First, the good news for Florida football fans:
The Gators’ two quarterbacks combined to complete 26 of 28 passes on Saturday. Linemen remembered how to block. The offense scored 45 points.
If offense were all that counted, it would appear Florida’s season might have a pulse. If you squint really hard, you might even see a path of survival for Billy Napier.
Just don’t look at Florida’s defense. It would take an electron microscope to detect anything encouraging about what happened against Mississippi State.
The Gators allowed 28 points to a team that was blown out 41-17 by Toledo a week earlier.
“We won today,” Billy Napier said. “But we’re very much a work-in-progress.”
Florida football’s positives happened on offense
Sticking with the positive, the offense certainly progressed Saturday. Graham Mertz looked like Heisman material, throwing three TDs and completing 19 of 21 passes.
He was so good, it made you wonder why Napier would ever take Mertz out of the lineup. Then you saw DJ Lagway, and the reason became clear.
The true freshman was 7-for-7 passing and showed the wheels and the poise that has fans swooning. In his first SEC road game, Lagway directed two 90-yards-plus scoring drives.
It’d be ludicrous to say one good afternoon has cured all the problems Florida’s offense has had. Nobody is going to mistake Mississippi State’s defense for Georgia’s.
But there was enough spark and spunk to think the Gators might put some points on teams like UCF and Kentucky. With that defense, they’re going to need a lot of them.
Holy Toledo, is there any hope?
In a first, the offensive-minded Napier poked his head in on defensive meetings and worked with that unit in practice last week. Whatever he did, it didn’t work much better than all the other coaches who’ve spent years trying to put UF’s Humpty Dumpty defense back together again.
Mississippi State rolled up 480 yards offense; 240 running and 240 passing. The Bulldogs came in averaging 96.7 yards rushing and could muster only 66 against Toledo.
Maybe the Rockets are the MAC version of the ’85 Bears. More likely, they just dominated a team with zero returning starters on the offensive line.
Florida’s defense made the game’s biggest play
Give the Gators credit for stopping Mississippi State when they had to. The biggest play of the game came when the Bulldogs had a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter.
They were about to cut the lead to 35-28, and the cowbells were clanging at Davis Wade Stadium. But quarterback Blake Shapen fumbled a pitchout, and the play lost five yards.
Lagway came in and drove Florida 94 yards for a breathing-room score. If not for that goal-line stand by UF, visions of Ron Zook might have started dancing in Florida fans’ heads.
UF fired him in 2004 after losing in Starkville, which is a renowned coaching graveyard. Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher last year after he beat the Bulldogs 51-7. For good measure, Mississippi State also fired Zach Arnett after that game.
The Bulldogs won’t be firing Jeff Lebby on Sunday or Monday. As for Napier, his job is probably safe for at least a couple more weeks.
Florida’s defense should be able to hold Open Date to fewer than three TDs. Then comes UCF, which might score three TDs in the first quarter.
“This group can get so much better,” Napier said. “We’re not even close to being who we can be, and they know that.”
Florida’s offense should feel that way, at least.
The defense?
It’s trying to work, but there hasn’t been much progress. And there aren’t any more Mississippi States left to progress against.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun’s sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley
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Publish date : 2024-09-21 10:52:00
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