Mertz passes for 3 scores and runs for another to help Florida beat Mississippi State 45-28

Updated Sep. 21, 2024 4:56 p.m. ET

Associated Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — With Florida head coach Billy Napier’s job security grabbing the bulk of the attention on Saturday afternoon, the Gators rose to the occasion against Mississippi State.

Graham Mertz passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Florida over Mississippi State 45-28 on Saturday. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Gators against FBS opponents.

“It’s good to win on the road in this league and this can be a challenging place to play,” Napier said. “We have more work to do. We won (Saturday), but we are very much a work in progress. We’re not even close to being who we can be and they know that.”

The Gators had 503 yards of total offense and completed 93 percent of their passes with Mertz 19 of 21 for 201 yards and DJ Lagway completing all seven of his throws for 76 yards.

“I think we’re getting the best of both worlds there. Both guys make our team better,” Napier said. “I think this is the best for our team getting both guys involved.”

The Bulldogs defense surrendered a touchdown on all but three drives. The visitors averaged 6.3 yards per carry with 36 rushes for 226 yards. The Gators were 6 of 9 on third downs.

For the third straight week, the Bulldogs dug themselves a first-half hole. After being outscored 55-6 in the first half against Arizona State and Toledo, MSU was behind 28-7 in the first half before getting a touchdown run from quarterback Blake Shapen to trail 28-14.

MSU closed within 28-21 after Shapen found Jordan Mosley for a 13-yard catch in the third quarter, but a fourth-down stop from the 1-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter spelled the end for the Bulldogs.

“We’ve got a choice to make, and the choice is up to each and every one of us,” MSU coach Jeff Lebby said. “We’re going to wake up in the morning, the sun’s going to come up, we’re going to have breath in our body and we’re going to be thankful for the opportunity. There will be great relief, great energy and great confidence in how the guys are getting coached. I think our guys will respond.”

Shapen led an offense that had 480 yards — to 503 for Florida — and a season-high 240 yards on the ground. He finished 13 of 21 for 140 yards passing and a touchdown and had 12 carries for 32 yards and a score before leaving the game with an apparent injury in the fourth.

Michael Van Buren came in and was 7 of 13 for 100 yards. Davon Booth and Johnnie Daniels led the way with 29 combined carries for 178 yards and two scores.

Big picture

Florida: Billy Napier has a seat hotter than any other coach in the nation and that likely won’t change after the result on Saturday. With a bye week on the way, the intrigue grows for Florida.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are in the middle of a major rebuild and that continues to be more evident each week. State’s defense was nonresistant against a Gators offense that has struggled to score against the two other Power 4 teams they’ve played this season.