Dooley at the Half: Vanderbilt staying in game vs. Florida

Sun sports columnist Pat Dooley looks at the first half of Florida-Vanderbilt:

Vandy held the ball

• Vanderbilt did exactly what a lot of teams have tried to do to Florida unsuccessfully. The Commodores limited Florida's possessions by holding onto the ball picking up 11 first downs and converting four third-down tries. Florida ended up having only six possessions and one of them was with one play with 18 seconds left in the half.

Live updates:Florida Gators, led by Kyle Trask, take on Vanderbilt

Kyle wasn't being Kyle

• Kyle Trask, looked pretty average for much of the first half. There was a flat-footed throw that was underthrown and a couple of passes that simply weren't what everybody has been used to. But the last drive was more like what we have been seeing when he drove the Gators 85 yards with all but three yards coming through the air. The finish was one of those passes that he threw where only Tre Grimes could get it and he did for a 34-yard touchdown.

No run game

• The Gators were unable to generate anything with the rushing game after using it effectively last week against Arkansas. Florida rushed for only 37 yards, 43 if you take out Trask's sack yards. Even with the struggles Florida had, the Gators were on track for what would have been a decent yardage total (with 230 at the half) under the last two coaches.

Tough time:Florida Gator defense, led by coordinator Todd Grantham, getting worked early by Vanderbilt

More defensive struggles early

• Florida's defense looked awful at the start of the game. The Gators seemed confused in the secondary and were missing tackles like the early part of the season. They seemed to figure some things out and only allowed one first down on Vanderbilt's last three possessions. Considering that Florida only generated 17 points, the defense had to play better in the second quarter.