Vanderbilt (2-7) at (3) Florida (8-0)
Currently: - Game info: 7:15 pm EST Sat Nov 7, 2009
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Return to OriginalTim Tebow and Florida played their most well-rounded game in a month last weekend to clinch a berth in the SEC championship game.
The team can’t let up, though, not with aspirations of playing for the national championship.
With star linebacker Brandon Spikes serving a suspension Saturday night, the top-ranked Gators look to build on their latest performance and win their 19th straight over Vanderbilt, which is trying to avoid its sixth consecutive defeat.
After opening October with three gritty wins over then-No. 4 LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State, Florida (8-0, 6-0) rolled to an easy 41-17 victory over Georgia last Saturday in Jacksonville. The Gators extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 and remained No. 1 in the BCS standings.
“I told the guys, ‘The only thing good about going 8-0, is the chance to go 9-0,’” coach Urban Meyer said.
While Meyer is pleased with his team’s record, he wasn’t happy with some of the chippy behavior last weekend.
With the score getting lopsided, there was pushing, shoving and trash-talking, and Spikes apparently attempted to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey.
Meyer responded to this uncalled-for behavior by initially suspending Spikes, who has 42 tackles, three sacks, one interception and one forced fumble, for the first half of this game. On Wednesday, Meyer increased the suspension to a full game.
A 2008 first-team All-American, Spikes is part of a unit that ranks second in the Football Bowl Subdivision both in total defense (236.6 yards per game) and scoring defense (11.0).
“I don’t condone that,” Meyer said. “I understand what goes on on the football (field), but there’s no place for that. That’s not who he is. That’s not who we are.”
While the Gators will be without their defensive leader, Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5) will play without its starting quarterback.
Larry Smith partially tore his left hamstring in the Commodores’ 56-31 loss to then-No. 11 Georgia Tech last Saturday, and he will be out a month.
Senior backup Mackenzi Adams replaced Smith last week and went 12 of 22 for 152 yards to finish the game. He will make his first start since completing 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards with an interception in last season’s 42-14 loss to the Gators. He left that game with a neck injury.
Although Adams will be going up against one of the best defenses in the country, Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson doesn’t think he’ll be overwhelmed.
“Mackenzi won’t be scared. He’ll be confident and he’ll plan on going out there and making every throw and every read,” Johnson said. “We expect him to meet the challenge and play well this week, and we certainly hope he will.”
While the Commodores’ quarterback position appears to be a little shaky, Florida is quite pleased with the latest performance from its signal-caller.
Tebow had touchdown passes on the Gators’ first two possessions against the Bulldogs, then broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing scores with his 50th. Meyer said the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner played looser than he had in recent weeks, finishing with 164 yards passing, 85 rushing and accounting for four touchdowns.
It was the first time in a month Tebow played like a Heisman Trophy contender. He had totaled two TD passes, three interceptions and one rushing score over his previous three games after suffering a concussion in a 41-7 win over Kentucky on Sept. 26.
“Last week, it was the ship is sinking. That’s what I kept hearing. The boat’s got holes in it. It absolutely does not,” Meyer said. “We’ve got good guys that go really hard and we play good teams and we’re in the Southeastern Conference. I’m hoping we do hit a stride, but you don’t have time to worry about that.”
Tebow has had little trouble in his two career starts against the Commodores, throwing for 452 yards with six touchdowns and one interception while running for four scores.
The Gators have won those games by an average of 27.5 points and have 18 consecutive victories over Vanderbilt since a 24-9 loss in 1988. All-time in Gainesville, Florida has 17 wins with one tie (in 1958) since losing the first meeting between these programs 7-0 in 1945.
The Commodores have lost five straight since a 36-17 win at Rice on Sept. 26. They delivered an awful defensive performance against the Yellow Jackets last week, allowing an opponent season-high 597 yards - including 404 on the ground.
Johnson knows his team needs to be much better to have a chance against Florida.
“They’re not just great athletes, but I think they have a purpose,” he said of the Gators. “They’re going to go out there and ready to go no matter who they’re playing and they’ll give great effort.”
