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Highlights: Watch the top plays from Florida Gators vs. McNeese

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•09/11/23•

ZachAbolverdi

Treyaun-Webb-Florida-Gators
Florida running back Treyaun Webb. (UAA Photo)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators won their first game in 10 months with Saturday’s 49-7 blowout against McNeese. Florida scored touchdowns on its first seven offensive drives before fumbling late and allowing the Cowboys to score.

UF rushed for 327 yards, including over 200 combined from junior Montrell Johnson Jr. (119 yards, 2 TDs) and sophomore Trevor Etienne (84 yards, 1 TD). Freshman Treyaun Webb also rushed for 71 yards and two scores.

Redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz accounted for 201 yards of total offense, throwing for 193 yards on 14 of 17 passing. He hit senior receiver Ricky Pearsall for a 50-yard touchdown and also scored on QB sneak.

Defensively, the Gators made a pair of sacks and held McNeese to just 112 total yards — their best defensive performance since 2016 in terms of yards allowed. They also gave up just 2 of 10 on third-down conversions.

Watch the best moments from Florida’s win over McNeese with this highlight video from UF Athletics.

Highlights from Florida-McNeese:

Gators Online game coverage

Five key plays from the Florida Gators’ 49-7 win over McNeese
Five Thoughts from Florida Gators blowout win over McNeese
Game Balls: Florida Gators players of the game against McNeese
Gators Online Rapid Reaction to Florida’s win over McNeese
Florida Gators get back to their identity in win over McNeese
Notable stats from the Florida Gators’ win over McNeese
Florida Gators snap counts against McNeese Cowboys
Florida Gators get a feel-good win in 49-7 blowout
Everything Billy Napier said after Florida’s 49-7 win
Live Updates: Florida Gators vs. McNeese Cowboys

Billy Napier opening statement

“We really appreciate our fans showing up tonight, home opener. We had about 88,000 in there for an FCS opponent. Look, they make a difference. They make a difference. The energy that they create for our players and certainly the difficulty for the opponent, it’s special.

“We talked to the players throughout the week about it’s sacred to compete in the Swamp. We only get so many opportunities. So independent of the opponent, it’s just a special experience for our guys. They work hard the entire year for these opportunities, and I thought we had the right mindset early, both sides of the ball, and for the most part did what we should do, truth be known, and ultimately as a coach — we had a miscue early with the snap and then we fumbled the ball late. Outside of that, pretty clean day for the most part.

“We did some things that were significant statistically, but it really wasn’t about that. I told the players in the locker room just now, I appreciate the response that we saw from the players after last week, which was obviously disappointing, but I think the leadership on the team, we said it was going to be about the mindset, the effort, the attitude, and I think we had the right things early.

“We’ll enjoy tonight, and when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll get ready for the big one next week.”

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