Vanderbilt was on the wrong end of a 34-0 beating from Houston last week and came into Saturday’s road trip to Florida with a -11 turnover margin — one of the worst marks in the nation.

The Gators, on the other hand, led the SEC in turnover margin and were a 21-point favorite. Thanks to a 27-3 pasting of Georgia last week, they were also poised to capture the SEC East crown with a win.

The game had all the makings of a laugher for the Gators, but it wasn’t the least bit amusing until Austin Hardin’s 43-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter helped Florida escape with a 9-7 win.

5 TAKEAWAYS

Warrior poets: That’s how William Wallace in “Braveheart” described his fellow Scotsmen, and the term could apply to the Vanderbilt defense. The Commodores forced 4 turnovers and allowed only 1 touchdown in a valiant effort.

Staying in their lane: It seemed pretty clear that Vanderbilt knew it didn’t match up well with the Florida pass rush or its secondary. So, the Commodores ran the ball. A lot. Vandy ran it on 48 of its 62 plays. It wasn’t thrilling on 47 of those plays, but the plan was good enough to put the visitors in position to pull an upset.

Quarterback play: Johnny McCrary deserves credit for not turning the ball over. That’s really all he did well as he was 3-for-14 passing for 30 yards on the day.

Pushing the right buttons: Florida coach Jim McElwain spent the week auditioning kickers to replace Hardin. He sent walk-on Neil MacInnes in to kick the extra point after the lone Florida touchdown. But with the game on the line, he turned back to Hardin, who drilled the game-winning field goal.

Finding some points: The defense couldn’t have been much better. But aside from that 74-yard touchdown run from Webb with less than a minute left before halftime, the Commodores offense was awful. When a team wins the turnover battle 4-0 and holds the opponent to single digits, and loses, that’s on the offense (and the coaches).

REPORT CARD

Offense: D- — Webb’s electrifying scoring run and hard-nosed running all day long are the only things saving this grade from an “F.” The service academies have more effective passing games.

Defense: A+ — I don’t know what else the Vandy defense could have done. It forced turnovers, it got 3 sacks and kept the Florida offense on lock down all day long. A superlative effort.

Special Teams: D — Tommy Openshaw’s 12-yard punt in the fourth quarter spoiled an otherwise solid punting day and set up Florida with nice field position on what would wind up being the game-winning drive. Florida’s Brandon Powell opened the game with a 71-yard kickoff return, and Vandy allowed Antonio Callaway to post a 16-yard average on his 7 punt returns.

Coaching: C+ — If you give the offensive coaching an “F” and the defensive coaching an “A,” then the overall grade should be a “C.” But the defense was so incredible, I’m inclined to bump it slightly higher.

Overall: B- — I’m not sure either team actually deserved to win this game, but you can’t argue with the heart and effort. It would have been a massive win for the Commodores, and with even an average offense, they would have won this game going away.

GAME PLAN

  • The run-heavy plan was probably the right call. Every time McCrary dropped back, he was under pressure — and staring at blanketed receivers downfield. Every passing play was a potential disaster.
  • Everyone left on Florida’s schedule just got a blueprint on slowing down Treon Harris and the Florida offense. The Commodores mixed coverages, keyed on the run and forced Harris to throw under duress.

GAME BALLS

RB Ralph Webb: He scored the lone Vanderbilt touchdown and accounted for 118 of his team’s 175 yards.

LB Zach Cunningham: He posted 9 tackles, 2 of them for a loss, and a sack to pace the defense.

S Ryan White: Had a key interception in the second quarter to halt a Florida drive and quiet the home crowd.

INJURY UPDATE

WR Trent Sherfield did not play after halftime. No explanation was given.