STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Graham Mertz passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, and the University of Florida beat Mississippi State 45-28 on Saturday.
The Gators had 503 yards of total offense and completed 93% of their passes with Mertz completing 19 of 21 for 201 yards and DJ Lagway completing all seven of his passes for 76 yards.
The Bulldogs defense allowed touchdowns on all but three of their drives. The visitors averaged 6.3 yards per carry and rushed 36 times for 226 yards. The Gators were just 6 of 9 on third down.
The Bulldogs trailed at the half for the third straight week after losing 55-6 at halftime to Arizona State and Toledo. MSU trailed 28-7 at halftime before a touchdown run by quarterback Blake Scheipen put them ahead 28-14.
MSU closed the gap to 28-21 in the third quarter on a 13-yard pass from Scheipen to Jordan Mosley, but a fourth-down stop from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter signaled the end for the Bulldogs.
Scheipen led the offense with 480 yards rushing to Florida’s 503, including a season-high 240 yards rushing. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown and 12 carries for 32 yards and a score before leaving the game with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter.
Michael Van Buren came in and completed 7 of 13 attempts for 100 yards, while Davon Booth and Johnny Daniels led the team with a combined 29 carries for 178 yards and two scores.
The big picture
Florida: Coach Billy Napier is getting more attention than any other coach in the country, and Saturday’s result likely won’t change that. With a bye week looming, interest in Florida is on the rise.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are in the midst of a major rebuild and that continues to become more apparent each week. State’s defense couldn’t hold its own against a Gators offense that has struggled to score against the other two Power 4 teams they’ve faced this season.
Next
Florida: Host Central Florida on October 5th
Mississippi State: Visits Texas on September 28th
“It will greatly improve traffic flow in the area.”
Costing approximately $865 million, the new Howard Frankland Bridge is in the final stages of construction.
Howard Frankland Bridge construction nears completion