Gators Seek Homecoming Revenge Against Vandy

While the Gators have earned themselves a two-game lead in the SEC East with a win over Georgia, Florida can officially clinch a berth in the SEC Championship Game by taking care of business against Vanderbilt on Saturday.

But the last time the Commodores made the trip to Gainesville, the Gators didn’t come up with a winning result.

In 2013, Florida was crushed 34-17 by Vanderbilt at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was the first time Vandy beat the Gators in Gainesville since 1945 and snapped a 22-game losing streak to Florida.

The Gators committed four turnovers in the Swamp, including three interceptions by Florida quarterback Tyler Murphy.

But Murphy wasn’t the only player who has bad memories from that game.

“I tore my meniscus on the second play of that game and I ended up playing the whole game,” said senior linebacker Antonio Morrison on his recollections of that game . “I just remember losing… we lost to (Vanderbilt) and that was a really hurtful feeling in the locker room.”

The Gators (7-1, 5-1) enter this weekend’s game riding momentum following a big 27-3 win in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” On the other hand, the Commodores (3-5, 1-3) are coming off a demoralizing 34-0 shutout loss to Houston.

Despite the current different directions of the programs, Florida doesn’t intend to take their opponent lightly.

“The next game is always a big game and we definitely want to go and take each and every game seriously,” said wide receiver Valdez Showers on staying focused against Vanderbilt. “As far as getting to Atlanta, that’s definitely in our goals but our main goal is to win our next game and the rest will take care of itself.”

While Vanderbilt has struggled scoring the ball this season, they trot out a stingy defense that has allowed only 18.5 points per game this year.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for us up front and we have to run the ball (well) again and get our passing game back to where it was before,” said offensive lineman Mason Halter.