No. 5 Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt Commodores Game Thread

[Mr2Bits]

vs.

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Vanderbilt Commodores vs. #5 Florida Gators
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Saturday, November 8, 2008 - 8:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt Stadium - Tennessee - ESPN 2​

 

[MahxFahn]

The 'dores may not be an opponent that we should worry about, but. They are ranked in 1 category, 9th Nationally and 1st in the SEC......
Sacks
Part of the Game Plan should be to protect TT and reduce their average in that stat and everything else falls into place nicely.:gator:

 

[shandsgator8]

We're 24 point favorites, too.

 

[O-town Gator]

We may be 24-point favorites, BUT - they could be a spoiler if we go into this game overconfident and underprepared. A win here will clinch the SEC East for us and send us back to Atlanta in December; that's why a win on Saturday night for us is crucial.

I wouldn't take Vandy lightly; if I were Urban Meyer I'd scout this team carefully on film. Yes we need to protect Tim Tebow on the O-line, but also be prepared for whichever quarterback of theirs starts the game.

 

[leakbrewergator]

I don't think we have to worry about our boys being overconfident. Vandy always (except for last year) plasy us tough. And this is easily the best Vandy team in a loooooong time.

 

[Warf_GatorFanForLife]

yes vandy does play us very tough year in and year out well besides last year when we beat them down. But they are a real good team this year and i dont see them as a team that will lie down and let us beat them so watch out boys we may have a tough game there....Go Gators

 

[Escambia94]

Too many sportscasters are raising expectations by telling everyone that we will win out, beat Alabama in Atlanta, and then make it to Miami versus a Texas or Pennsylvania team. We need to win, and we need to convince the BCS that we need to leap over another 1-loss team in this game or versus Alabama. Of course, we need to give Bobby Bowden a dadgum farewell present--I expect him to bring the pain as his going away present to us.

 

[O-town Gator]

Too many sportscasters are raising expectations by telling everyone that we will win out, beat Alabama in Atlanta, and then make it to Miami versus a Texas or Pennsylvania team. We need to win, and we need to convince the BCS that we need to leap over another 1-loss team in this game or versus Alabama. Of course, we need to give Bobby Bowden a dadgum farewell present--I expect him to bring the pain as his going away present to us.

Good point - anything can happen between now and the end of the month, and with the way this season's been going for many teams I don't think anything will "go according to Hoyle" based on all the upsets.

The Gators are the captain of their own ship and like I've said before control their own destiny. I'd love to see us win out, get to Atlanta and be in the same spot we were in 2006 if all goes well - and I'd love to see SpongeBooby Diaperpants get a dadgum good asswhuppin' again from us, too!

 

[MahxFahn]

Playing smart key to stopping Tebow.....Bobby Johnson

Red zone masters

The Commodores are second in the nation this season with a 92 percent conversion rate inside the 20-yard line, scoring on 22-24 chances.
Florida is the only team in the nation to top them in that category. The Gators have converted on 33-34 opportunities, good for a 97 percent clip.

from Inside vandy

 

[MahxFahn]

A couple of defensive players to watch

'dores freshman linebacker Chris Marve, one to watch on Saturday
Now, on the heels of a 16-tackle performance against duke where he also forced a fumble, Marve is making his name known...........MORE

:gator: :gator: :gator: :gator:

Moore named semifinalist for Thorpe Award
Award is presented annually to the nation's top defensive back.
Moore, a three-year starter in the commodore secondary who has shown the versatility to play cornerback, receiver and quarterback on offense, and serve as the team's top returner, entered the season as a consensus All-Southeastern Conference defensive back............MORE

 

[shandsgator8]

I think we'll be fine, although I don't know if we're cover the spread.

 

[O-town Gator]

FWIW here's what some Vandy fans are saying: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=189&f=1603&t=3331102

One thing I'll say about their fanbase: for the most part they're realistic, are good sports and don't talk a lot of trash compared to other SEC teams.

 

[shandsgator8]

FWIW here's what some Vandy fans are saying: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=189&f=1603&t=3331102

One thing I'll say about their fanbase: for the most part they're realistic, are good sports and don't talk a lot of trash compared to other SEC teams.

I should hope not. Not like they have any standing to do so.

 

[MahxFahn]

............ for the most part they're realistic, are good sports and don't talk a lot of trash compared to other SEC teams.

Thanks for the link. It was an excellent diversion....... But they're talking smack alright and more. From those 'dores.

VUStan:
Florida can and will most likely lose one or two more games this season despite you and your coaches arrogant atitude. Meyers has the least amount of class of all the coaches in the SEC. He runs the score up on opponents every chance he gets by keeping in starters with 4 TD leads, kicking field goals as time expires when the game is clearly over and calling two time outs this week was way over the top.

Makes me want to go work on a new sig!http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=189&up=VUStan

 

[O-town Gator]

Florida can and will most likely lose one or two more games this season despite you and your coaches arrogant atitude.

In spite of the fact that his spelling sucks, he's wrong. It's called getting our swagger back; I'd rather see that air of arrogance out there in our players - it's showing passion for the game and the will to win. And if they think Coach Meyer is arrogant, too bad. Meyer knows how to motivate this team and expects nothing less than 100% dedication out there.

Meyers has the least amount of class of all the coaches in the SEC. He runs the score up on opponents every chance he gets by keeping in starters with 4 TD leads, kicking field goals as time expires when the game is clearly over and calling two time outs this week was way over the top.

Well Dore fan, Steve Spurrier did the same thing too. Unlike the Zooker who went into "prevent" mode in the 2nd quarter and sat on a lead playing more to avoid a loss than capture a win, Urban Meyer believes in 60 solid minutes of football and keeps going until the final whistle. And BTW, John Brantley has been brought in to relieve Tebow in the 4th quarter of each game we've played since the Arkansas win - and no, he doesn't leave the starters in until the very end. Call it arrogance if it makes you feel better, but Urban Meyer knows how to win football games. I'd rather have a head coach with a little attitude but also with a lot of ingenuity (Meyer) than one who can't figure out what the hell is going on and makes excuses when he can't find the answer to what went wrong (Zook).

And BTW, his name is "Meyer", not "Meyers". Get it right, dore.

 

[Escambia94]

I read through that Vandy forum, and I actually agree with some of their sentiments. UF fans were spoiled under Spurrier, and that may have put so much swagger into the Gator Nation that too many Gator fans were misrepresenting the Gator Nation as a bunch of classless braggarts. I believe the Gator fans can get the swagger back and still be good winners, and good losers should that happen from time to time.

For example, Georgia is a team of sore winners and sore losers. They are ugly to Ga Tech and Florida whether they win or lose. I could care less if they win games. Steve Spurrier was wildly entertaining as he bashed opposing teams ahead of time during interviews, and on the field with our Fun-n-Gun. However, he created an environment that let sore losers and bad winners misrepresent the Gator Nation. Urban Meyer is a smart man who puts gag orders on his team before a game. No, it is not as entertaining as Spurrier, but it gives credence to Meyer's classiness.

 

[O-town Gator]

I read through that Vandy forum, and I actually agree with some of their sentiments. UF fans were spoiled under Spurrier, and that may have put so much swagger into the Gator Nation that too many Gator fans were misrepresenting the Gator Nation as a bunch of classless braggarts. I believe the Gator fans can get the swagger back and still be good winners, and good losers should that happen from time to time.

Indeed fans were spoiled under Spurrier. SOS raised the bar beyond what Charley Pell and Galen Hall did, and naturally Gator Nation rode the high wave during those years. Then the worst that could happen did, and we were forced to put up with three years of mediocrity under Ron Zook. Now that Urban Meyer's here and getting positive results we're getting the swagger back, and we're seeing a lot of the luster come back from the SOS years as well as joy amongst our fans. Sure we have our trash talkers and arrogant jerks in our fanbase as well as those fools who go into a total meltdown and start up the "fire so-and-so" nonsense after a loss, but nowadays one finds that everywhere. Sure I may be preaching to the choir, but I wanted to build on your comment - you were spot-on.

Steve Spurrier was wildly entertaining as he bashed opposing teams ahead of time during interviews, and on the field with our Fun-n-Gun. However, he created an environment that let sore losers and bad winners misrepresent the Gator Nation. Urban Meyer is a smart man who puts gag orders on his team before a game. No, it is not as entertaining as Spurrier, but it gives credence to Meyer's classiness.

I had to laugh at those Vandy fans who thought Urban Meyer was arrogant. Steve Spurrier was entertaining; however, he often rubbed his rivals the wrong way with his smack talk and did it on purpose - and that in turn rubbed off on our fans. He also could be rather obnoxious, and his ego could be his own worst enemy at times.

Let the Georgia and scUM fans call Coach Meyer "classless" all they want, but he's far from that. Meyer may talk some smack from time to time, but his is a lot more subtle and more than anything is used as motivation for our players. Meyer has his ducks in a row, but IMO is more concerned about his image than SOS.

 

[Escambia94]

As a Gator grad and Gator fan in Big-12 country, I will say that non-SEC fans do find UM to be a lot classier and respectable than Ol Ball Coach. I have nothing against Spurrier, but you are right--he rubbed people the wrong way, and not just in the SEC. Outside the SEC, no one cares about UF in the 1990s other than that championship team of 1996. People here don't even know the difference between Florida and Florida State, but they saw Spurrier disrespecting other teams and they automatically judge the entire Gator Nation on his comments, or the comments from jaw-jacking smack talkers, or even from the horrendous penalties that plagued us in certain games. Big-12 fans out here respond well to Urban Meyer's subtlety and chivalrous coaching. They have no bias or vested interest in judging UF, so I tend to believe that their sentiments are similar to those of other non-SEC fans.

On a side note: I got my associate's degree from South Carolina, and my bachelor's degree from Florida. I still watch both teams. I miss Spurrier in Blue and Orange, but this is Urban Warfare now! Ol Ball Coach is going down! I hope.

 

[O-town Gator]

People here don't even know the difference between Florida and Florida State, but they saw Spurrier disrespecting other teams and they automatically judge the entire Gator Nation on his comments, or the comments from jaw-jacking smack talkers, or even from the horrendous penalties that plagued us in certain games.

In my honest opinion, Steve Spurrier was, in a way, the cause of some of the hatred rivals have for the Gators right now, both in and out-of-conference. To this day, we can't seem to shake that off.