Clark Lea thrilled with team discipline, 'huge swing of momentum' in Florida-Vanderbilt

Florida trails Vanderbilt 14-6 at halftime, with the ‘Dores taking advantage of a pair of mistakes by the Gators late in the second quarter that led to a 14-point swing in the game.

Quarterback Mike Wright was lucky to get away with a telegraphed short pass on third down with about four minutes to play in the half. Florida safety Kamari Wilson stepped in front with nothing but green grass in front of him, but he dropped the interception and likely pick-six. One play later, UF cornerback Jason Marshall mishandled a punt inside the 10-yard line, fumbling it into the end zone, where Vanderbilt long snapper Wesley Schelling recovered it for a touchdown.

“Well that’s a huge swing of momentum there and a big boost for us heading to halftime,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea told SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang at the half. “We’ve got to capitalize on their mistakes, and to be in a position to do that means a lot. We’ve got to keep that up.”

Florida ran for just 17 yards in the first half against Vanderbilt, with the Commodores holding a 142-137 edge in total yardage at halftime.

The Gators made a number of self-inflicted mistakes, including some costly drive-extending penalties on an early Commodores scoring drive. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s had success running the ball — rushing for 112 yards in the first half — and defending the run.

“When we’re playing in structure we have people where we need to be,” Lea said. “We’ve had a couple runs leak on us there, and it’s just about us doing our job, one of 11. Obviously when we’ve done that we’ve been successful, when we haven’t they’re dangerous. So we’ve got to come back, reset, refocus here at halftime.”

Florida, Vanderbilt both down some key players

Both Florida and Vanderbilt have had some attrition during the game.

Vanderbilt lost starting cornerback BJ Anderson in the first quarter when he was ejected for targeting after hitting Florida receiver Marcus Burke on a play in the flats.

The Gators have had two key starters banged-up during the first half, with receiver Ricky Pearsall and safety Rashad Torrence both questionable to return due to lower-body injuries.

Florida has won eight straight games in the series, with Vanderbilt’s last win coming in 2013.