Gators prepared for a rematch with Vandy's Ke'Shawn Vaughn
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Gators will welcome the 2-6 Vanderbilt Commodores to the Swamp for their second to last home game of the season.
Despite a losing record, the Commodores shouldn’t be overlooked. Not taking this team seriously could lead to another loss for Florida.
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Last year after a loss to Georgia, the Gators went into the homecoming game against Missouri and let one loss turn into two. They can’t allow history to repeat itself this year.
“They’re a good team,” said defensive tackle Adam Shuler. “They’ve lost a lot of games, but they’re powerful.”
Florida has to be prepared for Vanderbilt’s run game. A run game which includes a familiar name to Gator nation, running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
“He’s a shifty guy,” said Shuler. “He’s powerful, you’ve got to really tackle him. He’s a great guy, he’s not too far off all the other running backs we played against last week or the week before.”
In Nashville last season, Vaughn managed to run for 56 yards on seven carries and it was clear that Florida did not have answer for him. He exploded for a 43-yard run and 75-yard touchdown reception against the Gators before leaving with an injury n the second quarter.
This season, the running back has rushed for 790 yards on 151 attempts, with his longest being a 52-yard touchdown run against LSU. In that game, he scored two touchdowns and ran for 130 yards on 20 attempts. Compare that to Florida’s top rusher against LSU, and you can easily see the difference. Lamical Perine went for 65 yards on 17 attempts and zero touchdowns against that same LSU defense.
“He’s hard to tackle, he runs through guys,” added Grantham. “He’s very similar to the guy at South Carolina and we didn’t initially do a great job with him at times, so we have to be aware of that. He’s a guy I think you have to respect and understand that he can run through you.”
Vanderbilt’s quarterback situation is rough to say the least. Two of their top guys have gone down with injuries, leaving Derek Mason to rely on redshirt junior Deuce Wallace and redshirt freshman Allan Walters against the Gators. Wallace has taken snaps in all six of the Commodores’ losses this season and has yet to throw a touchdown pass. He’s thrown for 217 yards on 76 attempts and rushed for -14 yards on five attempts. Walters has yet to play in a game this season.
If those two can keep Jon Greenard and Jabari Zuniga off of their backs, they’ve got a decent receiving rotation. Kalija Lipscomb leads the pack with 377 yards and two touchdowns. With the exception of the Georgia game, he’s had a catch of 30+ yards every game he’s played in this season. It’ll be up to Florida’s secondary, which was shaky against Georgia, to prevent those big gains.
They’ll also try to utilize their two tight ends, Jared Pinkney and Ben Bresnahan, in this game. Combined, they have nineteen catches for 204 yards. Any time you have two big, physical guys that can catch the ball and block, that’s a huge advantage. Just look at the Gators whose top receiver this year is Kyle Pitts with 469 yards.
“The biggest thing there is when you have guys who have size like that is being physical,” said defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. “Trying to get them off the spot and being in tight coverage where guys have to be accurate.”
Aside from those three guys, the Commodores have six other receivers who have catches this year. And let’s not forget their highest scoring game of the season was against LSU, the team now sitting at the top of the AP poll. Vanderbilt tied with Texas for most points scored against the Tigers defense this season with 38 points.
“They’re well-capable of winning and beating us if we slip up or do what we did last week,” said Shuler. “The key is going out there full-speed. We know who we are, we know that if we play to our best abilities we’ll come out how we want to.”
