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Florida football: Ranking Florida’s 2022 Opponents

By Sean Doty

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 05: Head Coach Billy Napier of the Florida Gators speaks during a press conference introducing him to the Media at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on December 05, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 05: Head Coach Billy Napier of the Florida Gators speaks during a press conference introducing him to the Media at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on December 05, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: Trey Dean III #0 of the Florida Gators looks on against Cam Johnson #7 of the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half of a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021, in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: Trey Dean III #0 of the Florida Gators looks on against Cam Johnson #7 of the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half of a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021, in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

Florida football opponent rankings: Vanderbilt Commodores (11/19)

Metric Score: 2

The only reason this game isn’t scored or ranked lower is that it still counts as a conference game.

Unlike other divisional opponents, Florida’s history against Vanderbilt has been a one-sided contest in Florida’s favor for nearly the entirety of the past 30 years.

The only time the Commodores have defeated the Gators in the past 30 years was back in 2013 in a 34-17 upset inside the Swamp. It was a season in which the Gators were plagued with more than a dozen players on the injured-reserve list and a seven-game losing streak to end the season. Meanwhile Vanderbilt that year achieved their second straight 9-4 record under head coach James Franklin.

Since then the Gators have won eight straight games against Vanderbilt by an average margin of 22 points, including a 42-0 shutout last year inside the Swamp.

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: Ken Seals #8 of the Vanderbilt Commodores looks to pass against Gervon Dexter #9 of the Florida Gators during the third quarter of a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021, in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: Ken Seals #8 of the Vanderbilt Commodores looks to pass against Gervon Dexter #9 of the Florida Gators during the third quarter of a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021, in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

Heading into 2022, Vegas insiders have posted Vanderbilt’s overall win total at 2.5 games. The Commodores had an impressive season opener in Honolulu this past weekend, defeating Hawaii 63-10.

However, the only other game Vanderbilt is favored to win this season is their week 2 home opener against Elon, according to ESPN’s matchup predictor. Vanderbilt’s chances of victory against all of their scheduled eight SEC opponents this year is 23 percent or less, including a 13.2 percent chance against the Gators.

Again there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory in team sports. But given that Vanderbilt’s defense allowed 193.4 rushing yards per game last season, it’ll be interesting to see if Florida’s backfield can put on their best performance against the Commodores, all the while potentially bettering their average margin in a potential nine-game winning streak.

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