3. Florida will avoid a letdown and hammer Vanderbilt
I simply cannot write my weekly bold predictions article without including the team that has delivered for me all season long. Last week the Gators beat LSU, and now they have to travel to Nashville with huge games against South Carolina and Georgia on deck. It is arguably one of the biggest sandwich games of the year, but I think Florida will come to play this week and take care of business for several reasons.
First, Vanderbilt will have the Gators' attention after nearly upsetting South Carolina earlier this season and going on the road last week and getting a conference win at Missouri. Second, the key to winning road games is bringing your defense and special teams, and those units are Florida's greatest strengths -- both rank among my top 10 in the country in each category. The Gators also have one of the best running backs in the SEC in Mike Gillislee, who ran for 146 yards last week against LSU's stout defensive front.
Finally, even if Florida sleepwalks through the first half, remember that the Gators have outscored their opponents 41-0 in the fourth quarter this year. UF has won in its past 10 trips to Nashville by an average of 20 points per game, and will make it 11 straight with a dominating two-touchdown-plus victory on Saturday.