Skip to main content
florida logo

Rapid Reaction to Florida's win over McNeese from Gators Online

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•09/10/23•

ZachAbolverdi

Graham-Mertz-Florida-Gators
Florida quarterback Graham Mertz. (UAA Photo)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators snapped their four-game losing streak Saturday with a 49-7 win in their home opener against McNeese. Florida built a seven-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter before a late score by the Cowboys.

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 and 2 of 10 on third-down conversions. Sophomore linebacker Shemar James led the team in tackles (6.0) for the second consecutive game.

In the video above, Gators Online gives our rapid reaction to Florida’s win over the Cowboys.

RELATED: Everything Billy Napier said after Florida’s 49-7 win over McNeese

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.”

You may also like