Florida vs. Vanderbilt, Film Room: How the Gators got their explosion back

After a tough game on the road, it’s always good to be able to come back home for your next game. It’s even better to have that game be Homecoming against a struggling Vanderbilt team.

The Florida Gators looked really sharp at times last Saturday. There were also some periods of malaise. I take a look at both periods to find the good and what needs to be improved.

Offensively, there has been a collective call for Florida to push the ball vertically. Some have claimed that not throwing deep against Kentucky is showing a lack of faith in your starting quarterback. In our film review last week, I pointed out that Kentucky’s defensive backs were basically turning and running deep on nearly every play. Upon further review, I have since found that Kentucky is allowing the fewest explosive passing plays in the country. You have to make them pay with down to down execution.

Florida was unable to do that last week, but Vanderbilt’s scheme provided some different opportunities. The Commodores get their safeties much more involved in the running game, and stopping Florida’s ground game was their focus. This opened up some opportunities down the field off play-action, and the Gators took advantage.

The Vanderbilt offense constantly made the Florida defense think. The Commodores used some odd formations, trick plays, and a lot of motion to try to confuse the Gators.

Florida did a pretty good job of making adjustments, and presented the Vanderbilt offensive line with a lot of problems. The Gators used a variety of coverages and games up front to stall out Vanderbilt drives, force some turnovers and preserve a shutout.

All that and more is discussed in this week’s film review.