Florida Gators v. Mississippi State Bulldogs Post-Game Analysis

Mertz and Lagway are almost perfect, literally. The defense on the other hand……

By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Football Analyst

-STARKVILLE, Miss.

Davis-Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi (GatorBait photo)

Florida came into the game with its leader on the hottest seat in the country, against a team that if you fail to count consistent cellar dweller Vanderbilt is the SEC’s worst. The Gators would be tasked to grab just their third road win of the Napier tenure and if history had shown anything, the Gators were not the best team when sleeping in someone else beds and eating breakfast around 7am Central tme. Mississippi State played with a tempo that scared many Florida insiders and former players. Would a loss in Starkville be the death blow on a coach that seat was hotter than his hiring prospect just three years ago?

What We Thought: Mississippi State had been pummeled at home against Toledo a week ago where it surrendered almost 450 yards of total offense to the team from the 419. An embarrassment to say the least — and to make matters worse, the Toledo defense surrendered just 66 yards rushing to the Bulldogs in a game that was never in doubt. Based upon this evidence, the jury was still out on a Florida defense that had allowed a redshirt freshman to come into The Swamp and dominate with his legs and arm to the tune of over 250 all-purpose yards — Texas A&M taking almost 500 total as a team. In the fourth week, the Gator defense would be facing a dual-threat quarterback and the offense would face a defense very vulnerable against the run. The Gators somehow had found ways to make their opponents look their best — a trend that was sure to continue in Starkville. 

What We Got: The Bulldog offense gained 31 first downs against the Gators on Saturday. 31! Once again, the Florida defense that has been saved much of the blame for the teams futility was not great at times yesterday. Early in the contest Jeff Lebby’s crew seemed content to attack the Gators through the air and to their credit the Florida secondary was up to the task. After a couple of series the Bulldogs had an awakening and found that the best way to put the Gators in peril was to hit the defense square in the gut. The Bulldogs found success running into the teeth of the Gator defense for a season high 240 yards for 4.3 yards per carry. This would allow the Bulldogs to convert both on long and short yardage plays with most runs going right at the Gators’ front.

Luckily, the Florida offense found its footing early and stayed planted often and had its best game against a Power Four opponent this season. Graham Mertz had his best game of the season completing, 19 of 21 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. His partner in silencing the cowbells DJ Lagway was 7 for 7 for 76 yards in relief situations running plays more suited for his skill set. Florida’s offense looked more creative than previous weeks despite the opponent and the offense continues to move with confidence under Mertz. The run game was a nice complement to the success through the air, adding 226 yards on 36 carries for a 6.3 per carry average. Montrell Johnson, while not explosive, continues to be solid particularly in the passing game where he was key in stoning blitzing linebackers in pass protection. Maybe the best moment of the day was left tackle Austin Barber scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery, his first since Pop Warner.

Austin Barber, Pup Howard, Graham Mertz postgame (GatorBait photo)

The Skinny: To write too much would be to write a lie. Was this a good win? Yes and no. Yes, because the young men in the “organization” and others work extremely hard and this game is not for the weak -minded or -hearted and success is rooted in wins. No, because a win in Starkville will do very little to quiet the screams for a new leader of the crew. Billy Napier still looks like a coach who is trying to find a way to right a ship that may have been built with some irreparable flaws. You can tell that he genuinely cares for his players and they believe in what he is trying to do. The problem is the plan is not consistently good enough or the goods are not as robust as once thought to be. For all the talk of the offense there have been few times where they have been given the ball in plus territory or handed a turnover in the enemy’s backyard. Ron Roberts and his perceived protégé’ Austin Armstrong had both in the booth calling the defense but Roberts moved to the sideline. The unit still lacks fire and, most of all, the ability to stand up against physical football teams. The off week will not be as noisy as it could have been and perhaps Napier and company can focus on self examination after four samples and see if they need to change some of the ingredients. Next up comes the visit from another in-state foe that is already advertising its “arrival” on billboards in your backyard.

Most would agree that the seat under Napier is no longer just hot but has disintegrated into toast. The off week allows for some soul searching and well needed evaluation — finding a left tackle and sticking with him (Austin Barber) and going live in three of the next five practices and find out who wants to play big boy football . Just my two cents. 

Final Score: Florida 45 Mississippi State 28  (Prediction-Florida 27 Mississippi State 33)