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Florida looks to win SEC East title

Nov 8, 2008 - 11:16 AM (5) Florida (7-1) at Vanderbilt (5-3), 8:00 pm EST

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- After an impressive win over Georgia, Florida is back in the national championship picture. But coach Urban Meyer wants to tone down such talk - at least for now.

The next order of business for the fifth-ranked Gators is clinching the Southeastern Conference East Division title, something they can do with a win at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Florida (7-1, 5-1 SEC East) is seeking its ninth appearance in the SEC title game - four more than Alabama and Tennessee, who have made five appearances. The Gators are 6-2 in SEC title games, including a 38-28 victory over Arkansas in 2006 en route to the national championship.

"We have to be ready for Nashville (Vanderbilt) next week," Meyer said. "We want a trip to Atlanta (for the SEC title game on December 6)."

Florida was plenty ready for Georgia last week, routing the Bulldogs, 49-10, to avenge last season's 42-30 loss. Tim Tebow, whose numbers are down from last year's Heisman Trophy season, passed for two touchdowns and ran for three others as the Gators continued their late-season surge.

Two of Tebow's TD runs came after he sprained his left ankle early in the third quarter, but the injury hardly slowed him down.

"He's relaxed, he's playing and he's having a lot of fun," Meyer said. "Tim Tebow loves the game of football and loves the University of Florida. He's contagious. When he plays well, the whole offense plays well."

Florida is playing as well as anyone in the country, outscoring its last four opponents by a combined 201-43 margin following a 31-30 loss to Mississippi.

That is bad news for Vanderbilt (5-3, 3-2), whose season is on the verge of falling apart following an historic start.

A 14-13 win over Auburn on October 4 gave the Commodores their first 5-0 start since 1943. Since then, however, they have dropped three in a row, including a disappointing 10-7 loss to Duke two weeks ago.

The Commodores were blanked against the Blue Devils until Mackenzi Adams tossed a 79-yard touchdown pass to Sean Walker with 13:20 remaining.

Vanderbilt, which climbed to 14th in the coaches' poll following the win over Auburn, still needs one victory to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1982. The Commodores finish with road games at Kentucky and Wake Forest, sandwiched around a home contest against Tennessee.

Florida has won 17 straight games against Vanderbilt, including a 49-22 victory last season, when Gators receiver Percy Harvin became the first player in school history with 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same contest.