Vandy game a barometer for Gators

What does Vandy mean? No, not the name, I know that Vanderbilt University is named after the Commodore. What does the Vandy game mean to the Florida program? Last Saturday the Gator Nation was able to take a break from the gnashing of teeth and the rending of clothes long enough to enjoy the complete demoralization of the Georgia Bulldogs. Florida putting a hurting on the Bulldogs that would make Mike Vick proud. It was a much needed respite amid a season and half of mostly bad football. But, did it change anything? Was the victory over Georgia a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel for the Gators or was it just a fluke? Did Florida just somehow manage to put it all together for one game against one hated opponent? Or, even worse, did the Bulldogs just fail to take the Gators seriously and pay for that mistake with the loss of their championship aspirations?

This is where the Vandy game comes in. If the Georgia game really was the pivot point of the Gator program turning the corner at last, Florida should dismantle Vanderbilt or least win comfortably. The Commodores are not a good football team this season. This is a game that a quality team should put away somewhere in the third quarter. If Florida struggles to pull out a last minute victory or even finds a way to lose this game, then last Saturday was just a fluke.

I don’t believe that Florida is as much better than Georgia as last week’s game seemed to suggest. In fact, I would be reluctant to say that the Gators are as good as Georgia right now at all. Not without more evidence. Likewise, I do not believe that Missouri is as much better than Florida as the game three weeks ago would suggest. All of these teams are somewhere in the middle of appearances. That makes the Vandy game yet another in line of opportunities to for the Gators program to prove where it is in its evolution.

This game also has some extra problems for the Florida coaching staff. If Florida gets out to an early lead in Nashville, it would probably be somewhat easy to just run the ball down Vandy’s throat and safely seal the victory. As tempting as that will be for head coach Will Muschamp and his crew, I believe they need to resist that temptation. At some point in the very near future, Florida is going to NEED to pass the ball effectively to win and this staff must continue to win to remain gainfully employed. It stands to reason that it would be better to take the risks associated with letting your freshman quarterback test his wings against Vandy than South Carolina or FSU. Treon Harris must be put to the test.

What Gator Nation needs to see in this game is a balanced attack featuring an efficient passing game that leads to a comfortable double digit victory. That would indicate that last Saturday might well be the turning point all Gator fans have been waiting for. It would mean that it might just be possible to win out and make this a successful season after all. It might also mean that Florida does already have the right coaching staff in place as well as provide a platform from which to salvage this recruiting class and keep pace with the rest of the SEC. There are some elite recruits watching the Gators closely and looking for a reason to climb on board.

The Vandy game could be a sign that the program is going in the right direction or further evidence that what this staff really lacks is consistency. The dog whipping in Jacksonville was a beautiful sight and the game will go down in Gator lore, but is it the first step toward the future or just another blip on the radar screen in a failed era of Florida football? Gator fans should be able to recognize the most likely truth by what they see transpire in Nashville. Fans have witnessed enough dysfunctional football to notice immediately the difference in what they saw on the field in Jacksonville. They will know early in the game if what the Gators put on the field against Vandy is a second straight week of competence or a regression to the fumbling, bumbling performance they have witnessed far too often over the last nineteen games.

Here’s to hoping for another dominant outing and a blowout win by the Gators. These young men need for some good things to happen to them. They have worked hard and stuck together through a lot of adversity. The team desperately needs to build on the confidence they found in Jacksonville. They will face a team in Vanderbilt that has seen more than its share of adversity this season as well. If the Gators come out strong and take control of the game early, the Commodores will likely wilt under the weight of a brutal season. Florida needs to make sure that the team that walks off of that field dejected is not them.

A commanding win in Nashville would allow the Gators to return to the Swamp and face South Carolina and the Ole Ball Coach with some swagger. They will need it. The Gamecocks are another team badly in need of something good. They will come to Gainesville fired up and ready salvage their season. Steve Spurrier will want this one and he is always dangerous. Florida needs to learn from this game that they are ready for that one. The team needs confirmation that last week was not a fluke but the beginning of good times. Laissez le bon temps rouler.