Complete Performance By Gators Sets Up "Championship Week" In Gainesville
Sunday, November 7, 2010 | Football, Scott Carter
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Their day started here early Saturday in the chilly dawn by taking a morning walk-through around the team hotel. They tried to stay warm as the temperature hovered below freezing and the sun just waking up as they were.
The Florida Gators ended their visit to Vanderbilt with a much warmer outlook following their 55-14 dismantling of the Commodores. With the game decided long ago, Florida coach Urban Meyer didn't mind that his starters on the sideline – he emptied the bench in the second half – had already started looking ahead.
“I tried to encourage them,'' Meyer said.
In what has been a roller-coaster season for the Gators, they can reach a new summit on Saturday when South Carolina and former UF coach Steve Spurrier visit the Swamp with the SEC East crown on the line. The winner will play in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta next month.
“We've turned it into a one-game season,'' senior center Mike Pouncey said.
The Gators did it in impressive fashion. Playing before a heavy dose of orange-and-blue clad faithful among the announced crowd of 33,848 at Vanderbilt Stadium, Florida defeated Vanderbilt for the 20th consecutive time by racking up 480 yards of total offense and recording six scores of 30 or more yards.
Starting quarterback John Brantley accounted for two of those scores, hitting Chris Rainey for a 40-yard touchdown pass that put the Gators ahead 21-0, and his 39-yard pass to Frankie Hammond made it 34-0.
But it wasn't even Brantley who threw the Gators' first touchdown pass of the game. That honor went to redshirt freshman Jordan Reed, who threw the first pass of his college career for a 31-yard touchdown to Deonte Thompson.
The Gators also scored on defense – defensive tackle Terron Sanders had a 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown – and on special teams thanks to Rainey's blocked punt and Solomon Patton's 42-yard return. Running back Mike Gillislee's 43-yard run in the third quarter was Florida's other scoring play of longer than 30 yards.
How lopsided was the game? Consider UF scored more touchdowns (eight) than Vanderbilt had first downs (seven).
“It's kind of what the formula [was] around here for quite a while,'' Meyer said. “More than just that, I just like the chemistry of our team. You see a jelling right now.''
Three weeks ago, the season appeared to be close to crumbling following a 10-7 home loss to Mississippi State. However, with a bye week entering last week's 34-31 overtime win over Georgia, Meyer and his staff implemented a hurry-up offense using three quarterbacks regularly: Brantley, Reed and Trey Burton.
The Gators also got Rainey back after he served a five-game suspension, and after back-to-back wins, Florida has regained some of the confidence lost during their first three-game losing streak in 11 years.
“I'm very excited about the way our guys have come out and played the last two games,'' Meyer said. “It's not how you start; it's how you finish, and I think we're finishing strong.
“It's championship week in Gainesville, Florida. We're going to get back to work as soon as we can.''
Florida scored a season-high 55 points Saturday, winning for the 16th consecutive time against an SEC East foe. If they can make it 17 in a row, Florida will play for an SEC title for the third consecutive season.
In Saturday's win, the Gators erased any doubt early, taking a 41-0 lead into halftime.
The Gators blocked kicks, caused fumbles, and other than for a couple of lapses on special teams, pretty much did what they wanted. The up-tempo offense provided the biggest highlights thanks to the quarterback rotation that has added a new look and new life.
They had no problem handling the unusual 11:21 a.m. local kickoff.
“That was our biggest key, just staying away from distractions,'' Pouncey said. “We don't usually play good on early games. This is one that we really needed. The coaches had us going all morning. We just knew what we had to do and we came out and did that.''
The runaway score allowed the starters to rest in the second half and the focus to shift toward what's ahead.
“When the clock hit zero, it's preparation time for South Carolina,'' Hammond said.
The Gators have won four consecutive against the Gamecocks, their only loss under Meyer in 2005 in Spurrier's first season at South Carolina.
“It's going to be a tough game,'' Brantley said. “South Carolina is a tough team. Coach Meyer does a great job of getting us ready for big games like this.''
Meyer said the coaches had already started preparing mentally for South Carolina as they walked off the field Saturday.
The Gators can expect an intense week of practice heading into championship week.
“We've learned some big lessons around here in the past, about a team being ready to go play a big-time game and maybe a team not being ready to go play a big-time game,'' Meyer said. “So that was my whole message to them. It's real clear what the focus is.''
