NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After falling behind 21-3 to Vanderbilt midway through the second quarter Saturday, there was no panic on the Florida sideline. Instead, there was a calming voice of reason, and it came from a senior who’s seen and experienced a lot over the past four years.
“(Tight end) C’yontai Lewis came up to me and was telling me, ‘No matter what, no matter if it’s 31-0, you’re our guy, we’re always going to be rocking with you,’ ” quarterback Feleipe Franks said. “He said, ‘There’s never a point in the game where we don’t have an opportunity to come back.’
“All our guys think that way. They were thinking that no matter what the deficit is, we were going to go out there and keep on playing, we were going to be all right.”
Without a hint of panic or even the slightest sense of urgency, the No. 14 Gators kept methodically playing Saturday, and they came all the way back, overcoming the 18-point deficit to down the Commodores 37-27 before 31,118 at Vanderbilt Stadium.
In moving to 6-1 on the season and 4-1 in the SEC, the Gators outscored the Commodores 34-6 over the final two-and-a-half quarters, overcoming some crushing early turnovers, a rash of mental mistakes and a bench-clearing incident that could have led to a brawl between the two teams late in the first half.
The comeback win ties for the biggest in school history on the road, matching the rally from a 21-3 deficit at Kentucky in 2003.
“Great win, great team win,” UF coach Dan Mullen said. “This team’s learning a lot of different ways to win games. We’ve won some games following the plan to win. We’ve won games making big, explosive plays. We won kind of that drag out back-and-forth brawl. We come in today, and we don’t follow the plan to win.
“But we find a way to not let go of the rope, don’t let go of the rope. You find a way, I don’t care how far, if you’re getting dragged across the field, it’s burning through your hands, you don’t let go of the rope. You just grasp and you hold on until you get your feet in the ground and you start tugging and pulling back. And we did that.”
On a day when the Gators desperately needed their offense to come through, it did in a big, game-altering way.
Franks threw for a career-high 284 yards and two touchdowns, tailbacks Lamical Perine and Jordan Scarlett both rushed for more than 100 yards and the Gators rolled up a season-high 576 total yards to make the comeback possible.
“We didn’t start as fast as we wanted to,” Franks said. “We kind of got off the plan to win a little bit as a team, but it shows the resilience. We’ve got to keep on working, forget about the (last) play. I had two turnovers today, from just myself at the quarterback position. That’s just the players stressing at me to keep it going and come back out there and play the next play. That’s what it’s all about.
“We never lost confidence. It’s more those momentum changes that I gave up. Everyone just believing in me, they’ve always got my back, like ‘Come on, we’ve still got this.’ Stuff like that helped us come back and keep the momentum on our side when it really wasn’t.”
Mullen said the Gators have learned from their one loss this season to Kentucky a month ago. In that game, when things went wrong, some of the players tried to make too much happen and ended up giving up even more big plays getting themselves out of position.
It was a different story Saturday after things went south in the first half.
“The team learned from our one loss this year,” Mullen said. “If we get frustrated, we’ll get you coached up. Don’t try to cowboy and do your own thing. We’re going to make some adjustments, we’re going to scheme some things up, if we need to.
“Some of it’s just lack of execution, but don’t go overboard just trying to make a special play. Just execute cleaner, play a little harder, a little more strain, a little more cleaner execution.
“I just said, ‘Hey, let’s just execute and finish on the offensive side of the ball. Defense, we were getting knocked off the ball a little bit, so we’ve just got to fit the gaps, strain, get guys on the ground, force them to drive the length of the field. And when you get them in a passing situation, go make a play. And we did enough of that in the second half to win.”
The comeback began in the closing minutes of the first half, with the Gators scoring 10 unanswered points with a 7-yard TD run by Perine and a 25-yard field goal by Evan McPherson to make it a 21-13 game.
UF took over in the second half. Franks threw a 38-yard TD pass to Van Jefferson, Scarlett scored on a 48-yard run and Freddie Swain caught an 11-yard TD pass from Franks. McPherson iced the win with a 43-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the game.
“I’d say it was just us locking in and focusing,” Scarlett said. “We had a lot of mistakes early on in the game, and mistakes happen in football. It’s just about how you fight through adversity and how you respond. I think we responded really well.”
Up next
Who: No. 14 Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at No. 2 Georgia (6-1, 4-1)
When: 3:30 p.m. Oct. 27
Where: Jacksonville
TV: CBS
Radio: 103.7-FM, AM-850
I would add on the road to the headline
We typically struggle at Vandy, here we had to beat the refs as well. The targeting call was by the rule as I reviewed it. Now the rule needs to be more limited in the specific areas where it applies. A crack back block is specifically mentioned, it should be totally legal. Great come back, adjustments etc. The defense must have been held a lot.
Vulcan. I totally disagree. A blocker should never be able to blindside and defenseless player, as was the case with Houston’s cheap and classless hit on the Vandy DL. Houston could have accomplished his goal by just getting in the Vandy player’s way on that punt return. Houston deserved to be kicked out and I hope Mullen reams him a big one for that stain on the comeback win. He could have seriously injured that Vandy player. No place for that in football anymore.
And I understand why the Vandy coach was upset. But how he acted in front of the Florida bench was classless, and he may even been intending to insight the Florida players to get them kicked out. I think the Vandy HC is a good coach, but he often lets his emotions get the best of him. He did today, and it cost Joseph playing time today. Thank goodness he will be able to start vs. Georgia since he sat out the second half of the game.
Totally agree. I HATE the current targeting rule, but that hit met the standard if ever one did. It was a dirty hit, thug ball, and I’m glad he got ejected.
Go Gators!
Thug ball? It was a clean block on the front side, shoulder to chest. The targeting rule applies to contact of a defenseless opponent above the shoulders.
Agree gelco
Agree 100% Tampa. I hated seeing that play. Nothing to do with being a fan. I’m talking on a human level. Not too long ago that was a legal block, and would be celebrated. A good rule change there.
don’t forget he was the guy who took out Del Rio last year with a cheap shot. Gotta wonder if maybe the gators weren’t keeping an eye out for a chance to paste him one.
Mark, Houston was not a part of the team last year and was therefore not at the Vandy game. Houston, especially, should maintain nothing but total control of his actions on the football field and not be looking to take out another team’s player or any reason…..EVER. And that should also apply to every member of the Florida football team. And if I recall correctly, I believe the Vandy player was blocked into Del Rio’s knee last year and no penalty was called on the play.
Baloney! When you are on the field, keep your head “on a swivel”, as we used to say, and hit or be hit. The Vandy player was in pursuit of the runner, and was therefore fair game for the hit he took. Houston did not lead with his helmet or target the head, his shoulder pads and forearm hit first. The targeting rule is so subjective and and broadly interpreted that it needs to be tightened-up or scrapped. It is OK for a runner to lead with his helmet, AND push a tackler away by punching his face mask? Total BS. It was not a cheap shot, and was certainly not “thug ball”. Nowadays any time you see a big hit, it is automatically assumed to be targeting. Sometimes, attack angle, speed, and leverage will lay somebody out. That’s football.
Anytime a defensive player takes the angle that the Vandy player took against a sideline run, he is subject to partial blindside hits. Ejection was not called for. The Vandy player was not defenseless, he was just taking a bad angle and he paid for it.
Now, Joseph’s body slam was a different story. You don’t pile drive a ball carrier after the whistle. Even that was not “dirty” or “thug ball”. It was just dumb. Relentless effort is going to produce some plays like these. Would you rather suffer the penalty, or be pushed around like we were all last year, and in the KY game this season?
Well said, Trooper. All these “rule changes” have turned the sport soft. You can barely tackle now without double-checking for a ridiculous targeting flag. I’m actually shocked there are people who believed that was a “dirty” hit. Wow! It’s called “Football”. It’s a joke of a rule and an even more of a joke that led to a near bench-clearing brawl. Grow a set.
Sure it’s all good until that’s your son laid out concussed, or worse crippled or maimed for life! Times and football are changing get used to it!
Oh please! Spare me the hyperbole. The guy got knocked down, recovered, got up, and later came back in the game. People that are worried about getting crippled or maimed need to stick with swimming or badminton. The risk is inherent to games like football, baseball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, etc., etc. Changes are fine with me, but they need to be applied fairly and consistently. I predict that the targeting rule will be re-visited during the off-season, and clarified to be less subjective. Too many players have been denied playing time because of capricious application of a flawed rule. I agree that it was an aggressive hit. I don’t agree that it was intentionally “dirty” or “thug”.
Gotta maybe you should not let your child play football you know the risks I certainly wouldn’t if I was concerned about injuries football is a contact sport not flag football, things do happened I got hurt when I played other guy’s did too
Trooper. You need to go back and read the rule concerning that block. A helmet hit or no helmet hit to the head does not matter there. You can no longer make that kind of “crack back” (called that for a reason) block on a defenseless player anywhere on the body, and the Vandy player was totally defenseless in that situation. As I posted above, all Houston had to do was get in his way. And that big DL had no chance of ever touching Swain on that play. Totally dirty hit by Houston and it could have seriously hurt the Vandy player for life. It did take him out of the game. Florida players should always play with more character than that. But character has not always been associated with Houston during his college career.
Labeling a hit “dirty” implies malicious intent and willful violation of the rules. Unless you were in Houston’s head and monitoring his thoughts, you have no idea what he was thinking (he likely was not). You can certainly maintain that he violated a rule, and others can certainly have honest disagreement with that. But to tag a player with the “dirty” label is judgmental and supercilious in the extreme. You have apparently anointed yourself the undisputed expert on rules, player technique, and now character as well. Is there any aspect of the Gator program about which you have any lack of smug certainty? The burden of perfection you carry must be heavy indeed!
Anyone who has ever played football knows you just don’t “get in the way.” If you’re not going full out you may get beat. That’s what is wrong with the rule. If that guy has no chance to make the tackle, then take a knee dammit! If you think you can make the tackle, then keep going after him, but realize someone’s coming to take you out. That’s football. You want something else, then go to Europe.
Exactly!
Carlton. Football players, since the NCAA rule change, do exactly that (get in players way on returns). In fact, Gardner-Johnson did that on a return during the second half and avoid a penalty and being kicked out o the game. It is how players now play on kick returns unless the player can clearly see you coming. The Vandy player did not see Houston and had no idea he was coming. You have to back off or get in the way on those plays, period. Otherwise, you get called for targeting on a defenseless player and you are ejected for a very good and correct reason…..a players long-term health and well being. This is not a game being played for fans in ancient Rome, Italy, where athletes got devoured by lions and the fans loved it. At least not any more it is not, and thank goodness for that. If you want something else, go watch the bare fisted boxers who fight each other in cages and bloodthirsty morons watching outside the cages while foaming at the mouth.
crack backs have always been a part of football. That is how you get those big punt returns
George 73. Crack-back blocks were made illegal on all plays several years ago. You cannot hit a clearly defenseless player above the waste anywhere on a play. And I just watched an earlier return by Swain with just under 10 minutes left during the second quarter. I looked for Houston on that play. He ran down the field as Swain was coming up the field. Swain ran by the Vandy player as Houston came up to him. Instead of laying out the Vandy player with vicious hit as he did later in the quarter, Houston simply lowered his shoulder and got in the way of the Vandy player and the Vandy player slowed down and completely changed his direction and was unable to get anywhere near Swain. Perfect way to block on that play. It is sad that he did not repeat that type of encounter on the later punt return. One block was proper and appropriate, and the other one very dirty and illegal.
I agree Tampa! I played receiver in high school and loved to crack back, it was my way of putting a hit on a defensive player for a change. Very dangerous though.
Chic76. I played cornerback way back in the day. I got knocked out on a blindside hit by a tight end who did not like how I was covering him very well in the game. I woke up on the field and had no clue who I was or where I was until about six hours later. Crack back blocks are very dangerous, and especially up near the head and shoulders.
You remain clueless.
TampaGator. The guy blocked was not a defenseless player. He was ahead of the runner, running towards him and lining up to be in position to make the tackle, which is why he was blocked. Hard Frontside hit to the shoulderpads. The only legit grounds for targeting in this case is he may have left his feet while making the block. A defenseless player is typically standing in an area that is nowhere near the play. This is big boy football you will take hits.
It was a great game indeed. The turning point seem to be when the fake kick came. My voice is gone after from screaming in the stands.
Robbie, the final was not 16 to 10. But the Gators did barely win, as you predicted. But only because they shot themselves in the foot over and over again in the first half. I did not expect that kind of play in the first half by the Gators. I thought they would come out executing as they did without the turnovers and penalties. But I also expected the refs to be consistent in their calls. They were definitely not in the first half. But I think Mullen getting after them changed all of that nonsense for the most part.
Great win! Builds confidence to be able to come back from a big deficit. I so agree why get cute on 2nd and 1 when you’re on the 4? That was a head scratcher. Also time management poor before the half, we let precious seconds go by so when we got it to the 6 yard line only had 7 seconds left. Also, do we have screen plays in our offense?? On the other hand fake punt was yuuge.
Oh….is there anyone still on here that still thinks Scarlett is not very good. He and Perine are a lethal combination when they get decent point of attack blocking, and they got plenty of that today and they performed accordingly. Pierce ran hard, but sure had that ball loose in his hand on that fumble. Freshman error that could have been very costly. Hope he learns from that big mistake.
One thing that was really great was Franks ran right over, sat down next to him and put his arm around his shoulder. I saw other players co,int up and encouraging him. So good to see how these guys rally around each other. It’s always next play get em back.
Also, like you, I have always been a big Scarlett fan. Have been just waiting for him to break a big one, but he has run hard and made big plays all season when we needed them.
Completely agree that the coaches know what they are doing when it comes to running back rotation. Scarlett needed to play to shake off some rust at the beginning of the year. He is now starting to have the vision and burst to be a dominant back. Pierce will be a special player, but he is still a freshmen subject to making mistakes.
Good win today. I’m proud to see this team improve week to week. Under the previous staff, what we would see opening day would dictate what we would see all season. I have drank enough koolaid to believe the Georgia game is winnable. A month ago I couldn’t even let that thought enter my mind. This open date comes at the right time and I hope we can clean things up and play a complete game in the Gator Bowl. Work ‘em silly Gators!!!
A lot of heart was shown by the Gators today. Something that has been sorely missed for quite a while. Keep grinding, Gators.
Fellas we have a problem! Some Gator teams are just good no matter where they play. They dont need the swamp and home field advantage to win, like the 2008 team. This team is another matter altogether. It is clear after today that this is a team that desperately needs the Swamp to win. This team today COULD NOT beat LSU on a neutral field, much less Death Valley. Guess what? vs Ga is on a neutral field! LSU manhandled Ga at Death Valley today! Of our games left, Vandy was the weakest team by far of any SEC team we are to face. I will say we will win any game at the swamp the rest of the year but away is another matter. Fortunately, only Ga and FSU arent at home! To be run and thrown on like that by VANDY is pitiful. To have to come back from 18 down against the WEAK Vandy team is ominous! Vandy: who lost to ND 22-17, to SC 37-14(at home) and to Ga 41-13 and barely beat TN State (at home) 31-27! I never doubted they would win, even at 18 down; I was never nervous even though I had over 1K on the line, which I doubled, BTW. Theres no way Im going to pick them to win any away game, its just not clear what team will show up! Even if you dont agree with me , no one can deny that this team is terribly inconsistent! I dont see any way forward that they beat Ga on a neutral field. Play like today and they will be crushed!! Yes they are awesome at home with over 90k screaming , deafening roaring fans to unsettle the opposition, but away we just have no idea!
Yep, this Florida team has flaws. Mullen has told us that plenty of times himself. And we’ve all seen dominant teams, this isn’t one of them. Not sure what that reality has to do with anything. They are fun to watch. They are playing as a team. Coaching is excellent. There are a few games left on our schedule that we can lose – no doubt. But you keep hope alive by playing week by week, quarter by quarter; not by the covering the line (which we beat today), or where you lay your money.
Daz Just a troll. Spewing out cliches like Travis Schintzius spewed out whiteheads.
Yea, trolls bet over a $1000 on a team, moron!
Heres where their problem started. “During his radio show on Thursday before the game Dan Mullen warned that the team hadn’t had a great week of practice and it showed.” You play like you practice and apparently the players decided to waste this week of practice, that they could have been getting better for Ga, since they didnt need it for this overmatched team. Because of that the defense played undisciplined on Vandy’s 1st 2 TD drives. Then franks 2nd turnover gave them great field position and UF undisciplined defensive penalties gave them the goal line and a 3rd TD. It took the perceived slight of being “disrespected”(a term I cant stand for the attitude that goes with it)from the melee, for the defense to buckle down and to allow in the 2nd half just 138 yards, 16 running and 6 points, holding them to 2 of 8(25%) on 3rd down and their only turnover. For the offense to score like they did was no biggee because it was Vandy! It was expected on such an overmatched opponent, so that wasnt impressive at all. Again, play like this against Ga and they will be steamrolled. play like this against Mo and they dont come back to win or probably SC either. There was no reality in the comments here, its like everyone forgot this was Vandy we were playing, and instead acting like it was something great they just did. This was done to the closest thing to a cupcake in the SEC there is! Sure it was great they won, and sure it was fun to watch the comeback, but it was against Vandy! No great accomplishment. After the way they had been playing the last few weeks I really thought they had gotten better than to come out and lay an egg like this, and have to make a huge comeback to win and it taking being disrespected to motivate them to clamp down and play like they are supposed to. They had me believing they had a chance at the east title. Hopefully this will give the coaches another thing to kick them in the pants like UK to get these guys to play disciplined football all the time(both halves, it looked like MSU 1st half) and to put their all into every game and every play like a champion!
I don’t see it that way at all. I’m with CDM; this team is winning in multiple ways. It reminds me of the 2006 Team that won in very diverse ways. I’m not saying this team will be playing for the championship, but clearly the Gators don’t need the swamp to win. We have now won two games away from the swamp and I like the team’s grit. You can win games with talent and you can win on grit. When u combine the two, it’s a tough to beat combo.
That’s actually a good point. We’ve already won 2 away games and obviously didn’t need the Swamp for those. Albeit one of those games was against the second best SEC team from Tennessee. Mississippi State was a great road win.
There are a lot of things to be concerned about with this 2018 Gators team but they are fun to watch again, are playing their tails off and are figuring out ways to win.
Tennessee; Mississippi State; Vanderbilt. All three were away games, no?
Youre right I guess I wasn’t thinking as recently as that game and I didn’t think adding a “road” win at Vandy would further my point any.
When we played Tn and MSU they had terrible records and we expected to win so they arent any great example of winning on the road. MSU was so bad that I bet the house and won over 2 grand because I knew they were going to win. Their record showed it and I told everyone on here all that week that we were going to win. Does any one on here bother to examine an opponents record? Yet MSU is a perfect example of what I said. Even though the Gators should have won easily they struggled to pull out a very low scoring game. They spent the 1st half playing very undisciplined defense. Had they played them in the Swamp it wouldnt have even been close. Im not believing , but hoping the coaches can bust their backsides these next 2 weeks and we will see a different team come out on neutral ground in Jax that plays disciplined defense from the start of the game and can play like they have a 12th man, even with the stadium half red and black!
Bet the house and won two grand? Where do you live? Mississippi?
😀
MSU was 3-1 when we played them 3-2 when we were done. So, yea 3-2 is a worse record than 3-1, but u can’t complain about their record just because we made it worse!
MSU did not have a terrible record Hoss…
Daz, you know your stuff from previous posts…just disagree. You cannot do the “well this team won by this score, so it’s apples to apples” assessment. This team has flaws and is figuring out how to win. Every game has it’s own vibe…and road games in the SEC are hard..especially for whatever reason, historically in Nashville. We win ugly there. Case in point…the 96 Gators won 28-21 there….but beat then #7 LSU 56-10. We would have blown the doors off Vandy if not for the Franks int…and momentum in college ball is something you can never discount. The fact that we won going away is solid and good for THIS team.
We have won 3 games away from the swamp as I remember
Dan Mullen said it best in the post game. The SEC is a grind. It’s not one game on the schedule, but all of them combined that bites you. Yes, the team made some costly errors, but they also put up season highs on offense. To turn the ball over 3 times on the road and still win by 10 is pretty darn good. Yes, the defense gave up some big plays, but they got it together and played tough in the 2nd half. If you didn’t think that a mental letdown after 3 emotional games was a possibility then your not very realistic.
I find it hard to believe that this is serious. Every individual game is a reality to itself and tells us little to nothing about what to expect week to week. The Gators have won three away games (and MSU is no push over; it was tough enough to beat Auburn, so that they now have a 4-2 record — leading me to wonder what daz is talking about in a post below). Even more, the Gators had gone through a challenging three-week stretch (including two away games), so that an emotional let-down was pretty much inevitable. Finally, Vandy traditionally plays the Gators tough. My impression is that they are more intense in their games against UF than against UT, for whatever reason. In 1996, the Gators’ first NC year, UF struggled to beat Vandy, 28-21. And in 2006, the second NC year, the Gators managed a 25-19 win. This year’s team beat Vandy by a wider margin than either of those national-championship teams. I’m not saying that the Gators will make the playoffs — that is very unlikely — just that this is simply not a complaint that I can take seriously. But since some people seem to enjoy complaining more than enjoying a successful ride, then please have at it.
Talk to former players…going up there…it’s cold…often a noon game…40K tops and half our fans at a minimum…just hard to get up for….and all UF coaches have struggled there.
This weak Vandy team gave ND all they could handle at ND. ND will be rated in the top 4 this week. UGA had a breakout second half against Vandy and the score of that game did not reflect how tight it really was.
Daz. Florida will not beat Georgia is they turn the ball over in the red zone on second down and turn the ball over two more times in their own territory. They will lose if that happens. But, if Florida avoids turnovers and can run the ball consistently on Georgia, the Gators have a chance to beat Georgia in Jacksonville. But Florida will need to play a near flawless game and the best game they have played all year to beat Georgia, no doubt. And they cannot get a lot of personal foul penalties and get players thrown out either. And the LBs need to not overrun plays and miss tackles in gaps like they did vs. Vandy in the first half against Vandy. If they do, the Georgia RBs will make a lot of explosive runs as they did last year and will win big. But things are a lot more positive heading into Jacksonville than they were just after the loss to Kentucky, which was a loss in front of 90,000 people in The Swamp.
Vandy always played tough! It was just during sharkman and muskrat years its been nail biters! Remember Jared McGrath. He was from Ocala. I was happy for him because that’s were I’m from but he was doing it to my G’s!! Just don’t know why Vandy is always tough?
We won and w’s are what matters. But we are not a great team or at times a very good one. There are huge holes in our game yet we found a way to win as a team. Disappointed in the progress at times but we are light years better than last year. Ride the wave as far as it goes. Mullen has worked magic on these guys. I’m all in on the Mullen train but think our o has plateued in some areas sure to still set issues.
I don’t know 65, I think our offense will still improve throughout the year. I don’t think we will break any records and agree that they probably won’t progress as quickly as we’d like but as long as there is improvement every week that’s more than we could have ever hoped for the last few years. I mean, this game was Feleipe’s career highs in passing yards and the first game of the year with a 100 yard rusher and we had two of them! Maybe we don’t exceed either of those this year but if we improve in other areas but keep winning I’ll be a pretty happy Gator.
These guys fought clawed to three end that I think is the biggest take away. Wish we’d execute a few things better but they are learning to win. We’ve done the win ugly. I’d like to see the win with ease notice I didn’t say easy. but most of all we are on a good path.
Daz is definitely a troll. Our one loss was at home, and we we on at Tennessee (100k +) and Mississippi State (Cowbells).
The we’re +1 on common opponents with the butt sniffers.
The clown argument sorta dies with facts.
This team improves every week, but what I like most is the character. Flaws or not, I’d go into battle with this Gator squad any day.
Unbelievable that someone had the temerity to call Daz Wazlle a troll on here, a new low if there ever was one. A man can occasionally just be plain wrong without being called a troll!
I agree. Sometimes these arguments are painful but you can’t kill the messenger. To a certain extent his argument applies to everyone. Georgia list lost at LSU. LSU lost at Florida field.ygeres a reason it’s called home field advantage. But we did struggle with some details so there is plenty to work on. The linebacker Houston is a case in point. He’s gotten himself suspended and kicked out of games. I know he is talented but we’ve had a couple of guys in the past that were a stick of Dynamite looking for a match and that can mess up a good thing when it happens. But guys like Perrine and Reese are crucial imo to showing the character that is needed going forward.
No doubt he is no troll. That was a low blow. However, he can be a bit negative. Florida is exceeding expectations. Enjoy it! Maybe even us fans could use a week off to recharge our batteries.
Daz is no troll. And, yes, he can be negative at times. But when he is that, he is that without the negative nonsense mostly posted by the trolls on here.
Cosign Gator 6…ridiculous.
Well a win is a win and certainly I am happy. All teams need a little luck or at least have the ball bounce their way form time to time. The 2006 team didn’t outscore their opponents by a mile until the national championship game but they always found a way to win. This team is no different despite needing more depth and strength at the lines and even better quarterback play. The fight the team is showing is very important. That will carry them the rest of the season and that “push” can get them over the remaining barriers. Remember football is a team sport and it takes everyone doing their job to get it done. In this game, the defense slipped but the offense stepped up. Good team win. Go Gators!
”Franks threw for a career-high 284 yards and two touchdowns, tailbacks Lamical Perine and Jordan Scarlett both rushed for more than 100 yards…” -Gatorsports.com.
Along with the W, what matters is a career day for Franks and a great day of ”rushing” for Perine and Scarlett. And these Gators are 6-1. U.F. vs. U.G.A. is only 2 weeks away. That’s all that matters now.
”Work ’em silly, Gators!”
We had momentum early and drove ball right down field…tipped ball INT gave Vandy all the momentum. Defense basically was lollygagging on that long screen TD that put Vandy up more. Obviously the poor week of practice was a sign. But I love this team and the buyin they’ve given Mullen and Grantham. Even if they drop a couple more games, they are still going to be known as the team that changed the direction of the program and we should all be happy about that. We are bowl eligible and I’m counting Idaho as a win. Seven wins for sure. Very good chance to win vs FSU, Mizzou, and USC. UGA is going to be tough. I think we all would take Ten and Two or Nine and Three at the outset of season. We still got a shot at Eleven and One. Under our last two coaches we lose the game vs Vandy. But we fought back even though the refs allowed Vandy to have more than Eleven players on the field on multiple plays and seemed bent on throwing out as many players as they could. Crack back was against the rules but the Joseph second PF is a joke of a call. Mason should have been thrown out of the game for starting the near melee.
Gators 11 Opponents 1
You’ve been saying that since jump street, and occasionally you’ve posted to back it up. We still have some games to play and I don’t know yet how we’re going to play them, but let me say right now, Eugenio, that I’m beginning to see the light. Cuban Sam’miches on me at the Columbia if you’re right.
The glass is more than half full. This team has improved each week. They are showing “relentless effort”. The O-line is learning to zone block for the run game. Franks is playing better each week. I see less calls for Trask to play. The defense is coming along with the new defense. A young secondary and linebacker group are playing really good football. The coaching staff is working wonders with player development and mental toughness. On paper this is no better than a 10 to 15th ranked team, but I’m hoping for better. Before the season began no one expected to beat Georgia and win the East. After watching LSU dismantle the Dawgs and run over them, it’s a possibility for Florida to beat the Dawgs. It’s been a fun ride so far.
Vandy is not a good team because it has no depth. They have been competitive in the first half of games for years. This will not change until the institution decides to upgrade the facilities. ND, Northwestern, SCw, UCLA, and Stanford have high academic standards and and still have good teams. It’s shameful how Vandy enjoys the SEC nipple, but refuses to field a respectable football program. Surely they pat their own backs by channeling their conference’s largess into more important academics like safe spaces for snowflakes, and a new victim studies department.
They really need their alumni to pony up. Or at least sell more game tix!!
Thanks Gator 6. Maybe we can enjoy Cuban sandwiches on Calle 8 on the first day of of the new year.
It would be my pleasure.
Just looking at NCAA stats for offense and defense. Then I remembered. STATS are for LOSERS. The only stat that matters is Wins Losses. Forget where Gators and Franks are, where the D is and the O. Forget all that. Here is my opinion. If this Florida team can HOLD on to the ball and not throw picks, it will defeat Georgia. If not, the winner is wide open. Just my opinion and I respect all others–unless you start cursing at others. Remember this is just a game, even though it is big business for the NCAA and major colleges.
I like this better than any of the teams from the last 8 years. They are fun to watch. We have already won games that we were pick to lose. Georgia will be no exception. I like our chance to run the table and be in the SEC Championship game. Laugh if you want but this is how I fill about it. We seem to find ways to win games. Coaching is way up from last year. Recruiting should be better. Future is very bright. Good day……………..
We Gator fans are a sensitive bunch.
Its like some of us cheer our team and program unconditionally and some of us in our adult lives manage not to trash a bunch of 18-22 year olds when they don’t pass the eye test of a couch commando.
We as Gators fans are the best and worst thing about the program.
Interestingly enough, call a guy a grown man a troll and a few get upset. Grown man calls out 18-22 year olds working harder and with more dedication to something than most on this board will ever know, and you get defense of incessant negativity.
It’s a lack of perspective OBX. I absolutely agree with you and have posted on here multiple times that people forget that we are talking about 18-22 year old kids which most will not make the NFL. They play because they love playing and it helps them pay for school. Some of the derogatory comments and name calling of these kids gets to be a bit much.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not innocent when it comes out to pointing out poor play or performances but I at least try to keep
that in mind.
That’s the difference in this life than winners and losers. The losers always crticize the winners, but usually, not always, put it on the line themselves.
Hi Robbie,
Can you explain the targeting call? I watched 2 replays and the contact appeared to be shoulder to shoulder. I didn’t see the helmets touch. The Vanderbilt player was not defenseless, he was running down the field trying to get into the play.
Thanks
Ron
This was Vandy’s Bowl Game. They came out smoking and out executed us for almost a half.
But you play 4 quarters in a game. The Gators showed tenacity , resilience, depth and relentless effort.
This was a remarkable win. Mullen is a genie.
It’s just that simple…
I think you are right in perspective Dallas.
You said it better than I did.
Let’s play one at a time and let the CFP people take care of the 4. I will say, however, that having watched Notre Dame against Pitt and Va/ Tech, they are just NOT THAT GOOD. Too many media types have shamrocks in their eyes when ND struggles against a clearly inferior opponent. I do NOT think they should ,or will finish tin the Top 4. Unless they have some weapon on offense I have not seen, they do NOT belong in the playoffs in my opinion. Only KY and GA control their own destinty to the SEC championship game. KY must lost to GA and Gators beat GA (and Mizzou and South Carolina and Free Shoes U.) AN 11-1 RECORD WITH 3 wins vs. Top 10 opponents (make it 4 if they defeat Bama.) ThisEmail:*\\A run like puts Fla. in Final Four. Remember at the season start we were all hoping for 8-4, maybe a 9-3. This team is supposed too loaded fpr 2019-=20, especially if David Reese, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Politice and a few others stay for their 4th year.