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Florida vs. Vanderbilt, Game Thread: Tennessee two-step

If Florida finishes a sweep of its Volunteer State road trips this Saturday, its season becomes an in-state stretch run.

By Andy Hutchins
LSU v Florida
Yeah, that’s a picture of the punter leading our Game Thread. Sue me.
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Florida Gators enter this Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt (noon Eastern, ESPN or WatchESPN or ESPN+) with a 5-1 record and a 3-1 mark in SEC play.

With a win over the 3-3 Commodores today, the Gators would set up a showdown of likely top-10 teams in Jacksonville in two weeks, one in which a Florida win over Georgia could give Kentucky and the Gators more control over their own destiny in the SEC than the Bulldogs would have.

They would also be able to play out a five-game chase of a College Football Playoff spot without ever leaving the Sunshine State. Florida travels to Jacksonville to face Georgia and to Tallahassee to play Florida State over its stretch run, but the three games in between are all home games, and ones in which the Gators should be favored by a touchdown or more.

They’re favored by a touchdown today in Nashville, too, and that line actually seems low given both what the Gators and ‘Dores have done to date and Vandy’s lack of a home win over Florida since 1988.

Florida is so very close to what could be a very special finish to Dan Mullen’s first season.

But the Gators have to take care of business on the road today first.

Go Gators.