Florida Gators

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Florida quarterback Austin Appleby opened his postgame remarks by speaking on behalf of everyone wearing orange and blue Saturday. 

"We can all take a deep breath," he said. 

Actually, those breaths were taken about 30 minutes earlier when UF defensive back Nick Washington intercepted a tipped pass from Vanderbilt quarterback Wade Freeback with 54 seconds remaining, allowing the No. 23 Gators to leave the Music City with a 13-6 victory in front of 30,565 at Vanderbilt Stadium. 

Jordan Scarlett rushed for the game's only touchdown and Eddy Pineiro kicked a pair of field goals to help UF bounce back from last week's loss at Tennessee on a gorgeous first day of October when offense seemed like it was optional. While the Gators (4-1, 2-1) never trailed, they were outgained in total yards 265 to 236 by a Commodores squad that came in ranked next-to-last in the Southeastern Conference in both total offense and defense. They also had to hold on for dear life after Appleby fumbled at the Vandy 1 with just over three minutes to go with a chance to salt the game away. 

"It's beyond me how you fumble the ball on a quarterback sneak at the end of the game," UF coach Jim McElwain said. "But it happened and our defense had to step up — they had to step up twice." 

Yes, Vandy (2-3, 0-2) got two more cracks in the waning minutes. After the fumble, the Commodores moved the ball out to their own 43 before opting to punt on fourth-and-7 with 1:30 to go and all three timeouts, much to the dismay of the home crowd. 

"I heard the jeers," Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. "When you have three timeouts and an opportunity to go after a punt, that's what you do. I've been in this game a long time and I've seen these situations come up. Leaders lead, and that's what we did."

Mason's reasoning worked. The Gators, needing only a first down to run the clock out, instead went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Commodores, who took over at their 23 with 1:01 remaining.  

On first down, Freeback, who replaced injured starter Kyle Shurmur, fired the ball down the middle of the field for wideout Sean Dowling. The ball was tipped by UF linebacker Jarrad Davis in coverage and plucked from the air by Washington for his first career interception.

Cue the sighs of relief. 

"That was ugly," McElwain said. 

And yet? 

"I'm just happy we got a W," senior defensive tackle Caleb Brantley said. 
 
Appleby, in his second start since replacing Luke Del Rio, completed 19 of 28 for 144 yards. Scarlett was the top rusher for a Florida offense that managed just 92 yards on the ground and only 15 first downs. Vandy tailback Ralph Webb, out of Gainesville High, carried 24 times for 110 yards, but the Commodores' QB combo of Shurmur and Freeback totaled just 12 completions on 32 attempts for 118 yards and two interceptions. 

Scarlett's touchdown, a 4-yard run, came at the 6:27 mark of the second quarter and broke a scoreless tie after the two teams traded the game's first eight possessions. After that listless first quarter and a half, the Gators forced the Commodores to punt from their end zone and needed just six plays to go 53 yards for the first score of the day. Appleby started the drive with an 11-yard toss to Antonio Callaway, then Scarlett took off on a 24-yard run one play later. 

With the help of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Vandy, UF got inside the 10 and Scarlett finished the drive with his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. 

Once again, the Gators liberally substituted their running backs, using the committee of Scarlett, Mark Thompson (7 carries, 11 yards), Lamical Perine (6-28) and Jordan Cronkrite (2-13). 

"When they call my number, I just try to do what I can," Scarlett said.  "Just want to do my part."

The Commodores answered that score by marching 56 yards in 12 plays on the ensuing possessions before settling for a 38-yard field goal from Tommy Openshaw with just 2:13 to go before the half to make it 7-3. 

Vandy's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Gators nice field position. A 10-yard run by Cronkrite and 20-yard completion from Appleby to Callaway on third-and-4 moved UF down the field and in position for Pineiro to nail his kick and push the visitors back up by a touchdown as time expired. 

Those three points were countered by the Commodores late in the third when Openshaw hit a 27-yarder that closed the margin to 10-6. 

Pineiro's second field goal, a 26-yarder with 8:17 remaining in the game, capped a much-needed drive by the Gators -- 78 yards in 10 plays -- that started at their own 13. On first down, Appleby hit tight end C'yontai Lewis for 33 yards to shoot the Gators out of a hole. 

"It's about winning on first down," Appleby said. "When we win on first down and get our tempo going, we can be potent. We scored in three minutes." 

They did, but just a field goal. Another 16-yard completion to tight end DeAndre Goolsby helped move the Gators down the field before the offense bogged down at the Vandy 7 when Appleby didn't see Callaway running uncovered in the end zone on third-and-goal. Pineiro's field goal pushed the Gators back up by seven points. 

UF had a chance to ice the game with just over three minutes left after Commodores punter Sam Loy fumbled a snap and Florida took over at the Vandy 15. An 11-yard Appleby run gave the Gators a first-and-goal at the 1, but two plays later Appleby fumbled the center-quarterback exchange, with Vandy recovering at the 7 with 2:56 left, setting up the tight finish. 

And those deep breaths. 

"Hey, you've got to enjoy the win," defensive tackle Khairi Clark said. "Now, we go home, have a little celebration and get back to work."