Rebound: Florida Gators beat Mississippi State 45-28 on the road

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Florida Gators snapped a painful seven-game losing streak against FBS teams Saturday against Mississippi State. And behind its best offensive game of the season, Florida won handily.

Final score: Gators 45, Bulldogs 28.

Florida, now 2-2, hadn’t beaten a Power 4 team since Oct. 14, 2023 at South Carolina. Mississippi State falls to 1-3.

Florida quarterback Graham Mertz was 19-of-21 passing for 201 yards and three touchdowns to lead a Gators offense that amassed 503 yards. Backup quarterback DJ Lagway also was sharp, going 7 of 7 for 76 yards; he added 22 rushing yards. Running back Montrell Johnson led a powerful Florida rushing attack that produced 226 yards on the ground.

It wasn’t all pretty, however. The Gators’ defense allowed 30 first downs and 480 yards, split evenly between rushing and passing at 240 yards each. The Gators are off next week before playing host to UCF the following weekend.

Click here to follow along with our game thread and join the discussion on the Swamp Talk forum. Below are live updates from Davis Wade Stadium:

FOURTH QUARTER

– UF placekicker Trey Smack just booted a 47-yard field goal to cap a short, six-play, 21-yard drive. It’s back to a three-score game.(45-28, 2:34)

– Behind backup quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., the Bulldogs went 75 yards on 12 plays and scored on Johnnie Daniels’ 10-yard run. MSU now has 240 rushing yards. (42-28, 4:26)

– UF just completed a 93-yard drive and scored when left tackle Austin Barber recovered a DJ Lagway fumble in the end zone on a wild play. The ball came loose as Lagway was reaching for the goal line. The score capped a 10-play possession. The Gators got a few big runs from freshman Jadan Baugh on the drive — one covered 32 yards. (42-21, 8:24)

– MSU had a chance to make it a one-score game, but on 4th-and-goal from the 1 the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and Florida recovered at the Gators 7. Linebacker Grayson Howard came up with the ball.

THIRD QUARTER

– After MSU pulled with 7 points, Florida answered with another touchdown drive from Mertz. An incredible 65-yard catch-and-run TD by Aidan Mizell was negated by a questionable call on a Montrell Johnson Jr. block, but the Gators reached the red zone with a 28-yard reception by Dike. Mertz scored on a QB keep for his fourth TD of the day. (35-21, 3:37)

– The Bulldogs scored on their opening series of the third quarter — their second straight with a touchdown — to make it a one-possession game. MSU marched down the field on a 13-play, 76-yard TD drive, including a 15-yard run on third-and-10 and fourth-down conversion. Shapen completed a 13-yard TD pass to Jordan Mosley. (28-21, 6:38)

SECOND QUARTER

– After a solid first half from the Gators defensively, they gave a touchdown drive just before the break to allow MSU back into the game. The Bulldogs marched 75 yards in just six plays, including back-to-back receptions by Mario Craver of 16 and 37 yards. Blake Shapen finished the series with a 3-yard QB keeper. (28-14, 0:54)

– For his second series of the game, Lagway took over inside his own 10-yard line and led the Gators on a 10-play, 91-yard touchdown drive. He had a 13-yard run on third-and-9 and threw a 27-yard pass to Elijhah Badger to reach the red zone. Ja’Kobi Jackson scored on a 10-yard TD run. (28-7, 1:17)

– Another series, another touchdown for Mertz. The sixth-year senior quarterback orchestrated his third straight TD drive to give the Gators a two-score lead. After a 35-yard punt return by Chimere Dike, Mertz threw a 35-yard touchdown to Hayden Hansen. He’s now 15-16 for 147 yards and three TDs. (21-7, 9:02)

– After Montrell Johnson Jr. fumbled on DJ Lagway’s first series of the game, Mertz checked back in on Florida’s fourth series and led the offense on a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. He threw an absolute dime to Marcus Burke for a 20-yard TD. He’s up to 103 yards passing and two scores. (14-7, 10:56)

.@GrahamMertz5 🎯 @CERTIFIED_MB4

💻 https://t.co/hNnbCxm8S4 pic.twitter.com/Z6JLZzuur9

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 21, 2024

FIRST QUARTER

– Florida’s first lead of the season against an FBS team didn’t last long. The Bulldogs responded with an eight-play, 62-yard touchdown drive. MSU running back Davon Booth tied the game with a short TD run after his first-down pickup on third-and-4. (7-7, 0:21)

– After going three-and-out on their opening possession, UF quarterback Graham Mertz orchestrated a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive. Mertz converted a third-and-8, had two scrambles of 16 and 7 yards and capped the series with a 3-yard TD pass to tight end Arlis Boardingham. (7-0, 3:39)