FINAL: Florida 45, Mississippi State 28

WHAT HAPPENED: Florida quarterback Graham Mertz passed for three touchdowns, rushed for another and led the Gators to a 45-28 road victory and first Southeastern Conference win of the 2024 season. Mertz, the sixth-year veteran in his second UF season after transferring from Wisconsin, completed 19 of 21 passes (90.5 percent) for 201 yards, with all three of his TDs coming in the first half to set the tone for a team — as well as Coach Billy Napier — in desperate need of something positive following two lopsided home losses against both its high-major conference opponents earlier this month. UF finished with 503 yards of total offense (a balanced 226 rushing, 277 through the air), besting the host Bulldogs’ 480 (to go with 31 first downs), with a whopping 240 coming on the ground. Mertz, who was 15-for-16 for 147 yards in the first half, fired touchdowns of three yards to tight end Arlis Boardingham, 20 to wide receiver Marcus Burke and 35 to tight end Hayden Hansen to stake the Gators to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. He shared quarterback duties with true freshman DJ Lagway, who completed all seven of his passes for 76 yards and ran for a score, his fumble into the end zone recovered by offensive lineman Austin Barber. Lagway’s second series was a 10-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Ja’Kobi Jackson and pushed the visitors in front 28-7 late in the first half. The Bulldogs cut the margin to 14 when quarterback Blake Shapen (13 of 21 for 140 yards, 1 TD) finished off a quick six-play, 75-yard, 54-second drive with a 3-yard run with 23 seconds to play in the period to make it 28-14 at the half. The game got even closer after Shapen engineered another long scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard pass to Jordan Mosley on MSU’s first possession of the second half. Mertz countered with an 8-play, 75-yard drive (aided by a couple defensive penalties) and finished the march with a 1-yard sneak for a 35-21 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. A goal-line stand by the Florida defense turned the ball back to the Gators less than a minute into the fourth period. Lagway then led his second drive of more than 90 yards (this one 10 plays, 93 yards) and finished it himself with a 6-yard scoring run for the first rushing TD of his career and a 42-21 lead. The Bulldogs got a 10-yard scoring run from Johnnie Daniels with 4:26 to go, while the Gators added a 47-yard Trey Smack field goal with 2:34 remaining. UF got a game-high 68 yards rushing from senior tailback Montrell Johnson Jr. and had 10 different receivers haul in passes, led by Aidan Mizell’s five for 36 yards. The win was just the third for Florida in its last 15 road games.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators, with everything going on, badly needed a victory to stop the bleeding. Mississippi State, obviously, is not a good team, but UF went on the road and amid all the adversity and distractions put one in the SEC win column. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: While Lagway may be the favored Florida quarterback (and the Gators’ future at the position), Mertz is the better one right now and gives them the best chance to win. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Mertz and Lagway combined to go 26-for-28. That’s 92.9 percent, which is believed to be a single-game team record. 

UP NEXT: Florida (2-2, 1-1) has the first of two open dates next weekend. The Gators will return to action Oct. 5 at home against cross-state foe UCF (3-0, 1-0), which was idle Saturday. While the Gators will be sitting out the week, the Knights will play host to Deion Sanders and Colorado in a Big 12 Conference game. Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1) plays at No. 1 Texas next week.