Revenge on their minds? Gators hope to get even with Vanderbilt
By Drew Laing
Published:
Given Vanderbilt’s struggles this season, the Commodores don’t seem like a marquee matchup on any SEC team’s schedule. Derek Mason’s team has won just three games this season and been pushed to brink by lowly UMass and FCS foe Charleston Southern.
This should be an easy win for the Florida Gators.
But don’t mistake this week’s matchup as a tune-up game for the Gators. This is a weekend that Florida players circled on their calendars a long time ago.
Try a year ago.
The Commodores had the distinction of Florida’s homecoming opponent in 2013, usually a weekend reserved for a likely win for the home team. However, Vanderbilt had different plans that afternoon at The Swamp.
A James Franklin-led team throttled the Gators, beating them 34-17 and earning Vanderbilt’s first road win at Florida since 1945. His squad took advantage of a Florida team in the midst the program’s worst season since 1979 and extended a three-game losing streak, which eventually turned into seven games.
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Saturday night, the Gators hope to inflict similar pain onto the ‘Dores, who have yet to win a conference game all season.
“You can call it [motivating] too,” defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. “I mean, we shouldn’t have lost that game. That’s not a game you lose. Vanderbilt is not supposed to come into The Swamp and beat us, so we definitely got it marked on our calendar to beat them.”
The Gators are hoping they can carry their momentum from a huge 38-20 upset over the Georgia Bulldogs from last weekend. The win at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party seemed to inject new life into a Florida team that desperately needed some positive energy.
With a new quarterback and a new outlook on the end of its season, Florida’s still possesses an outside shot of winning the SEC East. However, head coach Will Muschamp stressed to his team early in the week to focus on this Vanderbilt game and nothing more.
“We need to bury the [Georgia] game and move on,” Muschamp said during his press conference. “At the end of the day, we need to win. And that’s laser focus on Florida and Vanderbilt for our football team. No scenario matters unless we win, and it starts at 7:30 in Nashville.”
Move on, the Gators must. Florida’s still very much behind the 8-ball in terms of reaching the SEC Championship game. The Gators will need some serious help from both Georgia and Missouri in order to win the division. With so many factors outside of their control, the Gators aren’t too focused on the scenarios, but more so on this weekend.
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Three of the four teams left on Florida’s schedule beat the Gators last season, so Vanderbilt is next up on the revenge tour and last year’s loss will be fresh on the minds of many Florida players.
“They completely embarrassed us last year,” senior center Max Garcia said. “We’re going to go to their house and we want them to experience the same disappointment they gave to us last year.”
“Really, that’s personal. We just use it as motivation this week,” junior defensive back Brian Poole explained.
“Everybody remembers the feeling last year.”
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
