NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Football finally became fun again.
After weeks of using superior athletes — the “top-1 percent of the top-1 percent” — in a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense, the Gators looked like the team you hoped to see all season.
They rotated quarterbacks without a trend. They stuck with a fast-paced style even when it didn’t work early. And they got a little crazy, pulling off the rare “running-quarterback-flip-back-to-the-passing-quarterback” flea flicker.
Vanderbilt looked confused. Or maybe they just looked like Vanderbilt. After all, the Gators have beaten the Commodores 18 times in a row, the last six by a combined score of 226-117.
And, really, both of Florida’s wins since implementing the high-octane, huddles-are-for-clowns offense have come against underwhelming competition.
But Saturday we finally get to see if the Gators can do what nobody thought possible three weeks ago: punch a ticket to the SEC Championship Game on the strength of their offense.
While South Carolina looked far from a powerhouse in its 41-20 loss to Arkansas, this is the same team that snapped Alabama’s 19-game win streak last month. You remember the Crimson Tide, the team that beat the Gators by 25 on Oct. 2?
Saturday’s game against the Ol’ Ball Coach won’t provide Florida fans with a direct comparison between their team’s offense before and after its seemingly pivotal bye week. But a win will indicate the Gators have taken positive steps.
And a loss? Well, beating up on the Commodores and the neutered Bulldogs was really just smoke and mirrors.
In the preseason, coaches talked about building a post-Tebow offense, about how the team would operate without one of the greatest college football players ever. And, as odd as it sounds, you were probably kind of excited.
Without Superman to lean on, the Florida offense would spread the ball around. Remember all those other four- and five-star skill players?
But through Florida’s first seven games, the offense was creatively stagnant, as if coaches forgot what it was like to spread the ball around.
Jeff Demps has yet to return to form since suffering a foot injury against Tennessee, when he was given a career-high 26 carries. And Florida found itself digging out of a hole after its first drive against Alabama, when the Tide stopped Trey Burton on three straight plays at the goal line.
Through the first half of the season, the 4-3 Gators ranked 65th in scoring offense and 91st in yards per game.
But, man, they could have fooled you Saturday. Jordan Reed pounded the middle. Mike Gillislee blew past the defense off the edge. And Frankie Hammond scored a 39-yard touchdown after swerving in and out of the Vanderbilt defense like … well, let’s not go there.
Sure, the Commodores are really bad. Moses Jenkins even asked a photographer if he could get a postgame picture with a Vanderbilt player … in the third quarter.
Still, the Gators have gained 930 yards in two games. That’s good for about 150 more yards than Florida averaged against Miami (Ohio), South Florida and a 3-6 Tennessee team.
So the Gators are only thriving against mediocre competition. At least they’re thriving.
Now, can they do it in their biggest game of the season?
