Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC) at Florida (3-2, 1-1 SEC)
Saturday, Oct. 7 • 3 p.m. CT
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Fla. • SEC Network
• Vanderbilt travels south to take on Florida on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the 57th meeting all-time between the two schools. The Commodores snapped an eight-game skid in the series with a 31-24 victory over the Gators in Nashville last season. Vandy’s last win in Gainesville came in 2013.
• Vanderbilt is coming off a 38-21 loss at home to ranked Missouri last Saturday. Ken Seals threw for 259 yards and a pair of touchdowns while collecting a rushing touchdown in his first start 11.13.21 vs. Kentucky. Vanderbilt’s offense put up 300 yards for the fifth-consecutive game.
• Will Sheppard caught five balls for a season-high 98 yards against Missouri, jumping to 10th in program history with 1,826 receiving yards. Sheppard is one of six Commodores all-time to rank in the top 10 for career receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns receptions. He currently sits in ninth for catches (137) and is tied for fourth with 20 receiving touchdowns.
• The Dores’ nine turnovers gained is third in the SEC and 23rd in FBS. John Howse IV grabbed the first interception of his career at the midway point of the first quarter against Kentucky (9.23.23). Jeffery Ugochukwu tallied his first career interception later in the game, bringing Vandy’s season tally to seven. This marked the second time this season Vanderbilt had two interceptions in a single game (8.26.23 vs. Hawai’i). De’Rickey Wright forced a fumble and Darren Agu recovered to close out the first half last Saturday against Missouri.
• Freshman wide receiver London Humphreys, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after the Wake Forest game, had his second-straight 100-yard performance at UNLV, as he caught three passes for 102 yards and a TD. Humphreys is first in the SEC and fourth nationally among freshmen in total receiving yards this season. His 24.9 yards per catch is tops in the SEC and fifth in FBS.
• Will Sheppard caught multiple touchdowns in Vanderbilt’s first three games of the season. He is the first Vanderbilt player since at least 1996 to record three consecutive games with two or more touchdown receptions. He is the fifth player in the SEC to record three straight games with multiple touchdown receptions in the same season since 2019, joining Jalin Hyatt (Tennessee), DeVonta Smith (Alabama), Terrace Marshall Jr. (LSU) and Ja’Marr Chase (LSU). Across all of FBS, Sheppard is the ninth player to record three straight games with multiple touchdown receptions in the same season.
• Matthew Hayball leads the nation in punting with a 50.9 average. He has 1,171 punting yards this season on 23 punts with a long of 71 yards.
