The Florida Gators took advantage of a talent disparity and overmatched opponent while picking up a 45-28 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. It marked Florida’s first victory over an FBS program in 343 days and the Gators’ highest-scoring game against FBS opposition during the entire tenure of head coach Billy Napier.

While Florida’s offense hummed all day behind both quarterbacks, redshirt senior Graham Mertz and freshman DJ Lagway, the defense was a total sieve against one of the worst rushing attacks in the nation. That once again leaves the Gators with plenty to work through — despite the victory — entering their first of two off weeks this season.

The Quarterback Rotation

Mertz completed 19 of 21 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns, adding another rushing score along with 24 yards on the ground. Lagway connected on all seven of his passes for 76 yards while leading two touchdown drives — each over 90 yards.

“Thought we played well around the quarterbacks, and I thought the quarterbacks did a really good job kind of being the point guard of the offense and distributing the ball,” Napier said. “We had some balance. … We did a lot of good.”

Florida held a 28-7 lead late in the second quarter posting its most points in a half against an FBS opponent under Napier. This as Napier stuck to a predetermined quarterback rotation that saw Lagway play the third, sixth and ninth possessions of the game. Seven different pass catchers caught at least two balls, and the Gators showed more offensive variety than it had at any prior point this season.

Offensive Success Against a Weak Defense

… you can still run quality offense against an overmatched defense. That was the name of the game Saturday for a Gators team that badly needed a get-right game for an offense that has struggled to find rhythm this season.

Napier during the week claimed Mertz would start each half with Lagway getting a possession early on each side of the break. Instead, as ESPN reported moments before kickoff, Napier decided that Lagway would man the offense on the third, sixth and ninth drives. That seemed to be a problematic predetermination, and yet, it actually worked for Florida. Whether that was due to planning or happenstance is tough to say.

“We evaluated how the week went just in terms of Graham being back healthy. Really was impressive this week in practice,” said Napier regarding what determined the drive split. “… We just kind of went with our gut there, what we felt was best for our team. We’re still committed to playing DJ. Today, he showed that he’ll get a little better with the more experience he gets. We’re getting the best of both worlds there. Both guys make our team better.”

Lagway’s first effort ended in a lost fumble from redshirt senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. (15 carries, 68 yards). His last two both started inside the UF 10-yard line; each ended in touchdowns after 10 plays (91 yards, 93 yards). Across all three, he was excellent converting third downs.

“These things work best when you define the plan and stick to the plan,” explained Napier when asked why he decided to twice put Lagway in that position. “You got to play the long game a little bit. … We practiced those situation. He knows how to manage the game, and he did a great job. He did what he was coached to do.”

And yet, Mertz was the star of the game with a nearly flawless performance including two key rushing plays that extended drives. The Gators may not have the luxury of sticking with this predetermined pattern against more talented defenses, and given Mertz’s high level of play that reminded of his 2023 efficiency, it remains to be seen what Napier will decide coming out of the off week.

Defensive Deficiencies

As well as Florida played offensively is how poorly it performed defensively. Mississippi State entered having been outscored 55-6 across its last two first halves while totaling 90 combined yards rushing in its last two games against Arizona State and Toledo. UF allowed it to score 14 points in the first half and rush for 239 yards in the contest.

The middle of the defense was an absolute disaster. Yes, the Gators are missing three significant defensive linemen, including two starters. They still have a major talent edge and should, theoretically, have a coaching advantage as well given there are two coordinators employed, each of whom is paid over $1 million to lead the unit.

“We 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.”

Beyond the run-game issues, there were continued missed assignments at the second and third levels. (The secondary was also missing three key players, including two starters.) Florida struggled to get lined up properly against tempo and missed tackles so frequently that one would believe it was taught in practice. What exactly did the Gators work on all week while preparing for the Bulldogs?

Florida has now allowed 28+ points to eight of its last nine FBS opponents; the lone outlier was Florida State, which played its backup quarterback to end the 2023 season.

“There’s three or four or five possessions there where we disappear,” Napier said. “… We were a little more consistent across the board today, but we know that there’s going to be more consistency required. The rush and the coverage got to work together. Overall, the rush defense has got to get shored up, and we have to eliminate some of these penalties that we had.”

Moving Forward

The first of two bye weeks is ahead for Florida, and coming off as lackluster a start as the program could have expected through four games, it is most certainly needed. However, despite the extra preparation time, there should be no expectation that Napier is fired at this juncture. He still gives the Gators their best chance to win on a week to week basis — largely because neither of the three coordinators nor anyone else on the staff would be a notable upgrade holding the whistle on the sideline.

Florida hosts UCF in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 5 before playing at Tennessee and hosting Kentucky for homecoming. That precedes the second off week ahead of the toughest stretch of the schedule. It would be far more likely for a move to be made before the Georgia game, but UF might also be at a point where — barring something truly unforgivable — it sticks with Napier because there are simply no better options until the end of the season.

The Gators showed more fight Saturday than they have at any other point this season. They were strong offensively, overcame adversity created by poor defensive play and never allowed doubt to creep in despite that tough stretch crossing halftime. Florida should get some reinforcements back for the UCF game, and if it does, perhaps there can be some further improvement over the second “segment” of the season.

“We’re capable of better: We can play better, we can coach better,” Napier said. “We have an open date here, and we need to take a good look in the mirror — on both sides of the spectrum, players and coaches. Maybe we need to adjust who plays and who doesn’t play. We still need to handle the tempo better; we know we’re going to play teams that do that in the future, and we need to get ready for it. It’s good to win a game like that [going] into the open date.”

He added later: “We have more work to do. We won today, but we are very much a work in progress. This group can get so much better. We had so many individual players, position group and units on our team that we’re not even close to being who we can be — and they know that. We saw flashes of it today, but we have to become a more consistent team. That’s going to be the emphasis here in the open date. I just want to see a little more scrap, a little more fight — in particular on defense.”

The Week 4 Takeaway

Despite the win, the Gators remain a work in progress with a glaring weakness on defense. The upcoming bye week is crucial for the team to address its shortcomings, particularly in tackling and stopping the run. If the Gators can improve in those areas, they could emerge as a more consistent force in the second half of the season. But for now, the question remains: can Florida overcome its defensive struggles and build a winning culture under head coach Billy Napier?