THE QUICK SLANT
No. 20 FLORIDA 42, VANDERBILT 0
WHAT HAPPENED: Quarterback Emory Jones threw a career-high four touchdown passes, tailback Dameon Pierce found the end zone three times, and the 20th-ranked Gators made homecoming bait out of the Commodores in Saturday’s game at Spurrier/Florida Field. Jones, the fourth-year junior, completed 14 of 22 passes for 273 yards, including touchdown tosses of five and nine yards in the first, then 61 and 25 to start the second half and kick in the blowout. Pierce, the senior, had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs, but in between was on the receiving end of that 61-yard bomb from Jones. The Gators, looking to bounce back from last week’s crushing defeat at Kentucky, scored on the first two drives of the game, but had their momentum stalled for a spell when backup quarterback Anthony Richardson had a turnover and a three-and-out on his scheduled possessions. UF got back on the board with just under four minutes to go in the first half, with Jones rolling left and finding Trent Whittemore for a score and 21-0 lead. The Gators needed barely six minutes of the second half to double that margin on three quick-strike TD drives. A tipped-ball interception by Jones midway through the third quarter set up Vandy at the UF 30 and looked to doom the Gators’ quest for a shutout, but Vandy kicker Joseph Bulovas, who missed two field goals in the first half, was wide left for a third time and UF finished the goose egg, the program’s first since beating Vanderbilt 56-0 in 2019. Florida finished with 479 yards of total offense, including 181 rushing (the second week in a row with less than 200). Vanderbilt managed just 287 yards, with minus-11 rushing yards in the second half. The Commodores came in ready to throw the football, with quarterback Ken Seals attempting 43 passes before giving way to his backup. Seals completed 22 for 192 yards and two interceptions.
WHAT IT MEANS: Make that eight straight wins over the Commodores, as well as 30 of the last 31 in the series, dating to 1989. The victory kept the Gators in their middling spot in the SEC East Division standings, where they’ve not only lost control of their destiny but must rely on not one but two teams (Georgia and Kentucky) to collapse.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Clearly, UF coach Dan Mullen wanted Jones to get in a rhythm and stay in it, opting to keep his starter in the game (as opposed to letting Richardson finish up) after going up 42-0. Jones had a career-best afternoon. As for Richardson, he got the last two offensive series, behind the backup offensive line, and finished 4 of 6 passing for 25 yards, plus five rushing attempts for 11 yards. And let’s give a shoutout to Pierce, who came into the season with 12 career touchdowns and now has eight on the season.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Vanderbilt ran 80 plays for the game, compared to Florida’s 62. At halftime, that discrepancy was 49-31, and the Commodores had just 15 fewer yards of total offense (215 to 200) than the Gators. Go figure.
UP NEXT: The Gators (4-2, 2-2) will leave the state for only the second time this season, with a road date at LSU (3-2, 1-1) next Saturday at noon. That, of course, means an 11 a.m. kick Baton Rouge time, so pace yourself, UF fans, who no doubt will be heading to New Orleans. The Tigers, who handed UF that devastating defeat at the “Swamp” in the 2020 regular-season finale, are coming off a home loss to Auburn and play later Saturday night at 16th-ranked Kentucky, which handed the Gators an equally devastating loss a week ago.