Gators take it out on Vandy after return from road

The Gators pasted Vandy this weekend 49-22 in front of a football-starved homecoming crowd of 90,222. Due to three road games and a bye week, the Gators had not played in The Swamp in five weeks. I wondered before the season how this young team would react to not playing in front of the home crowd for the entire month of October and, looking back on it, I think the team handled it about as well as could be expected, losing a heartbreaker to LSU, getting a big win against a highly ranked Kentucky team, and then playing its worst game of the year against Georgia. All was forgotten about the road trip very quickly, though, as the team took the field and jumped all over Vandy early and often.

The game started out very differently with the Gators winning the toss and electing to defer to the second half. Urban has been electing to take the ball first all year, hoping that the deadly combination of Brandon James on the kick return team and Tebow and company on offense lead to a quick score and an early lead. This week, though, the defense requested they take the field first because they felt they had something to prove after letting the offense down against Georgia. The change in strategy paid off when the defense held Vandy to one first down on their opening drive before forcing them to punt.

The offense, pumped up by the quick defensive stop, took the field and scored the first of five first-half touchdowns. In fact, only a bad snap which led to a loss of about 25 yards, stopped the Gators in the entire first half. Every other drive resulted in a touchdown and the Gators enjoyed a lead of 35-7 at the half.

The second half opened with Vandy catching us napping on the kick off and Vandy recovering an onside kick and turning the excellent field position into a quick field goal. The next Gator drive ended with an interception on a tipped pass and everything looked like it was starting to unwind. The defense took control, however, and stopped Vandy on the ensuing drive, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs. The Gators were in control the rest of the way, and the home crowd went home happy.

Two individual performances really stood out this week. Percy Harvin became the first Gator to gain at least 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in one game. He might be the only thing standing between Tebow and an eventual Heisman if he is able to stay healthy over the next couple of years. The other standout performance was turned in by true freshman Mike Pouncy. Pouncy made the switch from O-Line to D-Line and, with only four days of preparation at his new position, turned in a fantastic performance, batting down balls and stuffing the run.

So we head out onto the road this week for a date with the Ol’ Ball Coach. South Carolina appears to be wilting late in the season. Still, we shouldn’t take this game lightly and I know we won’t. Spurrier clearly outcoached Urban Meyer two years ago when we went to Columbia and I think for that reason, Urban will be ready and have the players ready as well.

My dad will be making his first road trip with me. Can you say designated driver? Florida wins in a rout, 42-17.