No. 20 Florida Gators Blank Vanderbilt Commodores 42-0, Jones Throws Career-High Four Touchdowns
By Chris Harry, Florida Gators // October 9, 2021
Florida finished with 479 yards of total offense
ABOVE VIDEO: The No. 20 Florida Gators dominated against the Vanderbilt Commodores 42-0 in Week 6 of the 2021 college football season.
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA (Florida Gators) – The No. 20 Florida Gators dominated against the Vanderbilt Commodores 42-0 in Week 6 of the 2021 college football season.
Quarterback Emory Jones threw a career-high four touchdown passes, tailback Dameon Pierce found the end zone three times, and the 20th-ranked Gators made homecoming bait out of the Commodores in Saturday’s game at Spurrier/Florida Field.
Jones, the fourth-year junior, completed 14 of 22 passes for 273 yards, including touchdown tosses of five and nine yards in the first, then 61 and 25 to start the second half and kick in the blowout. Pierce, the senior, had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs, but in between was on the receiving end of that 61-yard bomb from Jones.
The Gators, looking to bounce back from last week’s crushing defeat at Kentucky, scored on the first two drives of the game, but had their momentum stalled for a spell when backup quarterback Anthony Richardson had a turnover and a three-and-out on his scheduled possessions.
UF got back on the board with just under four minutes to go in the first half, with Jones rolling left and finding Trent Whittemore for a score and 21-0 lead.
The Gators needed barely six minutes of the second half to double that margin on three quick-strike TD drives. A tipped-ball interception by Jones midway through the third quarter set up Vandy at the UF 30 and looked to doom the Gators’ quest for a shutout, but Vandy kicker Joseph Bulovas, who missed two field goals in the first half, was wide left for a third time and UF finished the goose egg, the program’s first since beating Vanderbilt 56-0 in 2019.
Florida finished with 479 yards of total offense, including 181 rushing (the second week in a row with less than 200). Vanderbilt managed just 287 yards, with minus-11 rushing yards in the second half.
The Commodores came in ready to throw the football, with quarterback Ken Seals attempting 43 passes before giving way to his backup. Seals completed 22 for 192 yards and two interceptions.
