Omar Hunter doesn’t care about the national attention that comes with the No. 2 ranking in the BCS standings.
The defensive tackle didn’t even watch the rankings show, which ESPN aired on Sunday night.
“It’s whatever,” Hunter said. “That’s not going to get you to Atlanta or to the national championship. We’ve still got a lot more games to play, and that’s where we’re at right now.”
Six regular season games remain for No. 3 Florida before a potential appearance at the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta on Dec. 1.
UF controls its own future with three conference games left to play, including matchups with SEC title contenders South Carolina and Georgia.
Florida has a one-game lead in the division.
Three of its six remaining games are against teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings. But the Gators have a more immediate goal.
The “one game at a time” adage was the message from the Gators on Monday. Coach Will Muschamp said his team has one goal in mind — beating No. 9 South Carolina on Saturday in The Swamp.
“Really nothing matters other than playing South Carolina and preparing ourselves well throughout the week,” he said.
Both teams enter the game ranked in the top 10 for the first time ever in the series. For Florida, this is the highest BCS poll position since UF went undefeated through 12 games in 2009.
Florida is second behind top-ranked Alabama. Oregon ranks third.
Although the Gators may not say so, the ranking is something to be proud of for a team that finished 7-6 last season and wasn’t bowl eligible until it beat Furman 54-32 in its second to last game of the 2011 regular season.
“We don’t get too caught up in rankings, but we’re undefeated and we had a tough schedule,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said. “Rankings don’t matter until the end of the season, but we’re 6-0, and that’s what we look at. We can’t be any better than we are right now.”
Pittman iffy for South Carolina: Although at least 10 players left UF’s game against Vanderbilt on Saturday due to injury, only one is questionable for Saturday’s game against South Carolina.
Freshman wide receiver Latroy Pittman suffered a right ankle injury last week while blocking for Omarius Hines in the second quarter on a play that began at the Vanderbilt 2-yard line.
Pittman is questionable for Saturday, Muschamp said.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (hamstring) and offensive guard James Wilson (eye) didn’t play against the Commodores, but both are expected to be ready to go on Saturday, Muschamp said.
Jenkins suffered a fractured right thumb on Sept. 8 against Texas A&M and wore a cast the length of his right arm against LSU on Oct. 6 — his only game since the injury. Jenkins suffered the hamstring injury against LSU.
“[The trainers] have modified [the cast] down a little bit, so it shouldn’t be as restrictive as it has been,” Muschamp said. “He should be good.”
As for Wilson, the oft-injured redshirt senior suffered an eye injury last week in practice.
Florida’s offensive line dealt with multiple injuries. Center Jonotthan Harrison injured his elbow on Florida’s first drive, and left tackle Xavier Nixon exited the game in the second quarter due to an upper-body injury.
The combination of Sam Robey at center, Ian Silberman at left guard and D.J. Humphries at left tackle paved the way for a record rushing game from Driskel.
“They did a nice job,” Muschamp said. “Vanderbilt gave us a lot of looks and a lot of movement up front, and I’m very pleased with how those guys progressed in the game.”
Defensive end Dominique Easley traveled with the team to Nashville, Tenn., but didn’t suit up against the Commodores due to swelling in his right knee. The swelling first emerged against Tennessee on Sept. 15.
Easley suffered an ACL tear in his left knee on Nov. 26, 2011 against Florida State.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Coach Will Muschamp (right) shakes hands with Vanderbilt coach James Franklin. If Franklin accepts the Penn State opening, Thomas Holley's choice in schools may sway in favor of Florida.
