Florida-Vanderbilt Preview

It's time for the annual grudge match between two hated rivals. Vandy's coming to town!!! The past few years, the Dores have managed to make it to the Florida game with a decent shot at making a bowl. That's not the case this year. Bobby Johnson's bunch have stumbled and fumbled their way to a 2-7 mark.

I really don't have much to say about this game. I hope the Gators are more fired up and ready to play than I am to watch it. I've already begun the countdown to South Carolina.


5 Keys to the Game

1. Play With Emotion - The Gators certainly need to play with more emotion than I have for doing this preview. If Florida comes out flat, they will struggle against yet another inferior SEC opponent. This shouldn't happen. Florida can see the finish line and they should be willing to do all that they can to reach that line undefeated.

2. Score Touchdowns in the Red Zone - Getting a little success in the red zone during this game could go a long way in determining how the Gators will finish the season. I like Caleb Sturgis and all, but I only want to see him on the field to kick extra points and kick-offs after touchdowns.

3. Pad Tebow's Stats - Tebow is still in the race for this year's Heisman. I'm never one to call for an individual to pad his stats. However, securing his second Heisman Trophy would pretty much seal Tebow's fate as one of the greatest college football players of all time. What better chance to pad your Heisman stats than against a Vandy team that just gave up 50+ points to Georgia Tech?

4. Don't Give Rainey The Ball - For one, he's coming off an injury. No need to risk further damaging it before the South Carolina game. For two, Rainey seems to always stall the offense when he's in the game. Florida will be driving down field, ripping off 5 yards a play. Then the ball would go to Rainey. Stuffed at the line. Happens all the freakin' time.

5. No Eye Gouging - This shouldn't be a problem as Brandon Spikes has now officially taken himself out of the entire game this week.


5 Players That Need To Step Up

1. Brandon Hicks - Hicks will probably get the starting nod on Saturday with Spikes out of the line-up. Believe it or not, there shouldn't be too much of a drop in production. Hicks could easily be the best linebacker on every other team in the conference. He's that damn good.

2. Brandon James - I'm still waiting on Brandon James to do something in the return game. We haven't seen anything that exciting since the Charleston Southern game. He should get some opportunity against this Vandy squad. I also think James should get more touches coming out of the backfield. We've completely gone away from that this season.

3. David Nelson - In order for Tebow to pad his passing stats, he's gonna need someone other than Riley Cooper and Aaron Hernandez to step up. I'm tired of talking about Deonte Thompson, so I'm gonna turn my attention to Mr. Nelson. He should have a big day against a very weak Vanderbilt secondary.

4. Emmanuel Moody - With Rainey dinged up and Manny running better and better each week, there's really no reason why he shouldn't get the bulk of the carries this week. Moody had himself a good day last year against a much better Vandy defense. I expect him to break the 100 yard mark for the first time this season.

5. Duke Lemmens - Duke has really been stepping his game up these past few weeks. If he continues to play this well, he will just be another dangerous weapon in Florida's front 7 defensively. Cunningham, Trattou, Dunlap and Marsh should get some rest this week, so expect Lemmens to come up big.

Here's some highlights from last year's Gators victory over the Dores.




Here's some Vandy fan's take on Meyer calling out the refs for the no-call on the late hit to Tebow last week.

I know, it's hard to believer for me too. There actually is such a thing as Vanderbilt fans.



My Prediction:

Florida - 55

Vanderbilt - 12