STARKVILLE, Miss — Florida football showed some resolve to earn a win in its first road game of the season, beating Mississippi State 45-28 with a spectacular offensive performance and some shaky moments on defense.
The Florida Gators (2-2, 1-1 SEC) snapped a seven-game losing streak against Power Four conference opponents. UF also won its first SEC game since beating South Carolina 41-39 on Oct. 14, 2023.
Third-year Florida coach Billy Napier, who improved to 13-16 in his UF tenure, wasn’t entirely satisfied with the performance. Florida has a bye week upcoming before returning to The Swamp on Oct. 5 to host UCF.
“We’re capable of better,” Napier said. “I think we can play better; I think we can coach better. And look, we’ve got an open date here. We need to take a good look in the mirror on both sides of the spectrum, players and coaches. And maybe we need to adjust who plays and who doesn’t play.”
Here’s what Florida learned following their win over the Bulldogs:
Florida football’s run defense still needs work
Florida made an adjustment defense, with co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts moving from the field to the press box. It still didn’t help UF’s run defense, which was gashed for 240 yards on 4.3 yards per carry. Several of the big gains came right up the gut of UF’s defense on inside-zone runs.
“We’ve got to get it fixed.” Napier said. “If you want to play really good defense, you got to be strong up the middle. It’s discouraging because it’s at the core of what you do. And I think we’ve got the personnel in there to be really good. And again, you got to give Mississippi State some credit, they ran it into the light box and then they threw it when we were loaded up in there so the RPO conflict was on full display today.”
Florida was without two of its defensive tackles today — Joey Slackman and Michai Boireau — who were out with injuries. But still, defensive tackles Desmond Watson, Caleb Banks and Cam Jackson need to do a better job shedding blockers and making tackles. At times, all three looked fatigued to MSU’s high-tempo offense.
“They go really fast and they’re not the only team we’re going to play this year that goes really fast,” Florida linebacker Grayson Howard said.
Florida football’s offense can achieve balance
For as well as quarterbacks Graham Mertz (19 of 21, 201 yards, 3 TDs) and DJ Lagway (7-for-7, 76 yards) performed in the run game, UF showed it could move the ball on the ground as well. The Gators finished the game rushing for 226 yards on 6.3 yards per game. Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. overcame an early lost fumble to rush for a team-high 68 yards on 15 carries. Freshman Jadan Baugh sprung free for a 32-yard run in the fourth quarter and finished with 4 carries for 53 yards. Sophomore running back Treyaun Webb had 42 yards on 8 carries and JUCO transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson had 3 carries for 18 yards, including a 10-yard TD run.
Florida football’s special teams remained special
UF’s special teams have done a complete 180 from last season and were a factor in the win against the Bulldogs. Wide receiver Chimere Dike returned a punt 35 yards, which helped set up UF’s third touchdown, a 35-yard strike from quarterback Graham Mertz to tight end Hayden Hansen.
“Coach (Joe) Houston does a great job of setting up schemes that, you know, we’re successful in,” Dike said. “Both the jammers did a really good job of getting friction on their guys and give me time to, you know, catch the ball and make a play. I was able to split it, kind of get to the second level, so, you know, I can’t do that without the guys blocking up front.”
Kicker Trey Smack booted a 47-yard field goal to put the game away in the fourth quarter and Rocco Underwood came up with a booming special teams tackle on Mississippi State punt returner Kevin Colman Jr. that set a physical tone. Other than allowing a 38-yard kickoff return by MSU’s Davon Booth, UF’s coverage units were solid.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
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