Florida coach Billy Napier on the sideline during a frustrating afternoon at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday in Nashville. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Gators Stumble and Tumble at Vanderbilt
Saturday, November 19, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – They will talk about what happened here Saturday afternoon at FirstBank Stadium all this coming week at the University Club and Library Lawn on Vanderbilt's campus.
Meanwhile, the Gators will try to forget it. It won't be easy.
Florida's 31-24 loss to the Commodores – UF's first defeat on Dudley Field since Emmitt Smith's sophomore season – stunned a Gators team coming off back-to-back wins. The list of what went wrong for the Gators is nearly as long as your grandmother's Thanksgiving grocery list.
"We did not play winning football,'' first-year Gators coach Billy Napier said. "There's a lot of Florida beating Florida out there today."
Quarterback Anthony Richardson passed for 400 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause Saturday. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Before delving deeper into a miserable day for Florida on a chilly Nashville afternoon, let's get straight to that list. Here are some reasons the Gators staggered to the team busses for their somber flight home following Saturday's loss:
An unnecessary roughness penalty on defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen on third-and-8, and later in the same drive, a facemask penalty against Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. on third-and-12. Both penalties extended the Commodores' 12-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Mike Wright to Jayden McGowan.
A muffed punt by Jason Marshall Jr. inside UF's 5-yard line was recovered for a touchdown by long snapper Wesley Schelling, giving the Commodores a 14-6 lead at halftime.
Costly first-half injuries to receivers Ricky Pearsall and Marcus Burke, depleting a unit that was already without injured Xzavier Henderson and Ja'Quavion Fraziars and veteran Trent Whittemore, who announced earlier in the week that he was entering the transfer portal.
A pair of failed two-point conversions, the first coming on Florida's opening drive of the third quarter. After UF quarterback Anthony Richardson threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Montrell Johnson Jr. to trim the lead to 14-12, Vanderbilt's CJ Taylor tipped the potential tying pass to a wide-open Daejon Reynolds to the turf, preserving Vandy's lead.
A questionable holding penalty on Gators linebacker Amari Burney on third-and-14 resulted in a Vanderbilt first down on a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive that ended with Wright's 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gavin Schoenwald.
A fluke interception by Commodores cornerback Jaylen Mahoney on a Richardson pass to receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman. As Chiaokhiao-Bowman twisted to catch the ball, the ball bounced off his arm. Mahoney caught the ricochet before the ball hit the ground. Wright connected with tight end Ben Bresnahan for a 28-yard touchdown on the next play.
Florida's inability to take advantage of Marshall's interception in the fourth quarter. The Gators, trailing 28-18 after Richardson's 74-yard scoring pass to Reynolds, picked up seven yards before failing on a fourth-and-3 at their own 12. Vanderbilt kicked a field goal for a 31-18 lead on the ensuing drive.
The Gators didn't wilt, cutting the lead to 31-24 on Richardson's 16-yard pass to Reynolds with 3:13 left (Adam Mihalek's extra-point was no good). The Gators forced a three-and-out and took over with 46 seconds left, but after driving to Vanderbilt's 34, Richardson's Hail Mary pass sailed out of the end zone to end the game.
What could go wrong seemingly did go wrong as the Gators (6-5, 3-5) lost to the Commodores (5-6, 2-5), who, after snapping a 26-game Southeastern Conference losing streak a week ago against Kentucky, now have a chance to become bowl eligible with a win over Tennessee next week in the regular-season finale.
"I told them last week that we're going to do more of these celebrations," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea told the SEC Network as students streamed onto the field to celebrate a rare home win over the Gators. "We knew we had to stop the run. They did that. We knew if we forced them to throw to beat us, they would have trouble."
Lea proved to be correct.
The Gators averaged 332.5 yards rushing per game in their back-to-back wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina. However, they managed only 45 yards on the ground Saturday.
Richardson finished 25 of 42 for 400 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He threw two scoring passes to Reynolds, who finished with a career-high eight catches for 165 yards. Still, the Richardson-Reynolds connection was not enough for the Gators to avoid their first loss at Vanderbilt since 1988.
"I could have done some things better,'' said Richardson. "Made some better reads, better checks for us, or even been a better leader. I definitely missed opportunities. You know, red-zone scoring opportunities. That's where we want to take advantage of. We didn't do that today, so that's why we lost."
Florida's loss Saturday was reminiscent of their last defeat at Dudley Field 34 years ago. Florida was without Smith, quarterback Kyle Morris, and wide receivers Willie Snead and Stacey Simmons in that game. The Gators played much of Saturday's game without Pearsall, Burke, and injured safety Rashad Torrence II, who went down in the first quarter. The Gators also lost starting linebacker Ventrell Miller for targeting in the second half, stripping the defense of its heartbeat.
But this loss transcended one player or play.
"It wasn't our best ball,'' Burney said. "We have to put this aside tomorrow and next week and try to win the [Florida State] game."
Napier attributed the loss to a myriad of factors.
He referenced the two missed red-zone opportunities in the first half that resulted in a pair of Mihalek field goals instead of touchdowns. Florida committed seven penalties for 80 yards. Vanderbilt scored 14 points off UF turnovers.
Add them all up, and the Gators fumbled the momentum they carried to Nashville. They must regroup quickly for Friday night's game at Florida State and the possibility of a second consecutive 6-6 regular season.
"It's a setback, no question about it,'' Napier said. "I think problems are often opportunities in disguise. I think that it's a little bit of a reality check to some degree. We've got to take care of the ball. We've got to eliminate the penalties. We have to rush the ball effectively. They exposed some of our depth issues. There's a lot of things that this can teach us. I think, ultimately, that's what's important here, that we learn from the experience. I think our group is well versed on what winning football looks like.
