Gators upset by Vanderbilt, their first loss in Nashville since 1988

NASHVILLE — The Gators concluded their conference slate on a sour note Saturday with a 31-24 loss at Vanderbilt, their first in Nashville since 1988.

The upset by the Commodores (5-6, 2-5 SEC) dropped Florida to 3-5 in league play, marking the program’s first time with losing SEC records in back-to-back seasons since Bob Woodruff’s last two years in 1958 and 1959.

“It’s a setback, there’s no question about it,” UF coach Billy Napier said of the loss after the game. “A little bit of a reality check to some degree.”

The Gators (6-5) pulled within a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and forced a punt with 46 seconds left. Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson reached Vandy territory with a 34-yard pass to Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman, but his Hail Mary attempt on the last play was thrown out of the end zone.

Richardson finished with 400 yards 25 of 42 passing and three touchdowns, but the Gators rushed for a season-low 45 yards just one week removed from a season-high 374 yards on the ground against South Carolina.

Trailing 28-12 heading into the fourth, Richardson kept the Gators alive with a 74-yard touchdown to Daejon Reynolds. Richardson targeted Reynolds on the two-point try, but his pass was broken up Vanderbilt’s CJ Taylor.

UF cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. made his second career interception on the next series, but Gators couldn’t move the chains and turned it over on downs at their own 12-yard line. The Commodores added a 27-yard field goal by Joseph Bulovas to take a 31-18 lead with 4:38 left.

Richardson and Reynolds hooked up again for a 16-yard touchdown pass on the following possession to make it a one-score game, but kicker Adam Milhalek missed the PAT and the Gators couldn’t recover his onside kick attempt at the 3:11 mark.

After Florida pulled within two points early in the third, the Commodores scored a pair of touchdowns in a span of under two minutes. Following a 7-yard TD catch by Gavin Schoenwald, Richardson was picked off for the first time in five games and Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright threw his third touchdown to Ben Bresnahan for a 28-yard score on the ensuing play.

Wright threw for 108 yards on 10-of-16 passing, while ’Dores running back Ray Davis rushed for 122 yards on 30 carries.

The Gators started the second half with their first touchdown drive of the game, which included a 28-yard strike to Justin Shorter on fourth-and-8 and a 3-yard TD pass to Montrell Johnson on third-and-goal, cutting the deficit to 14-12 after a failed two-point attempt.

Florida’s opening series stalled in the red zone, and Milhalek made his first of two field goal attempts on the day. The Gators led 3-0 after the first but lost a pair of starters in wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and safety Rashad Torrence II, two losses that would prove costly in the second quarter.

Vanderbilt took the lead with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Wright’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Jayden McGowan on third-and-goal. An illegal formation on Florida negated a 27-yard run by Johnson to the Vandy 4 and led to another Milhalek field goal.

Then a 14-point swing took place in two plays. After UF safety Kamari Wilson, who was in for Torrence, dropped what would have been a pick-six, Vanderbilt punted to Marshall, returning in place of Pearsall. Marshall muffed a fair catch into the end zone and the ’Dores recovered for the touchdown and a 14-6 lead before the half.

The Gators wrap up their regular season next week with a rivalry matchup Friday at No. 19 Florida State. The Seminoles improved to 8-3 with their fourth straight win Saturday over Louisiana, Napier’s former school.