NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Nov. 5, staring at a 3-6 record and five-game losing streak, Vanderbilt’s postseason hopes were hanging by the thinnest of threads. Two weeks later the Commodores have their biggest game in four years ahead of them.
“It’s all part of the journey,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said. “I don’t think we can have this moment without (the prior) moment. I just don’t live that way. Everything we experience is designed for us, it doesn’t happen to us. It is through that adversity that we become.”
A 31-24 victory over Florida on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium puts Vanderbilt one win short of bowl eligibility. The defeat of the Gators (6-5, 3-5 SEC) followed much of the same script used in the previous week’s defeat of Kentucky: a dominant run game, a structured and sound defensive effort and a prayer at the end.
That dedication led to the team’s first back-to-back SEC wins since 2018, its first win against Florida since 2018 and the end of a 12-game home losing streak against league opponents.
Vandy (5-6, 2-5 SEC) now hosts rival Tennessee (9-1, 5-1 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and it must win to earn a 13th game for Team 2.
“Right now it’s going to be, ‘Let’s celebrate today, let’s shift focus to our final game, let’s fight to extend this season,’ ” Lea said. “I think that we’ve learned a lot through the course of this season, and we’ll take that learning forward as a program. But still—a lot ahead of us.”
Vanderbilt was in total control going into the fourth quarter with a 28-12 lead. But less than three minutes into the period, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson connected on a 74-yard bomb to Daejon Reynolds, bringing the score to 28-18.
Vandy milked 5 1/2 minutes off the clock from there, running at will and dictating the game as it drove to the 21. But a first-down pass from quarterback Mike Wright toward the end zone on the left sideline was picked off by Jason Marshall, giving the Gators life again.
But the Vanderbilt defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs which was followed shortly by a 27-yard Joseph Bulovas field goal with 4:38 left putting the Commodores up 31-18.
The Gators refused to die, getting a 16-yard touchdown pass from Richardson to Reynolds with 3:13 on the clock. They got the ball back one last time with 46 seconds remaining and the ball resting on their own 9.
Florida drove to the Vanderbilt 34-yard line, but Richardson’s final desperate heave for the end zone sailed past the uprights and out of bounds.
“It felt good to give our fans what they’ve probably been waiting for for a long time,” said running back Ray Davis, who rushed for 122 yards on a career-high 30 carries. “To be able to see the smiles on their faces, to have a lot of people come down and just enjoy it. To have the fans come down and be with us was exciting. A lot of them were taking pictures with different people.
“I think the best part was to see the smiles on everyone’s faces, but also to see the smiles on my teammates’ faces and my coaches’ faces. That definitely was exciting.”
Almost everything went according to plan for Vanderbilt in the first two quarters. Even after a Will Sheppard fumble early on, shades of how the previous week’s game at Kentucky began, the Commodores erased a 3-0 deficit with a 12-play, 81-yard drive that ended with Wright’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Jayden McGowan early in the second quarter.
Then, just 76 seconds after Vanderbilt held Florida to another field goal, the Commodores got the break of breaks.
Xzavier Henderson, trying to field a Matthew Hayball punt, drifted back toward his own end zone while signaling for a fair catch. When he reached up to field the falling ball, he missed, and the ball bounced into the end zone.
A wild scrum followed. And who should emerge with the ball from the pile of black, gold, orange and white? Vanderbilt junior long snapper Wesley Schelling.
“Snapped a good snap first and ran down field. They didn’t put anybody on me, guy made a bad decision trying to catch it, went into the end zone,” Schelling said. “It was underneath Gamarion Carter, and I just hopped on it. I knew G was over top of it. I grabbed it from underneath of him.
“It was there, and then I just held on for dear life. The ref goes, ‘Hey, you got the ball, it’s a Vandy touchdown.’ ”
That score gave the Commodores a 14-6 lead, a lead they would keep going into the locker room.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter: Florida getting a 3-yard pass from Richardson to Montrell Johnson, and Vanderbilt getting a 7-yard throw from Wright to Gavin Schoenwald.
Vandy’s defense came to life from there.
On third down at the Florida 24, Richardson’s pass for Justin Shorter was bobbled and popped into the air, where Vanderbilt cornerback Jaylen Mahoney snagged the interception. The next snap, Wright threw a ball to Ben Bresnahan down to the 10, where the tight end turned and rumbled his way into the end zone.
That put the Commodores in a commanding position—up 28-12 going into the final 15 minutes. Vandy needed every one of those final 15 minutes with the home crowd chanting, “V-U!” for much of the duration of that memorable quarter hour.
“Hard work, total effort—at the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” Schelling said of the win. “When you mix total effort, consistency and confidence you’re a hard team to beat.”
- Davis needs 18 yards to reach 1,000 for a season.
- Sheppard needs one catch to reach 100 for his career.
- The 31 points Vanderbilt scored against Florida on Saturday was the most for the Commodores since a 34-17 win in 2013.
- Schelling’s fumble recovery in the second quarter was Vanderbilt’s 10th fumble recovery of the season and fourth fumble recovery for a touchdown.
- The four fumble returns for touchdowns is a Vanderbilt single-season record.
- Vanderbilt opponents are now 10-for-24 on fourth down this season.
- The Commodores are now 30-for-33 in the red zone this season.
- Vandy now trails the all-time series against Florida 11-43-2 and had lost eight in a row.
- Vanderbilt’s last win over Florida in Nashville came in 1988.
- Attendance on Saturday was announced as 30,136.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
