Florida Gators: Five Things We Think We Learned From the "Win" Over Vandy

SB Nation Tampa Bay looks at 5 things they think they learned from the Gators win over Vandy and discussing Will Muschamp's job security

College Football Rankings: LSU Tops USA Today Poll, Florida State Falls Just Outside Top 25

The LSU Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday evening in National Championship Game 1.0, and with the win took complete control of the Week 11 USA Today Coaches Poll, garnering all 59 first-place votes. Alabama fell to fourth place in the rankings with the loss.

The Stanford Cardinal are now the No. 2 in the USA Today poll, followed by Mike Gundy's high-scoring Oklahoma State Cowboys at No. 3, the Crimson Tide at No. 4 and the undefeated Boise State Broncos in the fifth slot.

The Florida State Seminoles, fresh off a 38-7 dismantling of the Boston College Eagles, would be ranked No. 27, if the poll worked that way. The Seminoles were second behind Arizona State in the "others receiving votes" category, grabbing 44 votes in the Week 11 rankings.

Complete Week 11 USA Today Coaches Poll can be found here:

1 LSU
2 Stanford
3 Oklahoma State
4 Alabama
5 Boise State
6 Oregon
7 Oklahoma
8 Arkansas
9 Virginia Tech
10 Clemson
11 Houston
12 Penn State
13 Michigan State
14 Wisconsin
15 South Carolina
16 Georgia
17 Nebraska
18 Cincinnati
19 Georgia Tech
20 Texas
21 Michigan
22 Kansas State
23 Southern Miss
24 TCU
25 Auburn

For more Week 11 college football rankings, check out SB Nation's college football hub. For all your Florida State news and notes, pop over to Tomahawk Nation.

2011 Bowl Predictions: Florida Currently Slotted For Gator Bowl, Florida State For Champs Bowl

Florida State's 38-7 demolition of the Boston College Eagles got the Seminoles to six wins on the season, and bowl eligibility. Currently, Floirda State is predicted to play in the Champs Sports Bowl in late December against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. For pure nostalgia sake, that game would be a doozy. Perhaps even let Bobby Bowden and Lou Holtz perform the ceremonial coin flip if the bowl matchups shake up according to plan.

The Florida Gators escaped with a 26-21 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, and now stand just one win from bowl eligibility at 5-4. The Gators have struggled this season, mainly due to the injury of veteran starting quarterback John Brantley, but should be able to grab a win in one of their final three games, the last being a matchup with the Seminoles to end the regular season.

Here are current bowl projections for Florida and Florida State:

Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 29, 2011

Florida State vs. Notre Dame

Gator Bowl, Jan. 2, 2012

Penn State vs. Florida

For more 2011 bowl projections, check out SB Nation's college football hub. For a complete bowl schedule, click here. For more on the Gators, be sure to visit Alligator Army. For all your Florida State news and notes, pop over to Tomahawk Nation.

Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Gators End Losing Streak, Escape With 26-21 Victory Over Commodores

The Florida Gators (5-4, 3-4 SEC) ended their four game losing streak, eeking out a five point win over the Vanderbilt Commodores (4-5, 1-5) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Gators almost blew a 17 point lead, but survived a 14 point fourth quarter by the Commodores to win their fifth game of the year.

John Brantley was efficient and mistake-free at quarterback for Florida, complete 16 of 24 passes for 173 yards. Running back Jeff Demps was the offensive star of the game for Florida, gaining 158 yards on 23 carries, scoring twice on a five yard scamper and a 52 yard burst.

Vanderbilt's Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers' star Aaron Rodgers, led Vanderbilt in defeat. Rodgers was 19 of 28 for 297 yards and two touchdowns, falling just short in his teams' fourth quarter comeback effort.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Gators Lead 20-7 Entering Fourth Quarter

The Florida Gators still have a 13 point lead over the Vanderbilt Commodores entering the fourth quarter, though they did allow Vandy to get on the board, finally.

Jordan "Have you met my older bother Aaron" Rodgers connected with Jordan Matthews ten minutes into the second half to cut Florida's lead to 17-7, but the Gators answered with a ten play drive that resulted in Caleb Sturgis' second field goal of the game, a 40 yard attempt, that pushed the Florida lead back to 20-7.

John Brantley has been efficient and effective for Will Muschamp's squad, completing 15 of 22 passes for 169 yards. Jeff Demps has been a force on the ground, gaining 74 yards on 13 attempts, scoring in the second quarter on a five yard scamper.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Gators Lead 17-0 At Halftime

After a scoreless first quarter that saw some Keystone Kops performances from Florida and Vanderbilt, the Gators remembered that they are Florida and Vanderbilt is Vanderbilt, scoring three times in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead heading into halftime.

Florida first got on the board courtesy of a Jacoby Brissett one yard touchdown run, which capped an impressive 15 play, 85 yard drive. Less than five minutes later, Jeff Demps scored on a five yard run to stretch the lead to 14-0.

Caleb Sturgis made up for an earlier miss on a 49 yard field goal attempt by making a 55 yarder to stretch the Florida lead to 17 at the half.

As a reminder, because this stat amazes me, Vanderbilt has not won in Gainesville since the FDR administration.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Commodores And Gators Scoreless After First Quarter

The Florida Gators, losers of four straight games, have been unable to muster any points in the first quarter against the equally middling Vanderbilt Commodores.

Florida began the game well, driving 71 yards down the field in seven plays, but Omarius Hines fumbled in the end zone after a 37 yard completion from John Brantley, resulting in a Vanderbilt touchback.

Vanderbilt matched the Gators' futulity, having a field goal blocked on the next possession after a 12 play, 66 yard drive.

The Gators second scoring chance of the first quarter was a 49 yard field goal by kicker Caleb Sturgis, but he missed wide right.

At some point, one of these two teams has to score, right?

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Florida Gators Crowd Light Prior To Kickoff

The Florida Gators typically pack out the swamp on a week to week basis, no matter the opponent and especially on homecoming. Today however against Vanderbilt on homecoming it doesn't look like anyone showed up. ESPN Gameday also mentioned that Gator Walk was incredibly light prior to the game.

via @HanlonRocks

That's rough, especially for the Gators. Losing four straight SEC games in a row can have that effect however, I guess. This picture was taken about twenty minutes or so before kickoff. It should fill out a little bit more, but it doesn't look like there will be as much of a home field advantage as they swamp typically provides.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Florida Vs. Vanderbilt Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Florida Gators will host the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. The Gators are trying to snap a four-game losing streak after going 4-0 to start the season. They're looking to break out of the downward spiral and get back on the winning track. Vanderbilt is also 4-4 and similarly looking to leave Gainesville with a winning record.

In most other years, the Commodores would seem like easy pickings for the Gators. But after the terrible string of losses, Florida will have their work cut out for them against a team that may give them a closer contest than the odds would indicate. The Gators are the definite favorites in this one, and glad to be home. If they're hoping to continue on their way to finishing the season with a winning record, they'll need to stay focused on Saturday.

Game date, time:  12:21 pm ET, Saturday, November 5

Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL

TV channel: SEC Network

Spread: Florida is currently favored by 13.5 points

Series history: Florida is way ahead in their all-time series against Vanderbilt, boasting a record of 33-9-2

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Florida's blog Alligator Army and Vanderbilt's blog Anchor Of Gold. Here’s the complete Week 10 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt Commodores: Gators Better Not Sleep on Vandy

The Gators Host Vanderbilt hoping to get back on track. Check out SBNation Tampa Bay's preview of the ballgame.