Five list of five for Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt

Florida Gators (3-1) at Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2)

 

Date: Saturday, October 1st

Time: 12:00 PM

TV: SEC Network

Last Meeting: Last year Florida beat Vanderbilt 9-7 in Gainesville to clinch the SEC East title.

 

Last Time Out:

 

  • Florida lost at Tennessee 38-28
  • Vanderbilt beat Western Kentucky 31-30 in overtime

 

Vanderbilt 2016 Breakdown:

 

  • Head Coach: Derek Mason is 9-19 in his 3rd year as Vanderbilt Head Coach
  • Conference: SEC East
  • 2016 Overall Record: 2-2
  • 2016 Conference Record: 0-1

Players to Watch:

 

  • Junior Running Back Ralph Webb

The local Gainesville product has run for 472 this year, which leads the SEC and last year he found success against the Florida defense rushing for 118 yards on 22 carries.

  • Senior Linebacker Zach Cunningham

Cunningham lead Vanderbilt with 38 total tackles, 22 coming solo. His 38 tackles rank 2nd in the SEC. Zach Cunning ham was also voted 2nd team preseason all SEC by the media.

 

5 Things to know about Vanderbilt:

 

  1. Vanderbilt has not won consecutive games since 2013
  2. The last time Vanderbilt beat Florida at home was in 1988 when the Commodores won 24-9.
  3. Ralph Webb is 3rd all-time in rushing yards in Vanderbilt history. He needs 613 yards to break the school record.
  4. Vanderbilt is tied for first in the SEC with a perfect 15 for 15 in red zone scoring percentage. 12 of those scores have been touchdowns.
  5. Vanderbilt has the youngest coaching staff in the SEC at 41.6. The SEC average is 44.5.

 

5 Things to Pay Attention to:

 

  1. Florida’s mental approach
    After a disappointing loss how will Florida respond to missing an opportunity to grab hold to the SEC East title. Will Florida come in angry and motivated or go through the motions against a team they are more talented than. If Florida comes out flat they could find themselves in a tighter game than first expected.
  2. In game adjustments
    The Florida staff came under some slight criticism for the 2nd half performance of the team. This raised questions about the coaching staff and their ability or willingness to adjust in game. If Vanderbilt is able to find some success in some area of the game, look for some positive adjustments from this staff.
  3. Can they learn anything from playing at Tennessee?
    There were obvious issues in the first road game with communicating resulting in protection breakdowns and time mismanagement. The 39,000 at Vanderbilt Stadium won’t pose that same type of challenge as Neyland but it will be good for the Gators to get away from home and work on those communication details. The next true road game isn’t until November when they face Arkansas.
  4. Antonio Callaway’s continued production
    Despite the hiccups on punt return last week, Callaway played a great game and is putting together an all-conference type season so far. In the games he has played he is averaging 111 YPG receiving and should have an opportunity to have a big game against the Commodores who have allowed 3 receivers to reach 100 yards with Georgia Tech being the only opponent not to have one. Despite missing a game, Callaway is 4th in the SEC in Yards with 335.
  5. Running back rotation
    Florida wanted to continue with the 4 headed running back rotation but that may not be realistic moving forward, especially as SEC play wears on. Jordan Scarlett seems to be the most consistent game in and game out. Last week he was the only Florida running back to average over 4 YPC. Jordan Cronkrite continues to be a plus in the passing game and that will be his niche. The question comes down to how the staff will handle the load of Mark Thompson and Lamical Perine, both only managed to gain 2.5 YPC against Tennessee.

 

5 Things to Expect:

 

  1. A slow start
    The biggest challenge for Coach McElwain and staff this week was getting this team to overcome the frustration and disappointment of last week. While Florida is battling the mental opposition, expect a few possessions before the Gators get cranked up and going.
  2. A strong defensive performance
    After the 2nd half meltdown in Knoxville. The Florida defense will be out to prove they are one of the best in the nation. Outside of the Florida camp there may be doubts about their overall ability so expect the Gators to put the clamps down on a less than explosive Vanderbilt offense.
  3. Better decisions on punt return
    It would absolutely blow my mind if Antonio Callaway or whoever they choose to put back to return punts were to duplicate the mistakes from last week. Last year Callaway was a major threat in the return game and has yet to make that type of impact thus far. This could be an opportunity to make the big play he was hoping to make last week.
  4. A strong finish
    The Gators are obviously not happy with the way things finished last week and will look to play a complete game. I don’t expect that Gators let up this week heading to the finish line but will have a strong overall performance, especially in the 2nd
  5. Solid game from Appleby
    Vanderbilt currently ranks 14th in SEC and 108 nationally in pass defense giving up 274 YPG. Appleby found success last week in the first half when he had time. He was able to push the ball down field and make big plays. Look for that to continue this week. In the event that Appleby completely tanks or gets injured will McElwain go to one of the freshman on the road or bring in Del Rio who did practice some this week.

 

5 Keys to Victory:

 

  1. Don’t overlook the opponent
    Although Vanderbilt has not been very good, they can still be a pesky team to deal with. There have been a few times in history when the Commodores have given the Gators fits despite their dominance. With LSU coming up next week it can be easy to look past this Vanderbilt squad.
  2. Stop Ralph Webb
    Webb ranks 1st in the SEC in yards and has big play ability as he demonstrated last year. He is the engine, tires, gas and everything else for this Vandy offense. He is what makes them go. If Florida shuts him down, the Commodores will have a heck of a fight trying to score against an angry Gators defense.
  3. Play with energy
    The next biggest challenge for Florida entering the game will be playing with some energy and fire. A noon start, in a ‘boring’ atmosphere will require the Gators to avoid going through the motions but their energy level will be the determining factor in whether this game is closer than they desired.
  4. Get the running game going
    In the 1st half against the Vols, the Gators were able to run effectively and keep the offense balanced. In the 2nd half that wasn’t the case. The Gators need to get back on track against a defense giving up 177 YPG and ranked 85th in the nation. Last week the Gator running backs totaled 82 yards on 24 carries, that’s not going to get it done in the SEC.
  5. Pressure the quarterback
    Since Ralph Webb is sure to be a focal point of the Vanderbilt offense, the Gators have to put pressure on Kyle Shurmur who will be needed to keep the Florida defense honest. Since throwing for 73 yards against South Carolina, Shurmur has improved each game, last week he threw for a career high 279 yards in the overtime win versus Western Kentucky. For his career he is 49% passer with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

 

5 Signs It Was a Good Day:

 

  1. Gators play with high energy start to finish
    This game against Vanderbilt is as much about the Gators energy as much as it is about the game plan. We will see early on the amount of residue left over from the Tennessee loss. McElwain was pleased with the practices early in the week, hopefully this translates to Saturday.
  2. Webb is under 100 yards rushing
    In two games versus the Gators, Webb has averaged 100 YPG. Vanderbilt is struggled against South Carolina and Georgia Tech to score and Webb totaled 162 yards. Florida should be able to keep him under wraps and hopefully they can avoid the homerun he got last year.
  3. Offense puts a complete game together
    In 3 of Florida’s first 4 games the offense has had moments of where they go into droughts. This offense has proven to be effective when everything is clicking. If the offense can continue to grow, build and create balance against Vanderbilt it will build confidence moving forward against home games against two tough defenses in LSU and Missouri.
  4. There is some production in the return game
    The return units for Florida have been less than stellar thus far. We are not sure how much Florida is missing Massey in this area but whatever the case is this area has to improve. In the past we have seen Callaway’s ability on punt return and at some point that has to return. Kickoff return us a different story, last week the Gators tried Perine and I am not sure that is the answer either. If the Gators can get something positive in this area, it will be another step in building a complete team that has seen production on offense, defense and in the kicking game.
  5. 2nd half at Tennessee is aberration
    For 11 halves the Florida defense has been downright dominant. Tennessee was able to scheme up some plays to move the ball and create big plays. The Vols were able to do somethings with formations and misdirection to get some open receivers and mismatches. We should be confident that the Gators defense will get back to being dominant and once again prove that they are one of the best defenses in the nation.

 

Prediction:

 

The Gators make their second trip to Tennessee in as many weeks. This time around the game will end a little bit better. Expect a slow start from the Gators but they will eventually pick it up in the 2nd quarter and roll to a comfortable win. The defense will put together a strong performance by creating a couple turnovers and give the offense some short field to work with. Austin Appleby will have another good performance through the air and the running game will be much better than last week. There will be some annoying moments but the Gators will walk away with a win on the road and look forward to coming back home for a couple weeks to take on a pair of Tigers.

 

Florida 30 Vanderbilt 7

Kevin Camps
Kevin, a lifelong Gator fan has followed and studied Florida football since 1990. He is a Gainesville native that has experienced many great triumphs of Florida football. Born and raised as a Gator, Kevin loves to talk and promote the Gator Nation. When not talking Gators, Kevin is spending time with his wife and five kids, serving in his church or grilling great bbq.

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