GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It didn't matter where you were this week, if you were in the vicinity of UF, the chatter revolved around the Gators.
That's life in these parts when the Gators are good, or in this case, when they are 1-2 and headed to Mississippi State for their Southeastern Conference road opener. Following last week's loss to Texas A&M, Florida is searching for answers.
"We're all competitive, so I think we all want to win," third-year head coach Billy Napier said. "And we want to produce a good product, So, yeah, that's where my energy is."
Napier did his best this week to put on a good face as critics pounced on the program, which has failed to build momentum under his direction. The Gators (1-2, 0-1) travel to Mississippi State (1-2, 0-0) for the first time since 2018.
The Bulldogs have problems, too, losing at home to Toledo a week ago. Florida's focus is to block out the distractions and find a way to win.
That is the best answer in times like these.
"It's just putting our best foot forward and trying to perform,'' linebacker Derek Wingo said.
In this edition of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Mississippi State matchup:
Florida head coach Billy Napier is under fire for his team's 1-2 start. Mississippi State, under first-year coach Jeff Lebby, is coming off a 24-point home loss to Toledo. Neither fan base is very happy. Both teams need a win. That's a lot of drama for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff.
Napier has faced questions about his future, about his team's morale, and about what the Gators can do to turn their season around since losing a week ago to Texas A&M. Florida hits the road for the first time and perhaps a change of scenery revives the Gators heading into a bye week.
Napier said the two-quarterback system of Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway is open-ended going into this one. Mertz and Lagway rotated series against Texas A&M. While the Gators had issues staying on the field in the first half against the Aggies, they are averaging 279.0 yards passing per game, which ranks 39th nationally and is a building block.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
In a matchup of scuffling teams, special teams often make the difference. The Gators have not done much well, but first-year senior analyst Joe Houston has made a difference. Houston is not a player, but he directs the No. 1-ranked special-teams unit in the country according ESPN's SP+ metric. Freshman running back Jadan Baugh is averaging 30 yards per kickoff return, tops in the SEC and fifth in the FBS.
The Gators will be without one of their most physical players in DB Aaron Gates, who plays the STAR position. Gates is out with an injury, so Florida could use fellow STAR Sharif Denson and others to bring the physicality that Gates has shown a willingness to play with in his young career.
Napier said the Gators are looking for a third receiver to step up in the absence of injured Eugene Wilson III (see below). Transfers Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike figure as the top two options against the Bulldogs, but the door is open for the young trio of Aidan Mizell, Tank Hawkins and Andy Jean to make a statement for the present and future.
THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS DL JUSTUS BOONE Justus Boone Veteran defensive lineman Justus Boone is one of the Gators' leaders. He is doing what he can to ensure his teammates remain focused during a turbulent time.
Q:What needs to happen for the D-line to start pressuring the quarterback? A: Definitely the mindset of my position group and my defense, we are definitely frustrated, because I mean, we every day we go out there and we are planning to disrupt the quarterback, get to the quarterback, definitely not the success that we want but only another opportunity today to get better at it.
Q:How do you stay motivated with seven consecutive losses to Division I teams? A: Me personally, I'm a competitor. Me and my teammates as well, everybody on my team, we're all competitors, that's why we came here. We were never promised, or never under assumption that we would just go undefeated, that we just couldn't be stopped. We just take it like every other obstacle or any other thing that happens in life as far as you not getting the result you want, you go back to the board, you see what you did wrong and you fix it. There's no need to sit and mope about it, it's already over, watch it, see what it is, and get better at it.
Q:What have you done in a leadership role to help guys stay focused? A: Taking accountability and also enforcing accountability. I felt like that was one thing or one area that we were, not lacking, but one area that we could elevate and do more. I think I'm the guy for that, to hold everybody accountable. Based off our leadership we have with Coach Napier, he was telling us as leaders we should feel obligated to say something when things are not going right, or obligated when things are not at a certain level, so just taking accountability and obligation to say something.
THREE DIGITS
7 – Consecutive losses for Gators against Power Four teams. 9 – Combined consecutive losses for Florida (5) and Mississippi State (4) in conference games dating to last season. 43 – Tackles for Mississippi State LB Isaac Smith, which leads the SEC and is tied for the most among FBS players.
This is the 56th meeting between Florida and Mississippi State. The Gators lead the all-time series 34-19-2.
Florida is 5-7 in Starkville, last playing at Davis Wade Stadium in 2018, a 13-7 victory over the Bulldogs
Florida is ranked 106th nationally in total defense (407.3 yards per game), while Mississippi State isn't much better at 94th (388.0 ypg).
Florida's NCAA-record scoring streak stands at 451 games, dating to the 1988 season. Georgia (376) and Alabama (311) are next among SEC programs.
Gators WR Eugene Wilson III is listed as out for the second consecutive game due to a knee injury. Wilson has a team-high 13 catches but did not play last week against Texas A&M after getting hurt late in the Samford game.
Gators WR Elijhah Badger, a transfer from Arizona State, has caught a pass in 29 consecutive games. Badger's streak is tied for 10th among FBS players.
UF sophomore LB Jaden Robinson had a career-high eight tackles in the loss to Texas A&M. Robinson's 13 tackles through three games are tied with S Jordan Castell and LB Grayson Howard for the most on the team.
Bulldogs QB Blake Shapen has thrown a TD pass in 14 consecutive games. Shapen began his career at Baylor and was the team's starter in 2022 when Gators co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts was Baylor's defensive coordinator.
Mississippi State has four assistant coaches who have spent time at Florida over the past decade: DL coach David Turner, CB coach Corey Bell, S coach Matt Barnes and defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler.
Mississippi State sophomore WR Creed Whittemore is the brother of former Gators WR Trent Whittemore. He played at Buchholz High and has two receptions for 29 yards through three games.
THEY SAID IT
"I think the big thing I would tell you, a lot of our conversations this week with players have been about the practice environment relative to habit building. The intentionality, the intensity, the focus, in particular, the scout periods. I think that's an area where we can improve the quality of those reps from start to finish and all parts working together to get that right, the scout offense, and then the between play process for the defense. That's been the point of emphasis." — Gators head coach Billy Napier on search for improvement
"Generally speaking, the reason to make a change early in the season has to come with a clear path to improvement. If that path is uncertain, which it appears to be at Florida, the only reason to make the move would be as an emotional reaction to appease the fan base." — Pete Thamel of ESPN.com in a column on the UF situation
"We have to recruit and build and train more physically. We have to win at the line of scrimmage. The SEC – even though it is changing – is still a line-of-scrimmage league. You have to win there, and I know there is a lot of scrutiny and pressure. It is going to be interesting to see what happens." — Tim Tebow to The Sporting News on what ails the Gators
The moving parts around Napier's future are explored in this story by Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times.
WHY GATORS WILL WIN
This is going to sound familiar, but they get their running game going on offense and stop Mississippi State's running game on defense. If that doesn't work, the quarterback duo of Mertz and Lagway has a huge day and in an offensive shootout.
WHY MISSISSIPPI STATE WILL WIN
The Bulldogs have been slow starters in their last two games, losses to Arizona State and Toledo. If Mississippi State strikes early Saturday in Florida's first game away from The Swamp, and those cowbells take over Davis Wade Stadium, expect a long day for the struggling Gators.
