A Preview: Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Commodores

It’s an interesting and undesirable situation to be in. To have the

Vanderbilt

game be the first chance for

Florida

to become bowl eligible. Some programs just expect to go bowling. They don’t make getting to a bowl game a goal because it’s just assumed. The Gators will play in a bowl game. That much is guaranteed. Hope was that it had already been secured at this point in the season.

The actual goal is – and always has been – Atlanta. Fans seem to forget that. Spoiled by the recent and overwhelming success Florida football has experienced, anything less than greatness is utterly unacceptable. I have that feeling at times too, but realize what you are watching. College sports are cyclical. Players come and go. Coaches do too. As much as we may hate to see it, the Gators will have three-loss (and, gulp, even worse) seasons from time to time. But 2010 is far from lost.

Florida is 120 minutes away from a return to Atlanta. The number one goal was always to get to the SEC Championship Game. Even an “off” season can be considered a reasonable success if the orange and blue make a trip to Georgia in early December. The Gators still have that dream very much alive. Not the success of 13-1, but there are much worse alternatives (no one envies where Tennessee currently sits in the SEC East standings).

It all starts with a trip to Vanderbilt and what should be an easily winnable game. But little has been easy this season. Florida struggled mightily in losses to Alabama and Mississippi State and dropped a tough one to LSU. Even against lesser opponents, the Gators have played the part of shooting themselves in the foot. Last week, in the overtime win over Georgia, Florida started strong only to let the Bulldogs get back into the game late. This time the result was different – a win – but parts still felt eerily similar.

Now the Gators face a team they are always expected to beat. A team that has pushed Florida to the limit at times. The Gators continue to triumph, but there have been a few matchups with the Commodores that ended much too close for comfort. If there’s a season during which a scare could come, it’s this one.

Against Georgia, Florida was able to move the ball much better than in the previous three games. That was a good thing and should give hope of a larger victory against Vanderbilt. The two-quarterback system finally rolled and overall the offense seemed more comfortable even if it was odd at times. It’s hard to say what we’ll see when they take on the Commodores, but spirits should be up.

Throughout the ups and downs one thing has remained constant. The Gators still control their destiny in the SEC East. It really is hard to imagine, but only those 120 minutes remain. The first 60 on Saturday.

If Atlanta truly is a goal, the team needs leaders to drive the team. And not just the typical leaders. Not just the Ahmad Blacks and Mike Pounceys. They need unconventional ones as well. Chris Rainey can be more than just the dynamic playmaker he was in his return. John Brantley can still take control of the team. Will Hill can erase doubts of his desire. Trey Burton and Ronald Powell can set the foundation for the future. This is a team full of leadership potential. The time when “potential” should have been removed from that sentence is long past due.