Look at all these three weird Iowa and Florida stats I found.

By Jordan Hansen | [email protected]

Football is full of statistics.

Some are useful, some are not, and some are downright weird. I personally enjoy the weird ones, because the stranger Things parts of football are what make it so intriguing to pay attention to.

As always, the vast majority of my statistics come from CFBstats.com, perhaps the single greatest free source of stats for college football junkies. It’s helped me come up with a story idea more than once.

Anyways, let’s dive in.

No. 1:

“Team” has rushed for more (well, less negative) yards than either Florida quarterback. As a point of reference, the first number is games played, second is the number of attempts, third is the negative yards and the fourth is negative yards per attempt.

OK, this stat is weird for a couple reasons. First, “team” rushing applies to kneel-downs, which usually (always?) take place at the end of a half or game to try to end it quicker. Also, in the NCAA, sacks are counted as negative rushing yards by the quarterback. Mini-rant: Sacks counting as negative rushing yards is dumb. Sacks aren’t always solely the quarterback’s fault, and it’s more of a negative team play than anything. It’s also not how it works in the NFL, where lost yardage due to sacks is tallied separately.

Anyway, Florida allowed 25 sacks that resulted in 202 lost yards this season. Not exactly ideal, but if you take out the sack yardage, you’re left with with 125 rushing yards gained by Florida quarterbacks this season. That’s still 149 more yards than what C.J. Beathard had this season, however.

No. 2:

Desmond King is one of four FBS players averaging more than 27 yards per kick return without a touchdown.

If Desmond King doesn’t return a kick or punt for a touchdown in the Outback Bowl, it’s going to put a bookend on one of the weirder things to happen around an Iowa kick returner. This is despite King’s being one of the best in school history at returning kicks and punts. A quick aside: I don’t have any statistical proof of this; it just comes from watching Kin the past couple seasons.

Iowa doesn’t have any career kick- or punt-return yardage data that I could find, though it seems reasonable to think King is up there as far as career returns go. Alas, that’s just how things go sometimes.

Anyway, King has simply had the misfortune to not have holes open up how he’s needed them, too. Kick-return touchdowns are an excellent way to change the momentum of a game, and it’s a little surprising he hasn’t been able to spring one.

No. 3: 

Florida has the second-most penalties in the SEC and the most penalty yardage.

Penalties are a strange animal. On one hand, they’re a signal that a team is undisciplined and the coaching isn’t up to par. On the other hand, there are bad calls.

Without having a specific breakdown of the type of penalties the team has, it’s hard to make judgment calls on the coaching staff. Though, to be fair, as easy as it is to blame the coaching, at the end of the day, the players commit the penalties. Just something to keep in mind.

Regardless, it’s still not a great look for the Gators. Field position is going to be critical when the Hawkeyes face Florida. Every inch and every yard is going to matter.

Follow @JordyHansen for Iowa football news, updates, and analysis throughout the Outback Bowl week.