No. 10 Florida will be aiming to move on from a crushing defeat when it plays Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
The Gators (7-2, 4-2 SEC) lost 24-17 to Georgia last Saturday, allowing the Bulldogs to grab first place in the SEC East and likely preventing Florida from reaching the league’s championship game.
“Nobody wants to lose, and guys are definitely down after the game,” Florida senior receiver Josh Hammond said Monday. “A lot of guys are just competitive and ready to get back out there and try to get ready to take on Vandy and take the bad taste out of our mouths.”
The odds favor the Gators doing just that; they have won 27 of the past 28 meetings against the Commodores. Also, Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4) ranks last in the SEC in total offense (115th nationally with 317.1 yards per game) and total defense (114th nationally with 453.6 yards per game).
Don’t try telling coach Dan Mullen his Gators will have an easy time, however.
“They’re a tough, physical football team and they have talented players,” Mullen said of the Commodores. “They’re very young on defense, but they’re growing and maturing. They’re playing better defense now than they were early in the year.”
Florida returns to “The Swamp” for the first time since beating Auburn on Oct. 5.
Although Vanderbilt upset then-No. 22 Missouri at home on Oct. 19, sixth-year coach Derek Mason is on the hot seat.
Vanderbilt lost 24-7 to South Carolina last week, when the Commodores were without two quarterbacks and their best wide receiver for much of the game.
Quarterback Riley Neal, a graduate transfer from Ball State, started in place of injured Mo Hasan (concussion), who had been hurt against Missouri. Neal exited Saturday’s game with a concussion.
Neither Hasan nor Neal is expected to face the Gators. Mason said Tuesday he will rely on redshirt junior Deuce Wallace (33 of 76, 217 yards, three interceptions) and redshirt freshman Allan Walters, who has not yet played in a game.
“The offense changes a little bit because both those guys have a little more mobility,” said Mason, whose team is winless in three road games. “We’ll have to tweak the offense a little bit, but the main frame of what we do is still there.”
Mason said senior wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb, who didn’t play against South Carolina due to a personal matter, will play against Florida.
The Gators will be without two impactful linebackers. Redshirt junior Jeremiah Moon likely will miss the rest of the regular season after injuring his foot against Georgia. Sophomore Amari Burney (knee) is unlikely to play Saturday.
Florida’s offense will look to improve its running game, which managed just 21 yards on 19 attempts against Georgia. Right guard Chris Bleich, who has started eight games this season but was replaced during last Saturday’s game, left the team on Tuesday and entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.
Kyle Trask completed 21 of 33 for 257 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs. Overall, the redshirt junior is 135 of 202 (66.8 percent) for 1,648 yards and 16 TDs with four interceptions.
“We still have a lot to play for,” Trask said. “We still do have a shot at the SEC East title, but none of that matters if we don’t take care of our business and go 1-0 every week from here on out. That’s our biggest focus right now.”
