Florida returns to the Swamp after road drubbing and hosts skidding Vanderbilt on homecoming

2023-10-05 23:50

Florida returns to the Swamp following a 33-14 drubbing at Kentucky and will face Vanderbilt on homecoming

Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC) at Florida (3-2, 1-1), 4 p.m. ET (SEC Network).

Line: Florida by 18 ½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Series record: Florida leads 43-11-2, winning 30 of the last 32 meetings.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Coming off a 33-14 drubbing at Kentucky, the Gators return to the Swamp for a homecoming game against reeling Vandy. Florida has won three straight at home and should have plenty of motivation considering last week’s dreadful performance and last year’s 31-24 stunning loss in Nashville. The Commodores have dropped four in a row since a 2-0 start.

KEY MATCHUP

Florida’s pedestrian and predictable offense versus Vanderbilt’s sieve of a defense. It might look like a pillow fight. The Commodores are giving up 40 points a game during their skid. The Gators are last in the SEC in scoring, averaging 19 points a game against FBS opponents. Florida coach Billy Napier continues to call plays despite public pleas for him to relinquish that role.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vanderbilt: Will Sheppard caught five passes for a season-high 98 yards against Missouri and now ranks 10th in program history with 1,826 yards receiving.

Florida: Ricky Pearsall has 30 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns this season. He also has nine of the team’s 22 pass plays that gained 15 or more yards.

FACTS & FIGURES

Vanderbilt’s only two wins in Gainesville came in 1945 and 2013. … The Commodores rank third in the SEC and 24th nationally with nine takeaways. … Vandy freshman London Humphreys leads the SEC with 24.9 yards per reception. … Vandy’s Matthew Hayball leads every level of college football with 11,531 career punting yards. … Florida QB Graham Mertz has completed 79.1% of his passes, which leads the SEC and ranks third nationally behind Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. … Florida will be without WR Caleb Douglas and TE Jonathan Odom and has several more players — most notably RB Trevor Etienne and LT Austin Barber — listed as questionable. ... The Gators have scored in 441 consecutive games, an NCAA-record streak that began in 1988.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll