GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida football made a statement in Saturday's 56-0 win over Vanderbilt - the Gators' third shutout of the season.
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"This is a great win for us to come back after last week, good response by our guys," Gators head coach Dan Mullen said. "The intensity in practice this week, how we prepared, how we came out and played, I thought that was pretty good for us.
For most of the game, the tenth-ranked Gators moved the ball well up and down the field. However, in the first half, although the defense held Vandy to no first downs and just 18 yards offensively, the UF offense left plenty of points on the field.
Florida took only a 14-0 lead into halftime.
"They hadn’t slowed us down once, but we have to finish and can’t make the mistakes at the end," Mullen said. "We have to execute the entire way into the end zone. It wasn't really you’re frustrated, (but) boy, we could be up 35-nothing right now."
Last season the Gators let the loss to Georgia roll into the next game against Missouri. This season, Mullen's side knew they still had a job to do.
"Just come in with a chip on our shoulder," receiver Tyrie Cleveland said about Mullen's message. "I would say that I felt like we let a lot of people down last week. We just wanted to come out and show the world that we Gator football still and we're going to play with that Gator standard no matter what."
There were some plays the team would like to take back, but for the most part the Gators took advantage of their opportunities. The defense forced three takeaways in the win and Florida capitalized on each one of them.
In the second half, Kyle Trask and the offense regrouped and two of of the group's first three offensive plays went for a touchdown. The redshirt junior set a new career high in pass yards with 363 yards, the 20th highest single-game total by a UF quarterback.
Mullen told reporters after the game that Monday's practice was intense, on Saturday that intensity showed on the field.
"To me it was about making a statement to ourselves of making sure we get our edge back," Mullen said. "There was disappointment off of last week, but if you’re a competitor you compete. You can’t wait to compete, you love winning. I love winning."
After not recording a single sack last week, the Gators recorded six against the Commodores, the most since the Miami game, and forced three takeaways, after only forcing one turnover in three games.
"I think our defense took advantage of it to keep putting them in bad situations all day," said Mullen.
They held Vandy 3-of-15 on third down.
“Guys took a little pride in that, making sure we finish and get off the field. I think Todd and his staff did a great job. When you loo after the end of the game and say, hey, this is a factor that is not good, we fixed it.”
It was a defensive performance we come to expect from the Gators. Honestly, it was an all-team effort we have come to expect.
"I feel like looking at the score we got our edge back," defensive end Mohamoud Diabate said. "We played the way we expect to play."
“It’s great to get back on track," said Kyle Trask. "There’s still a lot to play for. At the end of the day, we have to control what we can control and that’s one day at a time.”
“Games like this are a confident booster as well as statement games," added receiver Trevon Grimes. "I feel like we needed a game like this just to get everybody’s confidence back up. After a loss, everyone’s obviously down. We don’t want to be, but it’s just the nature of the game. But we came out here where everybody’s back, head high, and we’re looking forward to playing good football the last couple games.”
