEC in most key offensive stats. They rank 12th in the conference in total offense (390.1 yards per game), ninth in passing offense (244.8 yards per game), 12th in rushing offense (145.3 yards per game) and 11th in scoring offense (29.5). Nothing stands out as particularly bad, but nothing stands out as particularly impressive either.

It’s a similar story on defense, if not a bit worse. The Gators rank 14th in the SEC in total defense (381.4 yards allowed per game), 10th in passing defense (219.4 yards allowed per game), 15th in rushing defense (162 yards allowed per game) and 14th in scoring defense (24.9 points allowed per game). That should give the Longhorns plenty of opportunities to attack.

As an important bit of context, Florida has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country thus far, facing seven Power Four teams in eight games including four against currently ranked opponents. Obviously, that’s going to impact the Gators’ stats in a negative way, but sadly, raw numbers care not for strength of schedule.

Now onto the Longhorns, who rank near the top of the conference in most key stats. They rank fourth in total offense (453.1 yards per game), fourth in passing offense (294.8 yards per game), eighth in rushing offense (158.4 yards per game) and third in scoring offense (37.6 points per game). Impressive numbers for sure, but they want to get their offense back on track after two straight underwhelming performances, particularly on the ground.

Defensively, the Longhorns are pretty clearly the best team in the SEC statistically. They lead the conference in total (241.3 yards allowed per game), passing (135.8 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (11.5 points allowed per game), and rank third against the run (105.5 yards allowed per game). While the offense has been up and down throughout the year, the defense has been rock solid throughout.

The stats show a clear advantage for Texas, but once kickoff rolls around, they’re just numbers and nothing more.

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