The Florida Gators are in the driver's seat in the SEC East. The team has taken the conference by storm after a few down seasons. After defeating the Georgia Bulldogs, the Gators now have a commanding two-game lead in the East and look poised to be playing in Atlanta come December as Jim McElwain looks to keep the momentum moving with the team facing Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The Gators sit at 7-1, but still cannot afford a slip up especially against an East opponent. That side of the conference is all but sewn up, but crazier things have certainly happen which is why McElwain is stressing his team not take their foot off the gas just yet. If the Gators get a win over Vanderbilt or South Carolina in the next two weeks, they can begin selling tickets to the SEC Championship. However, there is a bigger picture in mind as the Gators rank No.10 in the first College Football Playoff ranking and have their eyes set down the road.
The absence of Will Grier has proven to not be an issue for the Gators as Kelvin Taylor has taken command of the offense as the running back. Against the Bulldogs, he put up 121 rushing yards while the team rushed for 258 yards total. Quarterback Treon Harris thrived in his third start of the season in place of Grier. Meanwhile their defense held Georgia to just 223 yards of total offense as they rank seventh in scoring defense and second with a plus-13 turnover margin. That will be enough to get the Gators a win over the struggling Commadores who cannot find any consistency on either side of the ball.
Vanderbilt is coming off an ugly loss to Houston where they were shut out 34-0. The dual quarterback system of Kyle Shurmur and Johnny McCrary is not paying off as the two players combined to go 5 of 20 for 44 yards and three interceptions. Those turnovers could be a disaster against the stout Florida defense that has a knack of getting their hands on the ball. The last time these two teams faced off, Vanderbilt got the best of the Gators, but it will be an uphill climb to repeat the success.
