For the second week in a row, it was a quarterback off the bench who led No. 21 Florida to victory. Redshirt junior Luke Del Rio took over the starting job this week, but left in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury. Redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks played the rest of the game and led the Gators to a 38-24 win over Vanderbilt. Head coach Jim McElwain’s squad improves to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in SEC play.
Instant Analysis now examines the Gators' win over the Commodores.
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* Alley: Florida v Vanderbilt Game Thread
* Poll: Florida's record over the next three games
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IT WAS OVER WHEN: Florida had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but Vanderbilt refused to go away as another Gators game went down to the wire. On a fourth-and-1 play to try to get a first down and run out the clock, freshman running back Malik Davis ran 39 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Eddy Pineiro’s extra point made it 38-24 with 1:42 left.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Redshirt junior tight end Moral Stephens only had two career receptions for 24 yards entering the Vanderbilt game, but he was a big factor on Saturday coming up with two catches for 45 yards. In his first career start, Davis ran for 124 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.
THE STATS DON'T LIE: Florida handedly won the battle on the ground 218 yards to 46. Being able to run and control the clock helped keep the defense fresh.
WHAT A PLAY: The Gators got lucky when sophomore wide receiver Freddie Swain had the awareness to catch a tipped pass thrown by Franks. A potential interception resulted in a 33-yard completion setting up Perine’s touchdown.
THESE MATCH-UPS PROVED KEY: Vanderbilt wasn’t afraid to air it out and challenge Florida’s secondary deep. Commodores quarterback Kyle Shurmur and his talented receiving corps came up with some big plays, Florida’s cornerbacks, especially freshman Marco Wilson and senior Duke Dawson, did well in one-on-one coverage (when the assignments were properly executed).
UP NEXT: Florida hosts No, 25 LSU for homecoming weekend and looks to improve to 4-0 in conference play.
Stay tuned with ITG, as we provide more post-game coverage tonight of Florida's win over Vanderbilt.
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