The Florida Gators quite literally hit the ground running against the Vanderbilt Commodores early Saturday afternoon.
Florida came away with a 38-24 win to move to 3-0 in SEC play and gained some confidence on the offensive line and in the backfield along the way. Sophomore running back Lamical Perine led the charge with three rushing touchdowns on the day, while true freshman Malik Davis followed close behind with two of his own.
It was the most rushing touchdowns scored by the Gators in a single game since the offense rushed for five against Georgia in 2014.
“I thought our guys ran hard,” said head coach Jim McElwain. “I thought the runners ran hard. The guys up front are starting to get it. There at the end, I thought we wore on them pretty good.”
Perine finished with 58 rushing yards, but he made every single carry he got count, and a game like that could not have come at a better time for him.
With Davis running the ball like his life was on the line last week, Perine was put on the backburner to close out the Kentucky game. He had 27 yards on five carries in the first half, but did not get a single touch in the second half.
Davis deservingly got the nod for a start against the Commodores, but the Gators continued to alternate drives between the running backs, and it worked out well.
“When you start feeling the momentum, you have to keep going,” Perine said. “Coach [JaJuan Seider] let’s you do that.”
Perine is the first Florida player to score three rushing touchdowns in a game since Jeff Driskel did so against the Commodores in 2012.
He is the first running back to reach the feat for the Gators since DeShawn Wynn against Kentucky in 2005.
The game not only put Perine among some great names, but proved his potential once again. He hadn’t seen the end zone in more than a year, since Florida’s 32-0 pummeling of North Texas last September.
“It felt real good,” Perine said. “I’ve been trying to stay focused, fight adversity. It’s been good. It feels good.”
As for Davis, he simply continued to show why he is destined to be an outstanding contributor for Florida’s offense in the years to come. After leading the team in rushing yards in each of the last two weeks, with 94 against Tennessee and a dominant 93-yard performance at Kentucky, he did so once again in The Swamp on Saturday.
He ran for 124 yards on 17 attempts for an average of 7.3 yards per carry. It was his first 100-plus yard game, but with the way he has played to start his career, there are likely many more to come in his foreseeable future.
Davis became the first true freshman in the SEC to rush for two touchdowns in a game this season and the first true freshman to rush for over 100 yards and two touchdowns for Florida since Jeff Demps did it against Arkansas back in 2008.
“Now, the nation should know about Malik Davis,” Perine said. “That’s a good dude. He’s a good running back. He’s going to score a lot of touchdowns in The Swamp and in a lot more stadiums, too. I’m glad to see that.”
A lot of Florida’s success in the run game can be attributed to the offensive line finally starting to mesh. The offensive line made a complete turnaround over the last few weeks after an eye-opening gut-check against Michigan, and things finally seem to be headed in the right direction.
“It just gives us a lot more confidence,” said sophomore offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor. “Just lets us know that if we do our job that we can create plays.”
With 218 total rushing yards against Vanderbilt, the Gators have rushed for at least 150 yards in each of the last three games, something Florida hasn’t done in SEC play since 2014.
While a great rushing game against a struggling defense like that of Vanderbilt isn’t something the Gators should hang their hats on, it gives the offense momentum. Florida believes the emergence of a strong running game will cause the rest of the offense to follow suit.
“Opening up the run game is going to open up the pass game as well,” Perine said. “We’re going to be real dominant when we start doing that.”