It wasn’t pretty, but the Gators finally found their elusive fifth win, taking down the Vanderbilt Commodores 26-21 to move to 5-4.
The last time Gator fans saw John Brantley in the Swamp, the senior quarterback was laying crumpled on the ground courtesy of Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw.
On Saturday, Brantley looked poised and spread the ball around to nine receivers. His transformation from an unconfident, inaccurate detriment to a relaxed and quality game manager has been an undervalued asset for a Gators offense that’s missing the talent it boasted during the Urban Meyer era.
With Brantley only throwing 24 times, the Gators leaned heavily on their run game – one that didn’t feature its top playmaker, Chris Rainey.
Instead, the announced crowd of over 90,144 (which seemed about 5,000 too many), was treated to the resurgence of fellow senior Jeff Demps.
The quasi Olympic track star/fastest man in college football ran through and around the Commodores defense to the tune of 158 yards and two touchdowns.
His highlight run of the day came late in the fourth quarter when the quickest feet in the nation broke the ankles of safety Kenny Ladler and danced 52 yards to the house.
Defensively, the Gators had an up-and-down performance. Defensive tackle Jaye Howard had one of his best performances this season, consistently applying pressure on quarterback Jordan Rodgers.
Ronald Powell also had a solid game as a pass rusher, recording his second sack in as many games.
However, there were still some glaring struggles, particularly in pass defense.
The secondary’s inexperience has been on display as cornerback Marcus Roberson has consistently failed to play the ball in coverage. He is usually in good position, but does not turn his head to locate the ball and has drawn a few pass interference calls.
Sophomore Jaylen Watkins looks to be the best pure cover corner on the team as he registered some big pass breakups, but could do a better job reeling them in for turnovers.
Tackling still seems to be an issue for this team, although it certainly didn’t help that Jelani Jenkins wasn’t in the lineup. I expect big things for this defense next season as most of the starters will have at least two years of starting experience under their belts, but the secondary could be the weak link that holds this team back.
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