Quarterbacks Shine as Florida Gators Defeat Mississippi State, 45-28

Florida Gators win its first game against an FBS opponent since October of 2023 behind stellar play from its two quarterbacks.

Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) and Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) embrace before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

STARKVILLE, Miss.-- The Florida Gators' 45-28 win over Mississippi State on Saturday belonged to the quarterbacks.

Veteran Graham Mertz, who started, and freshman DJ Lagway, who rotated in on every third possession, combined for 277 yards and three touchdowns with only two incompletions. Both quarterbacks led multiple scoring drives.

Mertz, who earned his first win as the starting quarterback in seven starts completed 19 of his 21 passes for 201 yards and three scores. He also added a 24 yards and score on the ground. Lagway finished 7-for-7 with 76 yards.

On his second drive, Mertz led the Gators on a 13-play, 84-yard drive, which ended in a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Arlis Boardingham. The Gators were also aided by a Mississippi State roughing-the-passer penalty and converted three third downs.

It was also Florida's first lead against an FBS opponent this season, but that lead quickly disappeared as Mississippi State went on an eight-play, 62-yard touchdown drive capped off by a short run from Davon Booth to tie the game.

Mississippi State transitioned its momentum to its defense on the ensuing drive by forcing and recovering a fumble off of Montrell Johnson Jr. Florida's defense held strong, however, and Mertz went back to his efficient work.

After relying on short passes from Mertz and runs from Ja'Kobi Jackson, Mertz took a shot down the field off a pump-fake and found Marcus Burke wide-open for a 20-yard score, the receiver's first in his career. He found Hayden Hansen for a 35-yard score on his next possession.

Mertz had completed 12-straight passes to that point and was his first three-touchdown game since the loss to Arkansas last season. It was also his first game with three touchdown passes in the first half as a Gator.

Lagway replaced Mertz on the ensuing drive and found similar results. In a 10-play, 91-yard drive, which included a 27-yard pass to Elijhah Badger, Lagway accounted for 52 yards of offense. Jackson found the end zone from 10-yards out to give Florida a 28-7 lead.

From there, a pair of 75-plus-yard drives quickly put the Bulldogs back in contention as the Gators' defense, which had bent up to that point, finally broke.

Quarterback Blake Shapen only needed six plays in under a minute to rebound, and his three-yard score to cut the lead to two scores gave the Bulldogs some much-needed momentum heading into the halftime break.

In its opening drive of the third quarter, Mississippi State recorded four plays of over 10 yards and converted both a 3rd-and-10 and a 4th-and-3 on a 13-play, 76-yard drive. Shapen hit Jordan Mosley for a 13-yard score to make it a one-possession game.

Mississippi State recorded 264 of its 480 total yards in the second half.

Mertz nearly had another touchdown pass on the ensuing drive as Aidan Mizell took a short pass 68 yards for a score, but it was called back on a questionable Johnson Jr. blindside block penalty. Still, Mertz recovered with a 28-yard pass to Chimere Dike and a one-yard rushing touchdown.

Florida's bend and break defense transitioned to one that held strong on the next possession. Facing fourth-and-goal, Mississippi State elected to run an option pitch, which was fumbled and recovered by Grayson Howard on the 7-yard line.

Lagway retook the field, but it was fellow freshman Jadan Baugh who led the way with 53 yards rushing. Facing 3rd-and-3 from the Bulldogs' 6-yard line, Lagway avoided a tackle in the backfield for a five-yard gain but fumbled into the end zone, which was recovered by offensive lineman Austin Barber for a score.

With a 42-21 lead and eight minutes left, Florida had essentially iced the game for its first win over an FBS opponent in nearly a year.

Mississippi State added another score late on a 10-yard run by Johnnie Daniels, and Florida added another on a 47-yard field goal by Trey Smack.

Florida (2-2) gets a much-needed break next week with its first bye of the season before taking on UCF on Oct. 5 in the Swamp.