The Opening Kickoff -- Florida at Vanderbilt -- #UFvsVandy

Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications

The Opening Kickoff -- Florida at Vanderbilt -- #UFvsVandy

Friday, September 30, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter

The No. 23-ranked Gators look to rebound from their first loss on Saturday in Nashville.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

The Opening Kickoff

Florida at Vanderbilt
#UFvsVANDY
Saturday, 12:00 p.m.
Vanderbilt Stadium
Broadcast Info | Game Notes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Gators returned to the Volunteer State on Friday afternoon six days after leaving a dejected group.

Florida's 38-28 loss to Tennessee last week was humbling and stunning.

"We fully expected to win that game,'' quarterback Austin Appleby said.

Gators head coach Jim McElwain called the loss a "very disappointing outcome," especially since Florida led 21-0 in the second quarter and sent the Vols to the locker room at halftime under a cascade of boos.

The most common question McElwain and the players faced this week was how the team would respond on Saturday when No. 23 Florida visits Vanderbilt.

"We've got to finish and we can't get comfortable,'' offensive lineman David Sharpe said. "We're going to face adversity. That's why we play. You know, we've got to finish out. Don't take your foot off the gas."

That appeared to happen in Knoxville. The Gators want to play a different tune here in the Music City.

For more on the Florida-Vanderbilt game, here is The Opening Kickoff:

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THREE QUESTIONS WITH … RECEIVERS COACH KERRY DIXON

Q: What is your evaluation of the group of freshmen receivers over the first four games of their careers?

A: It's definitely a learning curve for the young guys. You know, Josh [Hammond] and Freddie [Swain], they both got here early on so they understand the offense a lot better. And then Rick [Wells] and Tyrie [Cleveland] both missed some time during fall camp, so they're just now catching up to the learning curve. But those guys have done a great job. They care about it, they come in and get extra work and that's a competitive group. Those young guys are really competitive. They want to play and they want to push the guys in front of them, so it's good.

Q: When did you realize Antonio Callaway had potential to be a breakout receiver?

A: It's funny because after the very first practice he had here, I thought he was special. We do a release drill in practice versus the DBs, and just his initial quickness off the ball was elite. And it's starting to show.

Q: What are areas he has improved in during his time in the program?

A: Antonio's ball skills are a lot better. He plays with a better sense of urgency, and that comes with a year of experience. He knows the offensive scheme a lot better. So that's helping him out a ton. One of the things that he really has to pay attention to is the attention to detail. And I think once he gets that done as far as his release techniques, why I have to run a certain route a certain way, then he'll really excel.

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THREE STORYLINES

The chatter all week around the Gators has been how will they bounce back from the stunning loss at Tennessee? The Gators built a 21-point first-half lead at Neyland Stadium and then it vanished during a tsunami of 38 consecutive points by the Vols. They say the loss won't linger. Stay tuned.
The Florida offense was spectacular in the first half at Tennessee as quarterback Austin Appleby engineered three scoring drives. The offense disappeared in the second half until late, highlighted by six consecutive drives that produced nothing. Which unit will we see Saturday?
The Gators exit September in the rare position of trailing Tennessee in the SEC East race. There is still way too much season left to draw any conclusions on how the division race will play out, but the Gators can't lose to the Commodores and expect to make it back to Atlanta.

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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin Appleby threw for 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in last week's loss. He played well enough for Florida to win and his teammates backed up that assertion. If Appleby has another big game Saturday, it will make for an interesting decision for head coach Jim McElwain when Luke Del Rio is fully recovered from his knee injury.
We heard a lot about freshman receiver Tyrie Cleveland long before he arrived on campus over the summer. Cleveland was ranked among the top receiving prospects in the 2016 signing class and was hampered by a hamstring injury in camp. He hauled in a 36-yard reception at Tennessee and could provide the Gators with another playmaker if he can continue to get acclimated to the offense.
Gators cornerback Quincy Wilson has been really good early in the season. The football analytics community has Wilson having a better season thus far than teammate Teez Tabor. Both players are All-American candidates and if Wilson, who is battling a leg injury, can continue to play at a high level, opposing quarterbacks face a difficult decision on which side of the field to throw to.

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THE QUOTE FILE

"When he gets to the second level, he can go ahead and give you a leg and take it away. He's a hard guy to tackle and get clean shots on, and that's really what separates him and makes him what he is." -- Gators head coach Jim McElwain on Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb
"If we're just going to be upset about it and nothing's going to come from it, then it doesn't really mean a whole lot." -- Gators quarterback Austin Appleby on how team must respond to loss at Tennessee
"At the end of that they found out who they are. That's a football team that is willing to go 60-plus minutes believing in each other and playing extremely hard to get the W. To me, that's who we are now and that's who we need to be going forward." -- Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason on Commodores' OT win against Western Kentucky
"He showed that he could make the plays down the stretch. We really believe in him." -- Vanderbilt receiver C.J. Duncan on quarterback Kyle Shurmur, who led comeback in last week's win
"Those guys are going to have to step in there and play with pad level, play with a sense of urgency, do your job, stay gap sound, compete, not guess, you know, all those type of things. The communication when you get new guys in there has got to be [on point]." -- McElwain on defensive line without the injured Joey Ivie

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INJURY REPORT

PROBABLE: CB Quincy Wilson (leg), LB Daniel McMillian (neck); QUESTIONABLE: QB Luke Del Rio (knee), OL Tyler Jordan (eye); OUT: DL Joey Ivie (thumb).

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CHARTING THE GATORS

Sophomore receiver Antonio Callaway is off to a quick start. Callaway leads the team with 17 catches and 335 yards, well ahead of the pace from his freshman season (35 catches, 678 yards). Callaway has quickly made his mark at Florida, tying Reidel Anthony as the third-fastest receiver in school history to reach 1,000 career yards:

PLAYER	GAMES
Carlos Alvarez	9
Jabar Gaffney	10
Antonio Callaway	17
Reidel Anthony	17
Percy Harvin	20
Jacquez Green	21

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WEBB SPINNER

Vanderbilt junior running back Ralph Webb is one of those rare players to leave Gainesville and become a star at another SEC school other than Florida.

A product of Gainesville High, Webb enters Saturday's game averaging 118 yards per game and 613 yards shy of breaking Zac Stacy's career rushing record.

The Gators know all about him (see UF coach Jim McElwain's comment above in 'The Quote File'). They also remember this play from last year's nail-biter at the Swamp:

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10 QUICK HITTERS

The Gators have six interceptions over their last three games and now rank 10th in the country after not forcing a turnover in Week 1 against UMass.
Florida leads the series against Vanderbilt 37-10-2, including a 17-7-1 record in Nashville. The Gators' last loss at Vanderbilt was in 1988. Florida has won 12 in a row at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur has increased hit passing yards each game: 73 against South Carolina, 113 against Middle Tennessee State, 149 against Georgia Tech and a career-high 279 against Western Kentucky.
The Gators lead the SEC in third-down offense, converting 53 percent (35 of 66) through the season's first four games. Vanderbilt's defense ranks 12th in the conference on third down, allowing opponents to convert 43.5 percent (27 of 62).
Gators sophomore receiver Antonio Callaway had four catches for 134 yards at Tennessee and leads the SEC in receiving yards per game (111.7), which ranks 13th nationally.
Austin Appleby's 296 yards passing in his first UF start a week ago ranks third in school history for most yards by a Florida quarterback in their debut behind Shane Matthews (332 yards) and Tim Tebow (300).
Vanderbilt is seeking to win back-to-back games for the first time under head coach Derek Mason, who is 9-19 since he replaced James Franklin in 2014.
Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham is second in the conference in tackles (38) and is tied for second in tackles for loss (7). Florida's leading tackler is linebacker Alex Anzalone with 26.
The Gators are the only FBS team with five different players with at least two sacks: Anzalone, Jarrad Davis, Jabari Zuniga, Jordan Sherit and Jachai Polite. The Gators have 17 sacks through four games, a pace that would give them 51 during the regular season.
Florida has struggled on punt returns, averaging just 4.6 yards on 13 attempts, 10th in the league. Vanderbilt is worse. The Commodores are 14th, averaging only 4.2 yards on six returns.

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NOT-SO-EARLY RISERS

It's no secret the Gators did not perform particularly well in early starts in Jim McElwain's first season.

The Gators narrowly avoided upsets against Vanderbilt and Florida Atlantic before falling hard to Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.

Saturday's game against Vanderbilt has a noon ET (11 a.m. CT) start, so the Gators will be up and early before heading over to Vanderbilt Stadium.

"It's like you roll out of bed and you've got to get ready to play,'' senior safety Marcus Maye said. "You gotta have the mindset of we've got to start early, start fast."

The Gators woke up early during the week to help prepare. They don't want to have a wake-up call against the Commodores.

"There really isn't an excuse,'' McElwain said. "We scrimmage during fall camp at noon for that reason. We put ourselves in position to play at noon. How's that? So we better get used to it."

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WHAT THEY'RE WRITING

Florida's offense still belongs to Luke Del Rio, but can Austin Appleby change that? Via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.
Gators sort through the lessons of Knoxville writes Matt Baker of The Tampa Bay Times.
Vanderbilt's Ralph Webb might be the best SEC running back we're not talking about writes ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff.
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason hopes progress equals more wins writes Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel.
Highly touted receiver Tyrie Cleveland progressing for Gators writes Ryan Young of SECCountry.com.
Vanderbilt offense in rare, good company writes Adam Sparks of The Tennessean.

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BOTTOM LINE

The Gators took the loss at Tennessee hard, which tells us two things: they expected to win and they expect to be playing for championships later in the season. All that remains possible if they can quickly recover and stay near the top of the SEC East. The Gators own a significant talent advantage over Vanderbilt and if they show up Saturday ready to play, look for them to return to the win column with a dose of momentum heading into next week's home game against LSU.