The Florida Gators return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday.
Florida will look to bounce back in its homecoming game after a deflating 33-14 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators fell to the Commodores for the first time at Vanderbilt in more than 30 years.
I sat down with Frankie Sheehy, the deputy sports editor at the Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper at Vanderbilt University, to break down the matchup.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Commodores?
Sheehy: “Well, let's start with the strengths we'll start a little positive. The biggest strength you want to watch out for with Vanderbilt is our core of wide receivers. That goes Will Shepherd, Jayden McGowan and London Humphreys, plenty of other names you're going to need to watch out for on Saturday. Now unfortunately, the other end of the other end of that is the quarterback situation which right now is kind of a mess with AJ Swann and a bit of injury limbo, and Ken Seals looking like he's going to be the starter on Saturday. As for the rest of the team, the offensive line is struggling, the defense is okay, the secondary is kind of weak. But Vanderbilt can be a pesky team. You never can quite feel safe.”
What are your thoughts on quarterback Ken Seals?
Sheehy: “Ken Seals is a veteran now he's a senior. He's had a lot of experience within the program even though most of it has been from the sidelines. I think he doesn't have quite the arm that AJ Swann does. But he's a little bit of a safer quarterback. He doesn't take as big risks sometimes as Swann does. But he can be dangerous.”
What does Vanderbilt need to do to make it consecutive victories against the Gators?
Sheehy: “It's gonna be a lot harder this time than it was last time. Vanderbilt’s offense last year was a lot more multi-dimensional than it is now. I even think our secondary is weaker now than it was last year. So the secondary that was able to contain Anthony Richardson to I think 21 points, I don't think it's going to be that way again. Vanderbilt is going to need to play a pretty much perfect game, no turnovers. The offense is going to need to be good, you're going to need to bring more of a rushing game. And you're gonna have to stop the explosive plays. Now whether they can do all of that, when they haven't been able to do much of any of that in the last few weeks, it's going to be a tall task. But there is there is a roadmap there to pull off the upset.”
Who are the names to look out for on the defensive side of the ball?
Sheehy: “The biggest name you're gonna watch for on defense is CJ Taylor. He plays in that kind of linebacker, secondary kind of flexible role. He returned a few weeks ago, and he's really the heart and soul of the defense. I'm pretty sure he's one of the captains as well. We do have quite a few injuries and other spots on defense. So the line is a little bit weaker, the corners are a little bit weaker, we do have like a guy like Martel Hight can be dangerous. At corner, but Vanderbilt's defense is going to need to improve a lot. That's for sure."
What are they key factors that need to happen to have the Commodores come out on top?
Sheehy: “I would say two things for sure would happen at any time Vanderbilt wants to keep it close. One is can’t have turnovers. I know I've said it again and again. But the real X-factor is whoever's at quarterback, you gotta throw to the guys wearing white on Saturday. And then the receivers have to be there, you're going to need to have a pretty much perfect game from them. I don't know that Vanderbilt is going to be able to win a game 17-14 or something like that. I think you're going to need to score at least 35 points probably as difficult as that may be, but that would have to be part of a path to an upset."
How do you see the matchup between Vanderbilt’s receiving corps and the Gators' secondary playing out?
Sheehy: “Vanderbilt hasn't really gone on the ground that much between Patrick Smith and Sedrick Alexander, our two main running backs we've used so far. They haven't been used a whole lot. They've been trying to be a pass-first offense. I think if I think if the quarterback has a good day for Vanderbilt, the receivers could be really dangerous. I know that probably sounds really optimistic, but I think it is possible.”
Finally, how do you see this game playing out and what is the final score?
Sheehy: “We here at the Hustler, we know Vanderbilt football's reputation. We know that every SEC team goes into their schedule, and is like, ‘when are we going to get when are we going to get a free win?’ We know that we're the program that you would expect to beat, understood. But Vanderbiltl can be tricky. They had two SEC wins last year. I think this is probably this team is a step down from last year. But I will say optimistically, we can keep it to like 14 points."
Florida Gators: 35
Vanderbilt Commodores: 21
Contact Jackson Reyes at jacksonreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @JacksnReyes.
Jackson Reyes is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2023 Sports Editor. He previously served as Digital Managing Editor and was a reporter and assistant editor on the sports desk. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, long walks on the beach and watching Bo Nix.
