GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 10 Florida broke open a close game in the third quarter and handed Vanderbilt a 56-0 loss Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The Commodores (2-7, 1-5 SEC) return home to host Kentucky at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday.
Florida (8-2, 5-2 SEC) led 14-0 at The Swamp before scoring 42 points in the second half. The Gators won their sixth straight in the series with Vanderbilt.
The teams played through a scoreless first quarter thanks to three big Vanderbilt defensive plays. Linebacker Dimitri Moore broke up a fourth-down pass in the game’s opening series, safety Tae Daley had an interception inside the Vandy 20 and cornerback Cam Watkins made a tackle at the 1 with his back to the end zone on the period’s last play.
Florida broke the 0-0 tie on the first play of the second quarter, a 4th-and-goal call that saw Kyle Trask pitch the ball forward to Lamical Perine for six points.
Trask upped the Florida lead to 14-0 thanks to his own 9-yard scoring run. That touchdown was set up by Donovan Stiner’s interception of Vandy quarterback Deuce Wallace that was returned to the Commodores’ 23.
The Gators looked poised to add to their advantage just before the half, but Trask’s throw toward the end zone was broken up by Watkins and intercepted again by Daley at the goal line.
Florida’s first offensive snap of the third quarter became a 66-yard touchdown pass from Trask to Trevon Grimes that made it 21-0. A few minutes later Trask found tight end Kyle Pitts from 15 yards out making it 28-0.
Jonathan Greenard picked up a Wallace fumble and ran it back for 80 yards for a touchdown later in the third quarter to make it 35-0. Florida quarterback Emory Jones ran in a 13-yard score making it 42-0 going into the fourth quarter.
Jones added 1-yard and 3-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
Vanderbilt finished with just 128 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times.
Dores Topped in Gainesville by Vanderbilt Athletics on Exposure
