QUICK HITTER: State slide continues in 45-28 loss to Florida
By ROBBIE FAULK
Starkville Daily News
Both Mississippi State and Florida entered Saturday desperate for a win and something had to give.
The Bulldogs were losers of two-straight games with the latest being a three-score loss to Toledo. The Gators were off to a 1-2 start with the embattled coach Billy Napier fighting for his job.
Florida came out fighting as the Gators built a 28-7 lead and they left Starkville with the 45-28 win.
“There’s a ton of disappointment. We’ve got guys that want to win,” coach Jeff Lebby said. “How are we going to respond and what are the things we’re going to do to make sure we’re fighting like heck to get this thing fixed.”
Graham Mertz passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Florida over Mississippi State 45-28 on Saturday. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Gators against FBS opponents.
The Gators had 503 yards of total offense and completed 93 percent of their passes with Mertz 19 of 21 for 201 yards and DJ Lagway completing all seven of his throws for 76 yards.
The Bulldogs defense surrendered a touchdown on all but three drives. The visitors averaged 6.3 yards per carry with 36 rushes for 226 yards. The Gators were 6 of 9 on third downs.
For the third straight week, the Bulldogs dug themselves a first-half hole. After being outscored 55-6 in the first half against Arizona State and Toledo, MSU was behind 28-7 in the first half before getting a touchdown run from quarterback Blake Shapen to trail 28-14.
MSU closed within 28-21 after Shapen found Jordan Mosley for a 13-yard catch in the third quarter, but a fourth-down stop from the 1-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter spelled the end for the Bulldogs.
Shapen led an offense that had 480 yards — to 503 for Florida — and a season-high 240 yards on the ground. He finished 13 of 21 for 140 yards passing and a touchdown and had 12 carries for 32 yards and a score before leaving the game with an apparent injury in the fourth.
Michael Van Buren came in and was 7 of 13 for 100 yards. Davon Booth and Johnnie Daniels led the way with 29 combined carries for 178 yards and two scores.
“(The offensive line) put a body on the defense and actually moved them,” Booth said. “That was what we needed. We wanted to look better.”
As difficult as the last three weeks have been for the Bulldogs, that was the part of the schedule that was most manageable. State now gets to play No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia on the road in the next two weeks.
It’s got the coach and his players backs even further against the wall.
“We’ve got a choice to make, and the choice is up to each and every one of us,” Lebby said. “We’re going to wake up in the morning, the sun’s going to come up, we’re going to have breath in our body and we’re going to be thankful for the opportunity. There will be great relief, great energy and great confidence in how the guys are getting coached. I think our guys will respond.”
BIG PICTURE:
Florida: Gator coach Billy Napier has a seat hotter than any other coach in America and that likely won’t change after the result on Saturday. With a bye week on the way, the intrigue grows for UF.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are in the middle of a major rebuild and that continues to be more evident each week. State’s defense was non-resistant against a Gator offense that has struggled to score against the two other Power 4 teams they’ve played this season.
UP NEXT:
Florida: Hosts Central Florida on October 5
Mississippi State: Travels to Texas on September 28
