No. 10 Florida is the SEC champion, but capturing that title did not come easy.
The Gators struggled to a 9-7 win against Vanderbilt. The game-winning 43-yard field goal came with 2:22 remaining by Austin Hardin, a kicker who came into the contest converting just 42.9 percent of his attempts this season.
Florida looked out of sorts offensively from the opening kick. It drove to Vanderbilt’s 5-yard line on the opening drive and then turned the ball over on downs. On their next drive, the Gators scored a touchdown but missed the extra point. The rest of the half was ugly as the Gators committed three turnovers on their next five possessions.
Vanderbilt ultimately turned one of those mistakes into a touchdown to give it a 7-6 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was worse. Florida had minus-18 yards in the period, but Vanderbilt was equally as inept offensively as both defenses dueled for field position.
The Gators seemed to have a little life at the start of the fourth quarter, but a fumble in the red zone negated a strong drive. It wasn’t until Hardin’s kick late in the game that the Gators took the lead for good.
Vanderbilt had about a minute remaining to notch a game-tying score. The Commodores were aided by defensive holding and targeting penalties, but were unable to complete a pass to move the ball into field-goal range.
Florida still has one conference game against South Carolina remaining and will likely have to wait a couple weeks before learning its SEC title game opponent. LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss are all in the hunt for the West Division title.
For more Florida news, visit InsideTheGators.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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