Gators looking for back-to-back SEC victories in trip to Vanderbilt

Published Nov. 7, 2014 6:45 p.m. ET

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Gators arrived here early Friday evening for their game Saturday night at Vanderbilt.

Most of the past two decades the Vanderbilt game on Florida's schedule has meant an easy win. That changed in 2013.

Vanderbilt defeated the Gators on Homecoming at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, 34-17, snapping a 22-game losing streak to Florida. It was one of the low points of Florida's first losing season since 1979.

However, the mood around the Gators received a much-needed positive boost last weekend in Jacksonville, where Florida (4-3, 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference) knocked off then-No. 9 Georgia. It was Florida's biggest win since closing the 2012 regular season with a victory at Florida State.

The Commodores (3-6, 0-5) are seeking their first SEC win and have won two of their last three games after starting the season 1-5.

Will the Gators build off the momentum they gained from the Georgia win, or will Vanderbilt pull another surprise?

Let's take a closer look at the matchup with The Opening Kickoff:

FIVE STORYLINES

-- The Gators have an opportunity to string back-to-back SEC wins together for the first time since their 3-0 start in conference play a year ago. Since then the Gators have won only three of 11 games against conference foes, none bigger than last week's victory over Georgia.

-- Freshman quarterback Treon Harris made his first career start last week but was not asked to do much other than hand the ball off to running backs Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones. The Gators ran 60 times, passed six. A safe assumption is that Florida will throw more than six times Saturday, which will give us a better look at Harris the passer.

-- The Commodores have returned to the basement of the SEC East in the first season under Derek Mason, who inherited a program that lost the bulk of its recruiting class when former head coach James Franklin left for Penn State. Vandy's three wins are against UMass, Charleston Southern and Old Dominion, so Mason is still searching for his signature win a victory over Florida could be the season highlight for the Commodores.

-- The media attention and fan chatter over the future of Gators coach Will Muschamp cooled off considerably after his first win in four tries against his alma mater. Each win from here on out will do the same.

-- Florida still has an outside shot at winning the SEC East with some help. A win Saturday would clinch at least a .500 record in conference play and keep those hopes alive.

TOPICAL TWEETS

HISTORY LESSON

Florida's dominant rushing performance against Georgia dominated the headlines a week ago in Jacksonville. The Gators' 418 yards on the ground marked the programs' highest total against an SEC opponent since a 454-yard outburst against Vanderbilt in 1975.

Jimmy Dubose took the first handoff of that game and raced 80 yards in a 35-0 victory. In addition to Florida's memorable ground attack 39 years ago, UF's performance came against first-year Vanderbilt coach Fred Pancoast, who spent six years as a UF assistant under Ray Graves from 1964-69. 

CAST OF CHARACTERS

-- Can Kevin Taylor and Matt Jones run over, past and around the Commodores the way they did Georgia? Taylor finished with 197 yards and Jones had 192, the first time two UF backs eclipsed 100 yards in the same game in three years.

-- Vanderbilt turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny McCrary against Old Dominion and he delivered. McCrary joined Jay Cutler and Bill Wade as just the third Vanderbilt quarterback to ever throw five touchdown passes in a game.

-- Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb needs 39 yards rushing to set a school record for most yards in a season by a freshman running back. Webb, a product of Gainesville High just a few miles from UF's campus, has 760 yards on the season.

-- Florida junior linebacker Antonio Morrison is playing the best of his career and finished with 15 tackles in the win over Georgia. With Webb expected to get plenty of carries, Morrison could be very active.

-- Gators sophomore receiver Demarcus Robinson leads the team with 34 receptions, but since his 15-catch performance against Kentucky, Robinson has hauled in just 13 passes over the last five games, including none against Georgia. However, he made several key blocks downfield to help the run game. Is this the game Robinson and Harris develop a connection?

TALKING POINTS

GatorZone.com senior writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry preview the Florida-Vanderbilt game on Saturday night in Nashville.

QUOTE FILE

-- "They completely embarrassed us last year. We're going to go to their house and we want them to experience the same disappointment they gave to us last year.'' -- Florida senior center Max Garcia

-- "You definitely see improvement in what they've done. They're playing better football right now than they were earlier in the year, probably like most teams. I know McCrary has played really well for them in the past couple of games. He's a guy they like right now.'' -- Gators defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin

-- "Matt is like my big brother. I love Matt, and he gets me better. I get him better and I feel like if we can keep doing that we're going to have great success. I think we can keep doing that for the rest of the year." -- Kelvin Taylor on Matt Jones

-- "I guess everybody's motivated differently, but now it goes through Nashville. It goes through Vanderbilt for us. We just need to take care of Florida and Vanderbilt and have laser focus on Saturday night and what we need to do to be successful.'' -- Gators head coach Will Muschamp

-- "When you go out and win the game, really simply by running the football, it makes it even more of a challenge. I guess I was just impressed with the way our guys played and the way they competed, the energy and, shoot, just played with great passion." -- Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper on win over Georgia

10 QUICKHITTERS

-- Vanderbilt has struggled in 2014, but the Commodores have an impressive streak of 10 consecutive November wins dating to 2011. Vandy extended that streak with a 42-28 win over Old Dominion last week.

-- Florida had five runs of 20-plus yards in the victory over Georgia. The Bulldogs had allowed only three runs of 20-plus yards entering the game.

-- The Gators have scored 26 touchdowns in their first seven games, only one fewer than they scored in 12 games in 2013.

-- Florida's 60 rushes in last week's victory over Georgia was the second-highest total against an SEC opponent. Florida ran 67 times against Ole Miss in a 15-3 win in 1980.

-- The Gators own a 16-7-1 series lead over Vanderbilt in Nashville and have won 11 in a row since 1992.

-- Florida's five rushing touchdowns against Georgia were its most under Muschamp. The last time UF rushed for five touchdowns in a game was in 2010 against Appalachian State.

-- The Commodores rank last in conference play in scoring offense (15 ppg), rushing offense (99.6 ypg) and total offense (250 ypg).

-- Gators running back Matt Jones leads the team with 616 yards rushing. That's two more yards than Jones had in his first two seasons combined.

-- Florida sixth-year senior Andre Debose is second in the SEC in punt returns (19.7 yards per return) and 10th in kickoff returns (22.6).

-- Vanderbilt's offense produced a season high in total yards (524) in the victory over Old Dominion.

BOTTOM LINE

The Gators need to build momentum coming off their impressive win over Georgia. There's only one place to start: winning at Vanderbilt. Florida has dominated this series over the years and after last fall's stunning loss to the Commodores at The Swamp, they need to come out on a mission and make a statement heading into the season's final three games: South Carolina, Eastern Kentucky and at Florida State.

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