NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Florida's offense wasn't pretty, according to its coach or the stat sheet. But it was just efficient enough for a 13-6 win over Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The No. 23 Gators gained just 236 yards of total offense, but 171 of that came on their three scoring drives. Florida kicker Eddy Pinero booted two field goals, helping the Gators post their third victory in a row over Vanderbilt and 25th of the last 26 in the series.

"A wise man once told me, no matter what, you've got to bring them ugly babies home from the hospital, and that was ugly, all right? In fact, that might have been (what) somebody told my dad that when they brought me home," Florida coach Jim McElwain said. "I feel really good about the fact that our guys figured out a way to win."

Florida missed a golden opportunity to put the game away late, when quarterback Austin Appleby fumbled a snap on a second-and-goal play from the Vandy 1. Commodores cornerback Torren McGaster pounced on it at the Vandy 7 with 2:56 left.

Vanderbilt backup quarterback Wade Freebeck led the Commodores to their own 42 on the ensuing drive. But Vandy, with all of its timeouts left, opted to punt on fourth-and-8 - a decision that wasn't popular with the Vandy fans in attendance.

"I heard the jeers when we punted," Commodores coach Derek Mason said. "When you have three timeouts and an opportunity to come out and go after a punt, that's what you do. I've been in this game a long time and I've seen these situations come up. Leaders lead, and that's what we did."

Indeed, Vanderbilt got the ball back with 1:01 left at its 23, but on the next snap, Florida defensive back Nick Washington intercepted Freebeck at the VU 49 with 54 seconds remaining.

Unlike last week, when the Gators lost at Tennessee, Florida got by playing backup quarterback Austin Appleby, who was 19 of 28 for 144 yards. The Gators had injured starter Luke Del Rio dressed, but McElwain didn't feel the need to go to him.

"We will wait and see. Luke again was ready in an emergency situation and we'll make that decision and I'll talk to him on Wednesday," McElwain said. "We need to make sure we get the full week's practice and see how it responds."

Vanderbilt capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Tommy Openshaw's 27-yard field goal, pulling the Commodores within 10-6 with 2:53 left in the third quarter. Pinero answered with a 26-yard field goal with 8:16 to play to extend Florida's lead to seven.

The Gators managed a 10-3 lead at the break, thanks to a 125-114 edge in total offense.

With neither team doing much, Florida running back Jordan Scarlett ripped off a 24-yard run to the Vandy 18 midway through the second quarter. An unsportsmanlike conduct call on outside linebacker Landon Stokes gave the Gators first-and-goal at the Vanderbilt 9, before Scarlett ran between his guards for a 4-yard touchdown run two plays later for a 7-0 lead with 6:27 left before half.

The Commodores punched back on the next drive, as Openshaw converted a 38-yard field goal with 2:13 left before half. Pinero answered with a 42-yarder of his own as the half ran out.

Florida snuffed out a Vanderbilt first-quarter drive when cornerback Jalen Tabor picked quarterback Kyle Shurmur at the Gators 32.

Shurmur left the game midway through the fourth quarter with an apparent lower-body injury, and was spotted limping to the locker room.

Mason said he was unsure of Shurmur's health status following the game.

A pair of All-Southeastern Conference linebackers had banner games. Florida's Jarrad David had a game-high 15 stops (nine solo), and Vanderbilt's Zach Cunningham had 14 (five solo, 1.5 for loss).

Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb, a Gainesville native who entered the game as the SEC's leading rusher, posted 110 yards on 24 carries. The junior now has 2,646 career rushing yards, which moved him into second place on Vanderbilt's all-time chart.

But Webb and the Commodores felt they didn't give their best. Florida won the turnover battle two to one, and Vanderbilt had a season-high six penalties for 47 yards.

"Penalties for one, they are drive-killers," Webb said. "So we kind of got backed up a little bit with a couple of penalties. We just have to find a way, play smart football and not kill ourselves and kill drives."

NOTES: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry carried Vanderbilt's anchor out of the tunnel in pregame ceremonies. ... Vanderbilt starting ILB Nigel Bowden missed his second straight game due to injury. Commodores starting LG Delando Crooks also missed Saturday's game with injury. ... Florida starting DL Joey Ivie (thumb) was held out, and backup LB Jordan Moon (hand surgery) also missed the game.