Aug. 24, 2010
Florida at Vanderbilt
Date: November 6, 2010 (Kickoff TBA)
Location: Vanderbilt Stadium (39,773), Nashville, Tenn.
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About Florida
Coach: Urban Meyer (6th year, 57-10)
Conference: Southeastern (East)
Colors: Orange and Blue
2009 record: 13-1, 8-0 SEC
Postseason: SEC Championship game (Lost to Alabama, 32-13), Sugar Bowl (Defeated Cincinnati, 51-24)
Highest ranking/Final ranking: 1/3
Returning starters: 15 (6 offense, 7 defense, 2 special teams)
Most impressive win of 2009: Going 8-0 in SEC play is always impressive, but the Gators made an emphatic statement about the conference’s overall superiority by dismantling previously undefeated Cincinnati, from the Big East, in the Sugar Bowl, 51-24, on New Year’s Day. Tim Tebow set a BCS record with 482 passing yards in a dominating performance.
Worst loss: It was their only loss, a 32-13 defeat at the hands of Alabama in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 5. The Crimson Tide were 5-point underdogs going in but thoroughly handled Florida to advance to the BCS national championship game. It also snapped a 22-game winning streak for the Gators.
Last time Florida played Vanderbilt: It was a tough match-up, a gritty 27-3 Gator victory in Gainesville on Nov. 7. The Commodores managed a single field goal, only the third time in the past six seasons Vanderbilt had scored just 3 points in a game. However, Vanderbilt sacked Tebow four times and held the powerful Gators to 375 yards of offense.
Vanderbilt Florida series: Florida leads 32-9-2. Vanderbilt last won a meeting in this series in 1988, a 24-9 decision at Vanderbilt Stadium. Since the teams began meeting annually when the SEC went to divisional play in 1992, the Gators have beaten the Commodores every season.
Notes: The Gators have won three national titles since 1996, more than all the other opponents on Vanderbilt’s docket this season have combined … Florida ranked fourth in the nation last season in yards surrendered on defense at just 252.6 per game … John Brantley, the presumptive starting quarterback for the Gators in 2010, had a terrific spring scrimmage, completing 15-19 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns … With a career record of 96-18, Urban Meyer has the highest winning percentage (.842) of any coach in Division-I football with at least five years of experience … Florida has more victories than any other I-A team over the past 20 years with 202; Ohio State is next closest at 193.
PREVIOUS GAME PREVIEWS
Game 1: Northwestern
Game 2: LSU
Game 3: Ole Miss
Game 4: Connecticut
Game 5: Eastern Michigan
Game 6: Georgia
Game 7: South Carolina
Game 8: Arkansas
