Gators Rediscover That Winning Feeling
Saturday, November 5, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – This wasn't your typical Florida-Vanderbilt game.
How could it be when the team that entered with a four-game losing streak was the one wearing orange and blue? The Gators were still favored to win, but there was an edgy feeling around the game compared to past meetings.
“We knew we had to win this game,'' Gators kicker Caleb Sturgis said.
The coaching staff kept the players focused all week by text messaging them each day at 12:21 p.m., the time of Saturday's early kickoff. The messages had nothing to do with the fact Florida's only home loss to Vanderbilt was in 1945 or that the Gators had won 20 in a row over the Commodores.
Instead, they wanted to remind them to have their heads on right come Saturday morning.
No more silly penalties. No more dropped passes. No more bad decisions at key moments. No more losses.
The Gators got the message, snapping their longest losing streak in 23 years on Saturday with a 26-21 win over a much-improved Vanderbilt team under first-year coach James Franklin.
After a winless October, the sun finally shined on the Gators with the calendar flipped to November.
“I'm happy for our football team,'' Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “We've been through a tough time.''
The four-game losing streak was the Gators' longest since 1988 and injected some unexpected storylines into Saturday's matchup with Vanderbilt, a school that is traditionally the SEC's weakest.
How determined were the Gators to leave The Swamp on Saturday with their first victory since Sept. 24 at Kentucky? Consider that after three consecutive running plays netted nine yards, Muschamp had the Gators lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 15 with less than five minutes to go in the game.
Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers had just led the Commodores down the field on a 14-play, 66-yard drive to trim Florida's lead to 20-14. Before the snap, the Gators got a gift when Vanderbilt's Rob Lohr jumped off-sides on a hard count by quarterback Trey Burton.
“We were going for it,'' Muschamp said. “We were going to win the game.''
The penalty gave Florida a first down and five plays later running back Jeff Demps took a pitch from Brissett, put a wicked move on safety Kenny Ladler, and then raced 52 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
The Homecoming crowd roared as loud as it had all day when Demps scooted into the open and raced toward the end zone.
A sigh of relief was let out for a program that needed a victory to feel good heading into a showdown at South Carolina and Gators icon Steve Spurrier next week.
“It was a rough month of October,'' quarterback John Brantley said. “To be able to start November out with a win against a good Vanderbilt team gives us a lot of momentum. We'll be smiling when we're watching football at our houses or apartments [Saturday night].''
The victory wasn't picture perfect.
Brantley had to leave the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury and this one has nothing to do with the right ankle he hurt in the Oct. 1 loss to Alabama – Florida's last home game prior to Saturday.
Brantley took a hard hit on a third-down completion to Quinton Dunbar on the Gators' first drive of the fourth quarter. He fell to the ground and appeared to hurt his hand or shoulder. Muschamp is expected to update Brantley's status on Monday.
The Gators racked up 280 total yards in the first half – more than they had in any game during the losing streak – but managed less than half of that (130) in the second half as Rodgers moved the Commodores up and down the field.
Rodgers passed for 220 yards in the second half, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Boyd with 1:16 left that made those in the announced Homecoming crowd of 90,144 a little jittery. On the ensuing onside kick, Florida's Jordan Reed leapt into the air to make perhaps his most important catch of the season.
When it was over, the Gators had more bounce in their step than we've seen since a 48-10 win at Kentucky six weeks ago.
Afterward, Muschamp didn't overstate the fifth win of his coaching career or breaking the losing streak. He said the approach to Vanderbilt was the same as it was against Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia.
The results didn't turn out nearly as well against those teams as on Saturday.
“These guys have pulled together. You couldn't walk onto our practice field on Monday or Tuesday of this week … and see a team and know the difference if we were 5-4 or 9-0 by the way they compete on the practice field,'' Muschamp said. “I'm really proud of our team from the standpoint of continuing to push, practice, compete – which they do.
“I've never been disappointed with our effort or how we've approached regardless of the negativity of what's happened.''
While Muschamp focused on the big picture, the players expected to have more fun Saturday night than they have had in a while.
The scene in the locker room was much different than that of Muschamp's postgame press conference.
“It was crazy in there,'' said running back Mike Gillislee. “We had forgot the feeling, so it was a great feeling.''
Winning does that to a team.
