Undefeated. That’s what head coach Jim McElwain is at the University of Florida when his starting quarterback has been healthy and playing. The Gators were 6-0 with Will Grier before his suspension last season, and are 4-0 in games where Luke Del Rio starts this season.

Last Saturday was that fourth win for Del Rio, his first time back on the field since suffering a minor knee injury during the North Texas game. But, if you look at Del Rio’s stats from the win versus Missouri (18-for-38, 236 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions), it makes you wonder whether Del Rio was any more a part of that win than back up Austin Appleby would’ve been.

Anyone who watches the game of football knows that stats can be misleading. So which stat contains more substance? Is it the undefeated record with a starting quarterback? Do Del Rio’s stats from Saturday look more damning than they really were? Or, do his numbers last week warn us of future struggles that will lead to losses down the road?

Let’s take a closer look at his performance to determine those answers.

Taking deep shots down the field is important. Being able to stretch a defense vertically and open up the run game a little more allows for an offense to control the game at their own tempo and keep a defense off balance. The earlier in the game a team can hit those deep shots, the more time on the clock they will have to control. This is why we’ve seen offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier dial up plays like the one above more than just once or twice so far this season.

Tyrie Cleveland blossoming is a big deal for this offense. The ability to get creative down the field with another player beside Antonio Callaway means that both safeties for the opposing team will have to keep their main focus outside the box as to not get beat deep, which means less bodies for tackles in and around the trenches – see how this works?

In the play above, Missouri learned that the hard way. They had both of their safeties creep up to help in run support, and Cleveland was able to get by talented corner Aarion Penton because of his speed. One big shot is all it takes to blow this Florida playbook wide open.

So if that’s the case, why did it take two pick-6’s for Florida’s scoreboard to finally light up? The problem here lies not in the play calling –as we’ve seen in weeks past – but more in the man delivering the ball.

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* Florida coaches visiting top targets today

* 3-2-1 Florida-Missouri Breakdown

* The Day After - Grades, hot/not and bottom line

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