Post-Game Analysis Florida Gators vs. McNeese State Cowboys

As expected the Gators pushed around the McNeese State front on the way to 327 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Football Analyst

Photo Credit - Chris Spears GatorBait Media

The Florida Gators showed up for Saturday’s game against McNeese State looking to break a four-game losing streak dating back to Week 11 of the 2022 season. The last sample size that the Gators offered was anything but positive as the Gators looked disoriented nine days ago against Utah. Saturday night’s game was less about the opponent and more about what type of football the Florida Gators would play in that contest. Would it be the sloppy, mistake-oriented performance that has plagued the Gators in several contest or would there be a committed effort to eliminate the issues that could lead this football team down a rabbit hole of ineptitude that most teams never seem to crawl out of.

What We Expected: With McNeese giving up over 200 yards rushing to FCS foes Tarleton State it was assumed that the Gators would look to get their running game going after a subpar performance in their first outing of the season. Center Jake Slaughter had come under some scrutiny as many of the issues both in the run and passing game had been attributed to his lack of experience as he filled in for offensive line anchor center Kingsley Eguakun. With McNeese struggling to defend the run this was the perfect opportunity for Slaughter to improve and get one of the SEC’s best running back duos going as Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne managed just ten combined carries in the Week 1 loss to Utah. The Gators would run early and often while the Gator defense would continue its improvement looking to shutout an inferior McNeese offense.

What We Got: As expected the Gators pushed around the McNeese State front on the way to 327 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Johnson Jr. and Etienne combined for 203 yards while freshman standout Treyaun Webb got involved with 71 more yards of his own. What was most impressive is that the Gators amassed such a number with very few penalties. Gone were the false starts on short yardage plays nor the holding penalties due to lack of footwork or attention to detail. As impressive was the performance of quarterback Graham Mertz for a second week in a row. With play-calling that seemed more deliberate with increased creativity Mertz showed his ability to handle the entire Gator playbook with impressive ball handling, pump fakes and key completions that forced McNeese state to cover both the width and length of the football field. In all but a handful of play calls, the Gator offense seemed to be ironing out some of the shematic issues that limited the offense in Week 1. Along with sophomore linebacker Shemar James, Graham Mertz play has been exemplary and continues to garner the respect of his teammates. Mertz is completing almost 74 percent of his passes and his 8.6 yards per attempts is the highest of his career. When asked about Graham Mertz Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. stated, “Graham is a really experienced guy, everybody in the room respects him for that and a lot of guys pull for him.” Mertz, whose transfer was criticized by many is beginning to show why so many have lauded his potential as winning quarterback.

Not lost on the evening was the performance of the Florida defense. The unit continues to improve under new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. The Gators held McNeese to 112 total yards and 2 of 10 on third downs. Basically throwing a shutout the defense also added two sacks after shooting blanks in Week 1. With a home tilt with Tennessee looming, this will be a statement week for Austin Armstrong and the Gator defense.

The Skinny: Now for the truth. This was McNeese State. The Gators were never going to lose this game. However, they could have looked bad winning it. To the credit of Head Coach Billy Napier they did not. The Florida offense moved with positive intent, stayed focused, and actually was fun to watch. What is concerning is that this is not always the presentation we get from the de facto offensive play caller Coach Napier. If the Gators can continue to mix the power run game with creativity on the offensive perimeter the Gators could show promise as Mertz has proven to be a much more than a game manager. As the Gators prepare for Tennessee next Saturday it would seem that games against Utah and McNeese resonate more like preseason games and the season starts with the Volunteers. Saturday’s game will most likely be the premier game in the southeastern conference if not the country as a whole and an indictment on where the Napier experience is headed for 2023. Once again it may not be whether the Gators win or lose but how (good or bad they look) playing the game. This week was better but as Coach Napier like to say the Gators “still have more grass to mow.”

Final Score: Florida Gators 49 McNeese State Cowboys 7