The Gators left their season in Jacksonville.
A week after Georgia dashed the last of Florida’s chances for a bid in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, Vanderbilt swept up the remains.
The Gators (4-5, 3-4 SEC) came out flat in their homecoming game, dropping their fourth consecutive game and losing to the Commodores (5-4, 2-4 SEC) for the first time since 1988. Vanderbilt’s 34-17 victory was the first time it beat Florida on the road since 1945.
“They executed their plan, and we didn’t,” Buck linebacker Dante Fowler said. “Hats off to Vandy.”
But Florida’s loss represents much more than just a winning streak older than most of the players on the team. The loss makes it that much harder for the Gators to reach postseason play.
UF needs two more wins to reach the postseason, and two of its remaining three games are against No. 2 Florida State and No. 12 South Carolina.
“We’re kind of in a bind,” quarterback Tyler Murphy said.
But Murphy helped create that bind.
The redshirt junior quarterback, who drew praise early in the season for his poise in the pocket, looked rattled against a Commodores pass rush that sacked him five times for a loss of 59 yards.
But even more damaging than the sacks were the four turnovers that came from Murphy’s arm.
Murphy fired three interceptions into the Vanderbilt secondary — two of which were returned to the 10-yard line or closer. All three led to Commodores touchdowns.
“You're not going to win many games turning it over four times and spotting the ball on the 10, 22 and four,” coach Will Muschamp said. “We're not good enough to overcome critical mistakes like that.”
Murphy also turned the ball over on a sack and fumble at the end of the second quarter, killing a Florida drive that was already in Vanderbilt territory.
“It hurt a lot,” he said. “Same thing kind of happened to us against Missouri.
“Anytime you turn the ball over right before half and kind of miss on some quick points it hurts. It's something we have to get better, and we can't accept it anymore."
But when the Gators did hold onto the ball long enough to advance deep into Commodores territory, they struggled.
After a 13-play drive got them to the Vanderbilt 1-yard line, Florida ran three consecutive plays that failed to move the ball forward.
Offensive coordinator Brent Pease called a run play on first and goal, which Murphy checked out of. Instead, the offense ran an option to the short side of the field. Murphy fumbled the ball out of bounds, moving the Gators back to the 6-yard line.
Two incompletions later, redshirt senior Brad Phillips kicked a 23-yard field goal.
“We shot ourselves in the foot in the red zone,” Murphy said. “We got a field goal and needed a touchdown.”
Florida did not get its first touchdown until the second half of the game. Vanderbilt had already established a 21-point lead.
Freshman tailback Kelvin Taylor plunged 4 yards into the end zone to cut the lead to 24-10, but it was one of few meaningful rushing attempts in the game.
Due to poor performance and 59 yards lost on sacks, Florida averaged a miniscule 1.1 yards per carry. Without yards subtracted for sacks, the Gators still averaged only 3.4 yards per carry.
But the drive following Taylor’s touchdown sealed the victory for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt quarterback Patton Robinette led a methodical 17-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Jerron Seymour touchdown — his third of the game.
When Seymour ran into the end zone, he all but sealed Florida’s fate. This year’s team was the first to lose to the Commodores after 22 straight wins and will likely be the first Gators team to finish the year with a losing record since 1979 — unless UF can pull off an upset of either FSU or USC.
“The expectations never change here,” Muschamp said. “We’ll find a way. We’ve got to keep going at it. What we’re doing so far is not working. Keep doing the same stuff, you’re going to get the same results.”
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @alichtenstein24.
Quarterback Tyler Murphy attempts a pass during Florida’s 23-20 loss to Georgia on Nov. 2 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. UF announced Sunday that Murphy will transfer from Florida and play his final season of eligibility elsewhere.
