Montrell Johnson Jr. scored two of Florida's six rushing touchdowns in Saturday night's home opener against McNeese. (Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
Gators Get Dose of Relief, Crush McNeese for Much-Needed W
Sunday, September 10, 2023 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — UFHealth could not have prescribed a better remedy for what ailed the Gators than the cure they received Saturday night in the home opener.
The Gators welcomed FCS program McNeese into their sticky Swamp and quickly began chewing up the Cowboys and spitting them out in a 49-7 victory. Florida snapped a four-game losing streak and won its 34th consecutive home opener, the country's longest active streak.
"We did some things that were significant statistically, but it really wasn't about that,'' Gators head coach Billy Napier said. "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."
Florida dominated from start to finish, rolling up 560 yards of offense while limiting McNeese to 112, the fewest for a UF opponent in seven years (53 vs. North Texas in 2016). The Gators took the field determined to distance themselves from a 24-11 loss at Utah to open the season filled with self-inflicted wounds, including nine penalties. They had only four flags against McNeese and converted 5 of 6 third downs.
On the game's opening drive, running back Montrell Johnson Jr. scored on a 2-yard run to cap a nine-play, 62-yard drive. A botched snap and hold cost them the point after, but that was one of the few mistakes in front of an announced crowd of 88,163 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to see how the Gators would respond after a week of critical analysis by the media and a loud portion of the fan base.
The Gators answered the way they needed to.
"This week has been a big emphasis on just executing and dominating, and we did a pretty good job,'' defensive back Jaydon Hill said. "But we can't be satisfied with that. We've got to bounce back next week and come even harder."
Quarterback Graham Mertz and freshman running back Treyaun Webb celebrate one of Florida's six rushing touchdowns on Saturday night. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
The Gators erased any doubts Saturday by scoring on their first seven drives, including four in the first half, to enter the locker room at halftime with a 26-0 lead. Following Johnson's score, quarterback Graham Mertz capped an 11-play, 99-yard drive with a 1-yard run. Freshman Treyaun Webb scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter, and sophomore Trevor Etienne's 8-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds before halftime put an exclamation point on a dominating first half.
Nothing changed in the second half, a good sign for a young Gators team set to open conference play next week with a home game against ninth-ranked Tennessee (2-0). Johnson added his second touchdown run on Florida's opening drive of the third quarter, and a 50-yard scoring pass from Mertz to Ricky Pearsall put UF ahead 40-0 with nearly four minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Gators added to their lead with a safety and a final touchdown from Webb, who scored on a 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter to make it 49-0.
Napier was able to insert a lot of second- and third-team players as the game progressed, including quarterbacks Max Brown and Micah Leon. Mertz did his job in his home debut, completing 14 of 17 passes for 193 yards and one score. After throwing for a career-high 333 yards at Utah, Mertz now has 526 yards passing in his first two games, second-most in school history behind Shane Matthews (599 in 1990).
"The guy is really bright. The guy is a really good communicator,'' Napier said. "He's one of the hardest-working players I've ever been around in my career. I think his experience brings a steadiness. He has an awareness. It's not too big for him because he's played in big games and big stages."
While Mertz turned in an efficient performance, the offensive line, which allowed five sacks against Utah, kept Mertz up in the pocket. Perhaps more importantly, the unit opened running lanes for Johnson, Etienne and Webb. The Gators rushed for 327 yards after managing only 13 yards on 21 carries in the season opener. Johnson rushed for 119 yards, Etienne added 84, and Webb chipped in with 71 yards on 14 carries.
"We got guys like 2 [Johnson] and 7 [Etienne] who are extremely good and gifted athletes, so I think just getting the ball in their hands early, you can't go wrong with that,'' said Pearsall, who added six receptions for 123 yards and a score on his 23rd birthday. "So, I think just getting the running game going early helps the passing game. We're a lot more confident."
The victory was Florida's first since it last played at home, a 38-6 win over South Carolina in November that put the Gators at 6-4 in Napier's first season. However, the Gators lost at Vanderbilt and Florida State to close the regular season and then suffered a 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Add the season-opening loss at Utah, and Florida needed a win in the worst way to quiet the criticism.
The Gators heard only cheers for a change on Saturday night.
"One of the things about college football, and I would say the University of Florida in particular, is it gets noisy sometimes, good and bad,'' Napier said. "If it's bad, then it gets loud, and if it's good, it gets loud.
"I think the ability to stay consistent in your approach and evaluate things objectively is important, not only for myself and our staff, but also for the players, and I think we've got some maturity in that locker room that helped do that."
The Gators pitched a shutout until McNeese defensive lineman John Brown Jr. recovered a late fumble at Florida's 8-yard line. On the next play, Coleby Hamm scored to spoil the Gators' bid to blank an opponent for the first time since a 42-0 home win over Vanderbilt in 2021.
It didn't matter in the end. The Gators won and looked good doing it. They finally have something other than the Utah loss to think about.
"To come back and play cleaner, I think, was a positive," Napier said. "But we all understand we have to continue to improve, to evolve, and bigger challenges are coming."
