Clark Lea praises Vanderbilt's spirit, says Commodores have to execute vs. Florida

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Vanderbilt entered Saturday’s game against Florida as a double-digit underdog at The Swamp in Gainesville. The Commodores, however, didn’t make things easy for the Gators in the early going and entered the second quarter all tied up 7-7.

To Clark Lea, he saw some good things out of his group in the early going. But he also knew Florida wasn’t going to go down quickly, especially with such a home field advantage.

“We’ve done enough to counterpunch here and tie the game up,” Lea told SEC Network’s Tori Petry after the first quarter. “It’s gonna be a long afternoon. I think we have the right spirit. It’s about execution, and that’ll be the difference in the game in the end.”

Vanderbilt had 128 total yards of offense in the first quarter against Florida and scored a touchdown on an 85-yard reception by Will Sheppard. The Gators managed to get back on top, though, with a Graham Mertz pass to Arlis Boardingham to find the end zone and make it a 14-7 UF lead.

What’s at stake for Florida against Vanderbilt

Florida entered Saturday’s game shorthanded. Running back Trevor Etienne and left tackle Austin Barber are both out after entering the game as doubtful, as On3’s Matt Zenitz reported Friday night. In addition, center Kingsley Eguakun is not expected to play as he deals with an ankle injury.

Etienne is dealing with an upper-body injury, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre, and his absence would be huge for the Florida offense. He leads the Gators with 358 rushing yards this year and has found the end zone twice. That could open the door for Montrell Johnson — who has a team-high three rushing touchdowns — to take over as the lead running back.

Johnson said he’s ready for that scenario.

“If that happens I’m preparing for it. It doesn’t matter who gets the ball. I’m preparing for it,” Johnson said, via Gators Online. “If Trevor can’t go I trust the coaches to put me in the right plays. If that means more carries, I’m ready for it.”

Florida is looking to get things back on track after a 33-14 loss to Kentucky last week. The Gators totaled 313 yards on offense, but only found the end zone twice as they enter Week 6 with the SEC’s worst scoring offense. Johnson and Etienne had a fairly even split in the backfield in that game. Johnson led Florida with 11 carries for 42 yards while Etienne had 10 carries for 29 yards.