The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Florida's 38-14 Victory Over Vanderbilt
In their first outing since being dismantled by the Kentucky Wildcats on the road in Week 5, the Florida Gators rebounded in a commanding fashion against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday inside The Swamp.
The strong two-way outing put the train back on the tracks for the Gators heading into a tough second half of the season. It was the most well-versed the offense has looked to date and another strong showing from Florida's top-20 defense.
To recap the contest more in-depth, All Gators continues its weekly regular-season analysis series by analyzing the good, the bad and the ugly from Florida's bounce-back win over Vanderbilt, 38-14.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Florida's 38-14 Victory Over Vanderbilt
Good: Montrell Johnson Jr.
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A sputtering Gators offense went into Saturday's contest without two starters on the offensive line and its most productive running back through five weeks of the season.
Even without those guys in the fold, Florida's struggled to find sustainability in its rushing attack this year, a troubling sign for a unit dependent on its success on the ground.
However, facing off against the SEC's 13th-ranked rushing defense, the Gators didn't shy away from their desired identity. They looked to starting ball carrier Montrell Johnson Jr., who produced his best game to date in 2023 with 135 yards and a score on 18 carries on the ground while adding three receptions for 25 yards.
"Early, he was good. He was really good," head coach Billy Napier said postgame in reference to the junior. "The one touchdown, he just makes a guy miss and walks in there. He played big today. He's a 217-, 18-pound back, but I thought he played with an edge today. He was tough to tackle."
Through the first five games, Johnson seemingly lacked the same intensity and energy he showed in his first year in Gainesville. He accumulated just 253 yards and three scores on the ground in the frame.
He turned back the clock on Saturday.
The version of Johnson who showed up against Vanderbilt was the one who shined for the Gators in his first year in orange and blue in 2022. He ran with a purpose, showcasing the aggression, physicality and fervor that aided Florida to one of the nation's best rushing attacks in the country a year ago.
Overall, the offense ticked. It was balanced and efficient. Johnson served as the centerpiece of the team's production en route to the decisive bounce-back win over Vanderbilt.
"We blocked them pretty good today," Napier said Saturday. "We got the ball to the second level. I thought we had good man answers today, and we managed the pressure with the perimeter throws.
"It was well executed. Montrell was at the center of that for sure."
Florida will look for the powerful rusher to maintain a similar form when his backfield mate returns to the lineup to maintain the effectiveness it saw offensively in Week 6.
Bad: Explosive Plays Allowed
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Florida's defense proved against Vanderbilt that its abysmal performance in Lexington, Ky., was, to this point, an anomaly.
However, as the case has been throughout the year, while Florida is stout on a down-to-down basis, there is looming concern regarding its propensity to allow explosive plays.
In Week 1, Utah looked deep on the first play from scrimmage as quarterback Bryson Barnes uncorked a ball to Money Parks — who beat Jason Marshall Jr. off the line of scrimmage — over the outstretched arms of RJ Moten for a 70-yard opening score. The play set the tone for the contest, culminating in a 24-11 loss for Florida.
Against Tennessee, a 41-yard pitch and catch from Joe Milton to Squirrel White down the UT sideline once again resulted in the game's first score. However, a 62-yard run by Etienne on the ensuing possession swung momentum back in the Gators' favor, allowing them to nullify the Volunteers' early chunk yardage gain.
Kentucky running back Ray Davis ran for a 75-yard touchdown to effectively put the contest out of reach for Florida.
Simply put, allowing explosive plays has become a trend for Florida. The trend continued on Saturday.
After taking a 7-0 lead, the Gators tossed an interception on drive two to give the Commodores the ball back for their third offensive possession of the day. A four-yard run by quarterback Ken Seals created a 2nd and 6 situation. Working on an island on the far side of the field, Gators cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. was one-on-one with the opposition's top wideout Will Sheppard.
Sheppard won the battle, getting the best of Marshall down the sideline before keeping his balance and remaining in bounds while the Gators' defensive back adjusted his helmet and clamored for an illegal hands to the face/facemask penalty. The play resulted in an 85-yard score for Vanderbilt, which tied the contest at 7.
It wasn't the only significant gain, but certainly the most memorable.
On Vanderbilt's second touchdown drive of the game in the third quarter, Seals connected with Richie Hoskins twice in three snaps, for 27 and 21 yards, respectively, on similar play calls to force the ball deep into Florida's territory before finding pay dirt.
The defense did its job on Saturday, forcing the Vandy offense to stall on nine of its 11 possessions while forcing three turnovers on downs. It presented the Gators an opportunity to pull away from the Commodores by reverting to the highly active, quick-in-pursuit, sure-tackling unit we saw through the first four contests.
But, in a league where two-to-three home-run hitters can be the difference between success and failure, Florida hasn't figured out how to avoid those defensive lapses yet.
It's the next step for Austin Armstrong and Co. to take amid an impressive defensive turnaround from the previous three campaigns.
Ugly: Penalties
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There are always areas to improve. Unfortunately for Florida, this aspect of the game continues to hamper the magnitude of its success.
The overall strong performance and convincing final score can sometimes allow the procedural errors in-game to go unnoticed. But, for a Gators team that has vastly struggled operationally under the current regime, those errors don't go unmarked, especially when it has cost them contests — usually on the road — in their past 19 appearances.
When Napier arrived in Gainesville, one of the first tasks he emphasized to rebuild the Florida program on the field was its ability to play clean football.
The team didn't do that on Saturday, amassing eight penalties for 70 yards.
"I do think there's things that we need to clean up," Napier said postgame. "I think we had a few too many penalties today."
While Florida was operating under unideal circumstances, playing without several starters, including the two pillars on the offensive line, center Kingsley Eguakun and left tackle Austin Barber, the inability to produce fundamentally summarizes the Gators' struggles.
Posting three false start penalties and an illegal hands-to-the-face call, Florida failed to get out of its own way at times to put the game to bed earlier than it did.
The Gators have been able to overcome the adversity when playing at home. That has not been the case when they travel away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, however, making the penalties against a susceptible Vanderbilt squad concerning as they have just two more home games in the final six contests.
Ridding the errors, specifically, the self-inflicted procedural mishaps, will remain a focal point for the Gators throughout the remainder of the 2023 season. The group's win-loss tallies at the end of the campaign will largely depend on it.
Florida, a team that has struggled on the road under Napier, will compound its success in this contest to overcome its away game woes in Week 7 as the Gators travel to South Carolina to take on another SEC East foe.
Head coach Shane Beamer and Co. will be looking for retribution after the Gators' 38-6 rout in the 2022 campaign. They enter the matchup freshly off a bye week, which comes at an opportune time for the sputtering 2-3 Gamecocks.
Kick-off for the bout is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network in Columbia, S.C. at Williams-Brice Stadium.
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