Gators look for 7th straight win vs. Commodores
No. 5 Florida (5-1) at Vanderbilt (0-6) , Today at noon EST (ABC).
Line: Florida by 31 1/2.
Series record: Florida leads 41-10-2.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Florida Gators sit atop the SEC East having won three straight with a spot in the league title game on Dec. 19 in their sights as long as they keep winning. Vanderbilt has three one-score losses this season and is looking for its first win of the season.
Live updates:Florida Gators, led by Kyle Trask, take on Vanderbilt
KEY MATCH
The Gators’ high-flying offense against a struggling Vanderbilt defense. The Gators are averaging 45.8 points per game this season, which is sixth nationally and second in the SEC. They’re even better through the air at fourth nationally averaging 371.7 yards passing. Vanderbilt is 90th nationally allowing 257.8 yards passing.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Florida: QB Kyle Trask. The senior quarterback has put himself at the front of the Heisman Trophy talk with an SEC-record six straight games throwing at least four TD passes, and he had five by halftime in the last game. He’s the fourth FBS quarterback to post such a streak since the start of 1996 and first since Logan Woodside had six in 2016 for Toledo.
Vanderbilt: QB Ken Seals. He is second among SEC freshmen and ninth overall averaging 211.3 yards total offense per game. He’s the lone Vandy freshman quarterback with two 300-yard passing games in a season and the first Vandy quarterback to do it back-to-back since Kyle Shurmur in 2017.
INJURED AND MISSING
Florida won’t have tight end Kyle Pitts or wide receiver Trent Whittemore, who broke a rib and punctured a lung last week. Mullen said linebacker James Houston is questionable.
Vanderbilt is getting right guard Drew Birchmeier back after he missed the past two games, and running back Ja’Veon Marlow, who has played only twice this season, also will be available. Running back Keyon Henry-Brooks was hurt in last week’s 38-35 loss at Kentucky. He leads the Commodores with 147.2 all-purpose yards a game.
JOB SECURITY
Derek Mason is the longest-tenured black head coach in SEC history in his seventh season, and he’s two wins from tying for the fifth-most wins by an Vanderbilt coach with 27. But Vanderbilt has four games remaining to avoid the first winless season in school history. Mason said he hasn’t talked with anyone about his future.
“They understand week to week we’re going to put the best product out there that we can,” Mason said. “And I feel comfortable about like how I continue to lead this team and that’s what we’re going to do. … I haven’t had any other conversations other than our numbers and are we healthy and can we play this week.”
FACTS & FIGURES
Florida has won six straight in this series. … The Gators have scored 275 points this season, the third-highest total through the first six games of any season in school history. … Florida has scored 35 or more points in eight straight games tying the longest streak in school history and is coming off its first 60-point game against an SEC team since beating Kentucky 63-5 in 2008. … Dan Mullen tied Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer for the best 32-game start by a head coach in Florida history at 26-6. Spurrier and Mullen all won their 33rd game. … Florida is one of four FBS teams with 10 different players with a TD catch, joining Liberty, Marshall and Texas. … Vanderbilt has never finished a season winless. … Vanderbilt is averaging 435.3 yards of total offense over the last three games, an increase from the 256.7 yards of total offense averaged through the first three games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
