CBS Sports released their weekly SEC game projections, with Barrett Sallee projecting a comfortable victory for the visiting Gators against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Florida has been steadily improving on the field in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first year as head coach. The performances for the first half of the season showed the potential this team had. Their inconsistency, however, cost them multiple games.
Since the Georgia game, that has changed. Offensively, the Gators have dialed in on their rushing attack. Defensively, the pass rush has been revitalized after the dismissal of [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., and [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag]’s unit has cut down on coverage mistakes, not allowing an offensive touchdown in six consecutive quarters.
Vanderbilt is having its best season since Derek Mason led the Commodores to a bowl game in 2018. Clark Lea has revitalized his alma mater and has Vandy at 4-6. Last week, they beat Kentucky to snap a 28-game SEC losing streak, dating back to 2019. They still have Florida and Tennessee on the schedule, both of which will be played at home.
CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee had this to say when previewing Saturday’s matchup:
The Gators have won two straight and are coming off of a dominating win over South Carolina, while Vanderbilt notched the first conference win of the Clark Lea era — and the program’s first since 2019 — last weekend over Kentucky. That’s awesome for Lea and the Commodores, but they don’t have the kind of roster that can hang with Gators quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag]. Coach Billy Napier will build an early lead, and then work on Richardson’s passing game in the second half and run away with it.
Pick: Florida
Sallee has a lot of confidence in Florida’s roster. Throughout the season, the Gators have been beaten because of a lack of depth and experience. With most of the season under the young players’ belts, that’s not the case anymore. The last two and a half games have shown that the Gators can hang with the best of them. The talent difference between Florida and Vanderbilt will be on full display Saturday.
This game will serve as the Gators’ final SEC game of the year. Kickoff is scheduled for noon EST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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