Gators' Offense Found a Way to Win in End
Sunday, November 8, 2015 | Football
By TARYN BRAY
GatorZone.com Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty.
But it was a win, and when you play in the Southeastern Conference, you'll take it.
The Florida offense had a rugged day Saturday, scoring only nine points and gaining 258 total yards. The Gators entered Saturday's homecoming game against Vanderbilt averaging 31 points a game but the Commodores showed why their defense is ranked among the SEC's best.
Over and over.
The Gators started drives in Vanderbilt territory on six of their 12 possessions but were only able to produce points on two of those drives.
“Obviously, we have a long ways to go on our offense,” Florida head coach Jim McElwain said. “Sometimes there are games like this and champions figure out ways to win them.”
The first score came relatively early in the game when Kelvin Taylor rushed for a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:16 left in the first quarter. The Gators' next score didn't come until – wait for it – the fourth quarter with 2:22 left in the game.
A shanked 12-yard punt by Vanderbilt's Tommy Openshaw set up the Gators' decisive drive in a 9-7 victory at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium..
“He missed the punt,” Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason said. “We aren't going to excuse it, we aren't going to try and explain it.”
Openshaw's punt went out of bounds at Vanderbilt's 45-yard line and gave the sputtering Florida offense another shot at erasing a one-point deficit as a result of Ralph Webb's 74-yard touchdown run right before halftime.
When the Gators took over, it was the Treon Harris-to-Demarcus Robinson combination that ultimately put the Gators within field goal distance.
A junior wide receiver, Robinson didn't start Saturday's game, replaced by fellow junior Chris Thompson in the lineup. However, with the game on the line, Robinson was Florida's go-to receiver.
On the game-winning drive, Harris completed a pass to Robinson for a first down at the Vanderbilt 34-yard line . On the next play, Harris completed another pass to Robinson, this one for seven yards to Vanderbilt's 27.
After Robinson's two catches, Taylor rushed on back-to-back plays for two yards to the Vanderbilt 25, setting up a fourth-and-1. That's when McElwain called for the field goal unit to come onto the field.
Everyone wondered which kicker would get the final nod from McElwain in the potentially game-winning situation with 2:27 left. It was redshirt junior Austin Hardin who emerged from the huddle.
Hardin drilled the 43-yard attempt to put the Gators up 9-7.
Despite the offense's struggles, the Gators managed to string together enough plays on their final drive to get within distance for Hardin.
“We were all just thinking we got to make a play and score,” said sophomore wide receiver Brandon Powell. “The defense got us the ball back and it was our turn to put some points on the board and that's what we did.”
Robinson had a team-leading 106 yards on the day but had a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter that saw Vanderbilt get the ball back on their own 12-yard line. The Commodores were unable to score off the turnover, managing only 53 yards in the second half against Florida's stout defense.
“After that fumble, [Demarcus] responded well by making that catch over the middle to get the first down and set up the field goal so I think he played pretty good today,” Powell said.
Saturday marked the first game since 1968 that the Gators won by only scoring in single digits and it's clear that if the Gators plan to continue to rack up wins, they've got to keep drives alive better than they did against Vanderbilt.
But they won, and as they say, a win is a win.
A win that gave Florida its first SEC East title since Tim Tebow and the 2009 Gators.
“We just fought through adversity,” sophomore quarterback Treon Harris said. “We saw that we could fight and make a way to win the game.”
