Florida takes on Vanderbilt tomorrow in the Swamp on Homecoming. With a win, Jim McElwain’s Gators will lock up the SEC East’s slot in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Just like we all thought they would, right?
1) Jordan Scarlett will score a touchdown. So much for giving him a redshirt. Scarlett had his coming out party against Georgia, and now it’s time for him to pay off all his hard work with a touchdown against another SEC school.
2) Treon Harris won’t throw a touchdown pass. The Commodores’ defense is sneaky good, so Harris could struggle mightily. I do expect him to eventually piece things together late in the game, but not for a touchdown. Let the big guys up front clear the way for their running backs.
3) Florida’s defense will force at least three turnovers. Vanderbilt’s offense is bad. Like really bad. The Gators’ defensive front will manhandle the ‘Dores in the trenches and force some mistakes from Johnny McCrary.
4) Vanderbilt won’t score a touchdown. Same reason as above, although Ralph Webb may break off a big run or two.
5) Brandon Powell will have a reception for 20+ yards. It’s about time the Gators get Powell back into the mix on offense. And with Antonio Callaway and Jake McGee getting all the hype among the Florida pass catchers, it’s not like Vandy will be keying in on him the whole game.
6) Florida will score a touchdown on defense or special teams. They almost got two of these last week, but Vernon Hargreaves was tackled at the Georgia 3 after picking off an Alex McCalister influenced duck. No worries. Vandy’s line can’t block a screen door. They’ll get another.
7) Vanderbilt will finish with less than 250 yards of total offense. See explanation for predictions 3 and 4.
8) Vanderbilt will hit a play of 25 yards or more. It probably won’t help them much.
9) Florida will make a field goal. Whether that’s Austin Hardin, Neil MacInnes or the Man on the Moon, I couldn’t tell you. But I have a good feeling about this.
10) Florida wins handily, but not without struggling on offense again. If nothing else, the Muschamp years taught us that you can’t win games with just a good defense. You need other pieces. Vandy has approximately one and a half other pieces, one being tailback Ralph Webb and the half being Johnny McCrary. Not good enough. Not if you want to pull the upset over a Gator team that can smell the peaches.
Projection: Florida 31, Vanderbilt 6
