Florida defends the belt, 55–14, on the road at Vanderbilt.
Where this game sits in the lineage
Florida came in 7 days into reign #275, which began with a win over Georgia, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. It was the last defense: South Carolina took the belt in the very next belt game, on November 13, 2010.
For Vanderbilt this was its 18th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
It was the 4th of 4 belt games between the two; going in, Florida led the belt series 2–1; all-time Florida leads 3–1. Every meeting →
Recap
Florida dominated Vanderbilt from start to finish, with the Gators' defense forcing three turnovers while their offense put up 55 points in a dominant display of power. The game was essentially decided in the second quarter, when Florida scored five touchdowns in rapid succession, including a pick-six-like score when Chris Rainey blocked a punt that Solomon Patton returned for a touchdown. Vanderbilt's offense was completely shut down, managing just 109 total yards and 2-of-16 third-down conversions, while Florida controlled the line of scrimmage with 203 rushing yards and 480 total yards. The Commodores' only score came from a blocked punt in the third quarter, but by then Florida had already put the game out of reach and secured the belt with a decisive 55-14 victory.
- Mike Gillislee's opening touchdown run gave Florida an early 7-0 lead and set the tone for domination
- The blocked punt by Chris Rainey recovered by Solomon Patton for a touchdown exemplified Florida's defensive superiority
- Vanderbilt's three turnovers, including a Zac Stacy fumble recovered for a touchdown, proved fatal against Florida's opportunistic defense
- Florida's second quarter explosion with five touchdowns essentially decided the game before halftime
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 8:47 | Florida | +3 yd | Mike Gillislee rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 8:47 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 14:54 | Florida | +31 yd | Jordan Reed pass complete to Deonte Thompson for 31 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 14:54 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 12:12 | Florida | +40 yd | John Brantley pass complete to Chris Rainey for 40 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 11:18 | Florida | +30 yd | Zack Brust kickoff for 54 yards returned by Andre Hal, tackled by Brandon Hicks for 30 yards to the Vandy 46, tackled by Brandon Hicks. |
| Q2 12:12 | Florida | +30 yd | Zack Brust kickoff for 54 yards returned by Andre Hal, tackled by Brandon Hicks for 30 yards to the Vandy 46, tackled by Brandon Hicks. |
| Q2 12:12 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 11:18 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Zac Stacy rush, fumbled, forced by Lerentee McCray, recovered by Fla Terron Sanders at the Vandy 45, Terron Sanders for 45 yards, to the Vandy 0 for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 9:14 | Florida | -83 yd | John Brantley pass complete to Carl Moore for a loss of 83 yards to the Fla 13, tackled by Trey Wilson and Javon Marshall. |
| Q2 5:43 | Florida | +39 yd | John Brantley pass complete to Frankie Hammond Jr. for 39 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 9:14 | Florida | +20 yd | John Brantley pass complete to Chris Rainey for 20 yards to the Fla 33, tackled by Chris Marve for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 9:14 | Florida | +94 yd | Trey Burton rush for 94 yards to the Vandy 4, tackled by T.J. Greenstone for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 5:43 | Florida | +28 yd | Zack Brust kickoff for 59 yards returned by Andre Hal, tackled by Solomon Patton for 28 yards to the Vandy 39, tackled by Solomon Patton. |
| Q2 5:43 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 5:43 | Vanderbilt | +22 yd | Wesley Tate rush for 22 yards to the Fla 38, tackled by Will Hill for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 3:29 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Richard Kent punt blocked by Chris Rainey, Solomon Patton for 42 yards, to the Vandy 0 for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 5:43 | Vanderbilt | +32 yd | Wesley Tate rush for 32 yards to the Fla 38, tackled by Will Hill for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 3:29 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Team punt blocked by Chris Rainey, Solomon Patton for 42 yards, to the Vandy 0 for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 3:29 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 15:00 | Florida | +20 yd | Zack Brust kickoff for 60 yards returned by Eric Samuels, tackled by Jelani Jenkins for 20 yards to the Vandy 30, tackled by Jelani Jenkins. |
| Q3 8:33 | Florida | +0 yd | Team punt blocked by Ryan van Rensburg, Javon Marshall for 4 yards, to the Fla 0 for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 11:00 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Ryan Fowler extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 8:33 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Ryan Fowler extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 8:33 | Florida | +22 yd | Jordan Reed rush for 22 yards to the Fla 43, tackled by Kenny Ladler for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 12:47 | Florida | +22 yd | Jordan Reed rush for 22 yards to the Fla 43, tackled by Kenny Ladler for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 8:33 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 7:34 | Florida | +29 yd | Jordan Reed pass complete to Justin Williams for 29 yards to the Vandy 1, tackled by Casey Hayward for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 8:33 | Florida | +29 yd | Jordan Reed pass complete to Justin Williams for 29 yards to the Vandy 1, tackled by Casey Hayward for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 3:47 | Florida | +0 yd | Chas Henry extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 3:47 | Florida | +22 yd | Zack Brust kickoff for 63 yards returned by Eric Samuels, tackled by Moses Jenkins for 22 yards to the Vandy 29, tackled by Moses Jenkins. |
| Q3 3:52 | Vanderbilt | +21 yd | Jared Funk pass complete to Mason Johnston for 21 yards to the Fla 48, tackled by Matt Elam for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 0:48 | Vanderbilt | +36 yd | Jared Funk pass intercepted by Josh Evans at the Fla 33, returned for 36 yards to the Vandy 31, tackled by Turner Wimberly. |
| Q4 5:19 | Florida | +33 yd | Jordan Reed pass intercepted by Karl Butler at the Vandy 44, returned for 33 yards to the Fla 23, tackled by Nick Alajajian. |
| Q4 0:39 | Vanderbilt | +6 yd | Jared Funk pass complete to Jordan Matthews for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 0:39 | Vanderbilt | +0 yd | Ryan Fowler extra point GOOD. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Vanderbilt
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Funk | 3/8 | 35 | 4.4 | 1 | 1 | 26.9 |
| Larry Smith | 7/18 | 28 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Ryan Fowler | 0/1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Florida
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Brantley | 11/18 | 157 | 8.7 | 2 | 0 | 63.6 |
| Jordan Reed | 11/19 | 120 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 | 91.4 |
Rushing
Vanderbilt
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley Tate | 7 | 41 | 5.9 | 0 | 22 |
| Zac Stacy | 10 | 10 | 1.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kennard Reeves | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 3 |
| Larry Smith | 7 | -12 | -1.7 | 0 | 5 |
Florida
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Reed | 16 | 84 | 5.3 | 1 | 22 |
| Mike Gillislee | 9 | 57 | 6.3 | 2 | 43 |
| Emmanuel Moody | 13 | 46 | 3.5 | 0 | 19 |
| Trey Burton | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Chris Rainey | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 0 | 11 |
| John Brantley | 3 | -21 | -7.0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
Vanderbilt
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Johnston | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 21 |
| Brandon Barden | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Kennard Reeves | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| John Cole | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jordan Matthews | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 1 | 6 |
| Zac Stacy | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 9 |
| Jonathan Krause | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | 3 |
Florida
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Rainey | 4 | 75 | 18.8 | 1 | 40 |
| Frankie Hammond | 3 | 49 | 16.3 | 1 | 39 |
| Deonte Thompson | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 1 | 31 |
| Carl Moore | 4 | 32 | 8.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Solomon Patton | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 12 |
| Justin Williams | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 0 | 19 |
| Josh Postell | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Andre Debose | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Stephen Alli | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
Show more stats (5 more categories)
Interceptions
Vanderbilt
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Butler | 1 | 33 | 0 |
Florida
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Evans | 1 | 36 | 0 |
Kick Returns
Vanderbilt
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Samuels | 10 | 118 | 11.8 | 38 | 0 |
| Andre Hal | 2 | 58 | 29.0 | 30 | 0 |
Florida
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Debose | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Chris Rainey | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 |
| William Green | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
Kicking
Vanderbilt
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fowler | 0/0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2/2 | 2 |
Florida
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chas Henry | 0/0 | 0.0 | 0 | 7/8 | 7 |
Punt Returns
Vanderbilt
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan van Rensburg | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Javon Marshall | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 |
| John Cole | 5 | -1 | -0.2 | 1 | 0 |
Florida
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solomon Patton | 1 | 42 | 42.0 | 42 | 1 |
| Chris Rainey | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 21 | 0 |
| Janoris Jenkins | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 11 | 0 |
| Andre Debose | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jaylen Watkins | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
Vanderbilt
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Kent | 10 | 443 | 44.3 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
Florida
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chas Henry | 5 | 224 | 44.8 | 0 | 0 | 57 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 303100238) · This game in the downloadable dataset