2023 Florida Football Postgame Notes
No. 18 LSU 52, Florida 35
Tiger Stadium – Baton Rouge, La.
THE OPENING DRIVE
- QB Graham Mertz broke Tim Tebow’s school record (203) of consecutive pass attempts without an
interception, finishing the game with an active 226-consecutive pass streak without being picked
off.
o Mertz has thrown just one interception in his last 322 attempts dating back to Week 1. - Mertz finished 26-of-38 (68.0%) for 311 yards and one touchdown for his third-career 300-yard
passing game (all this season).
OFFENSIVE NOTES - Florida scored in 35-straight trips to the red zone (27 TD, 8 FG) dating back to Week 1 before being
stopped on its final drive of the first half vs. LSU. - RB Trevor Etienne delivered his first-career multi-touchdown game, rushing for a trio of scores while
totaling 99 yards on 18 carries (5.5 YPC).
o Etienne is the first Gators running back to run for three touchdowns in a game since
La’Mical Perine on Sept. 30, 2017 vs. Vanderbilt. Etienne and Perine are the only UF running
backs to accomplish the feat in the last 18 seasons.
Quarterbacks Emory Jones (Nov. 9, 2019 vs. Vanderbilt) and Anthony Richardson
(Sept. 3, 2022 vs. Utah) also accomplished the feat since 2017.
o Etienne is the fifth SEC running back to rush for three touchdowns in a game this season,
joining Kentucky’s Ray Davis (vs. Florida), Ole Miss’s Quinshon Judkins (vs. Texas A&M),
Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson (vs. Virginia) and Missouri’s Cody Schrader (vs. LSU).
- RB Montrell Johnson Jr. and Etienne have combined for at least one touchdown in 17 of 23 games
together, scoring 29 total TDs. The duo has combined for 27 total rushing touchdowns. - WR Eugene Wilson hauled in a touchdown reception for the third-straight game, doing so on
Florida’s opening drive of the contest. He finished with 63 yards on six receptions. - In that three-game span, Wilson III has caught four touchdowns while totaling 228 yards on 25
receptions.
o Wilson III has 311 yards on 31 catches across the last four games. - Mertz has now opened his UF career with 10-straight games completing 62.0% of his passes and
one passing touchdown.
o Mertz has completed 70.0% of his passes or better in eight of 10 games (70.5%, 82.4%,
79.2%, 87.0%, 83.3%, 83.3%, 62.5%, 71.0%, 62.0%, 68.0%). - Mertz has thrown a touchdown pass in 25 of his last 28 games including all ten starts as a gator.
- Mertz opened 9-for-10 for 102 yards and one touchdown for a 90.0% completion percentage and
208.7 passer rating in the first quarter. - WR Ricky Pearsall posted 100-plus receiving yards for the sixth time in his career including his fifth-
such performance as a Gator, leading Florida with 103 yards and seven receptions. - Each of WR Ricky Pearsall’s first-five catches went for first downs, as he finished with six of seven for
first downs to extend his career total to an even 100. - Pearsall recorded a reception in his 38th-consecutive game, the seventh-longest streak in the FBS.
- TE Hayden Hansen made his seventh-straight start and set career highs in receiving yards (34) and
receiving long (24). - The Gators have rushed for 100-plus yards in 18 of their last 23 games since 2022 including seven of
ten games this season. - The Gators eclipsed 400 yards for the 11th time since the start of 2022 including the fourth time this
season. - Florida scored 30 points for the 12th time since 2022 including the fifth time this season and the
fourth in the last five games. - Florida reached 300 passing yards for the third time this season and the seventh time since 2022.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
● Florida performed a goal-line stand on LSU’s second drive and recorded consecutive sacks on
third and fourth down on the Tigers’ third drive to deliver consecutive fourth-down stops in the
opening quarter.
o The Gators limited LSU to a field goal with a stop on 3rd and 13 on the Tigers’ fourth drive.
● True freshmen safeties Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton started alongside each other on the
Florida defense for the third time this season including the second-straight game.
● CB Jaydon Hill set a career high with seven tackles while also recording one sack, tying his personal
best.
● CB Dijon Johnson picked up his first-career fumble recovery on Kaleb Jackson’s muffed punt in the
third quarter.
● CB Jalen Kimber set a career high with five tackles (four solo) and also notched one pass breakup.
● DL Caleb Banks (five) and DL Chris McClellan (six) set career highs in tackles as well.
● The Gators recorded two sacks in tonight’s game.
o Since the start of 2021, Florida has out-sacked its opponents by a plus-16 margin.
o Florida’s 197 sacks since 2018 season ranks second in the SEC and tenth nationally.
● With one takeaway vs. LSU, Florida’s defense has now produced 107 turnovers since 2018, which
ranks fourth in the SEC and tied-for-45th in the FBS.
o The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 17 of 23 games in the Napier era.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
● P Jeremy Crawshaw punted four times for an average of 45.5 yards including a long of 53 yards,
one 50-plus yard kick and three inside the opposing 20-yard line.
o Crawshaw has punted for 50-plus yards on 51 of 123 career punts.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (11)
● Ricky Pearsall (from Graham Mertz): 19-yard reception, first quarter
● Hayden Hansen (from Mertz): 24-yard reception, first quarter
● Graham Mertz: 11-yard rush, second quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr. (from Mertz): 18-yard reception, second quarter
● Ricky Pearsall (from Mertz): 33-yard reception, third quarter
● Trevor Etienne: 18-yard rush, third quarter
● Trevor Etienne: 21-yard touchdown rush, third quarter
● Marcus Burke (from Mertz): 20-yard reception, third quarter
● Eugene Wilson III (from Mertz): 24-yard reception, fourth quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr.: 18-yard reception, fourth quarter
● Eugene Wilson III (from Mertz): 15-yard reception, fourth quarter
SERIES UPDATES
● Tonight’s game represented the 70th all-time meeting between Florida and LSU including the 36th in
Baton Rouge.
● With tonight’s loss, the Gators fall to 33-34-3 (.493) in the all-time series vs. LSU and 17-19 (.472) in Baton Rouge.
● The Gators have rushed for 100-plus yards against LSU in eight-straight games and 12 of the last 13
meetings.
- HC Billy Napier drops to 0-2 against LSU HC Brian Kelly in their second meeting as head coaches.
THE STREAK
● Florida has scored in 446-consecutive games — which is an NCAA record and 54 games longer
than any other college football team in history.
o The Gators broke Michigan’s record of 365-consecutive games (1984-2014) against LSU on
Oct. 7, 2017.
o The last time Florida was shut out was on Oct. 29, 1988 vs. Auburn (L, 16-0).
GAME DETAILS
● Florida Game Captains: #7 Trevor Etienne, #22 Kahleil Jackson, #3 Jason Marshall Jr., #17 Scooby
Williams
● Coin Toss: Florida won the toss and deferred; LSU received and Florida defended the north end
zone.
● Attendance: 102,321
2023 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Billy Napier, Florida Head Coach
No. 18 LSU 52, Florida 35
November 11, 2023
Opening statement…
“We challenged the kids to be ready to compete. Physically ready to compete, mentally ready and
then emotionally ready. And tough-minded. Ready to play through adversity, momentum. Go punch
for punch, knowing that it was going to be that type of game. And I think we got that kind of
performance. Now, not a perfect day. Obviously, LSU’s very accomplished on the offense, they’ve
got an elite group of players. They were tough to stop… It was a three-point game there with about
10 minutes to go, then we took the lead one time there in the third. But, I think the kids played hard.
There’re no moral victories here, we all understand that. But what we asked them to do, they did. The
feel I get from them is they feel like they had their chances. There definitely were opportunities out
there tonight for us to come out on the other end. So, I am proud of that. The mentality. The mindset.
The resiliency. The resolve. The toughness. The togetherness. Their ability to sustain that intensity. There
are some intangibles I can respect from the players. I think we can help them. I think there’s
opportunities for us to do some things strategically maybe to put them in a better position. I always
feel that way, whether we win or lose. Certainly, I feel that way tonight. That’s a great venue. It’s a
challenge to play here. We were ready, and I have respect for the approach the players took. We
came up short, but I think we played until the last snap. And I think this group will do it again, that’s
what I think. I think they’ll do it again. This is a group that has got something about them. I’ve told you
all that many times before, but I’m a man inside and I know of every one of these kids and it’s a fun
group to coach. They’re not perfect. I’m not perfect. But we’re going to continue to work. We have
work to do. We’re up for the challenge. This group is up for the challenge and we’re going to
continue to try to work hard and improve, both as a staff and at the player level. And look, for us to
go where we want to go here, as an organization, as a program, as a team, every single part of our
organization is going to have to work their tail off. We have to be relentless in finding an edge.
Relentless in seeking improvement and taking experience and learning and growing from that.
Knowing that there are going to be other opportunities. Hats off to LSU. They got a good football
team. Heck of a football game.”
On holding LSU in check early before the Tigers pulled away late…
“Well, reality is we got off the field on a couple fourth downs. Ultimately, you got a challenge on your
hands, relative to matching up. Are you going to deny the ball, or are you going to play man or
match coverage, and then all of a sudden, you’ve got your back to the guy and he takes off
running? Or, you can choose to die a slow death and play zone, play coverage, try to keep them in
the pocket. And we did a mixture of both all night. I do think the game comes down to matchups,
and sometimes you can help your players but sometimes your players just got to go play. I think
there’s a little bit of both. The quarterback is the exception, and I think his legs are ultimately the
difference in the game. He’s a really good passer. They have great skill. They have a great balance
of running game that compliments his legs. But ultimately, I think we can all agree the difference in
the game was his ability to take off running. We played against him last year and then we played
against him this year. He continues to improve. Give their staff credit and him credit. He’s definitely
improved as a player. So, you pair his skillset with that group of skill players and it’s a challenge.”
On what made Trevor Etienne such a major factor…
“Trevor is one of our best. He’s not only one of the best competitors and players we have, but he’s
also one of the better young men in our program. His leadership, his work habits, the way he treats
people – he’s a class act. He’s been raised the right way. And he’s an elite competitor. You could tell
this was special for him and when given opportunities tonight, he was elite. He showed a spirit about
himself. He showed some toughness tonight. There’s no question. I’m proud of him. He’s fun to coach
and he’s made our team better since the first day he got here and he’ll continue to make our team
better in the future.”
On how much was attributed to Jaylen Daniels as opposed to the UF defense…
“I think there’s a little bit of both, if I was betting. The plays that are hard, that you struggle with are
the ones where you match the pattern, you compress the rush lanes and the one guy can’t finish on
him and then he’s loose. Then there are other areas where, okay I’ve got the quarterback, I’m the
weak safety in zone read, I’m supposed to be the quarterback player, I’ve got bad eye discipline
and all of a sudden, the guy scores a one-play touchdown. Those are the things that ultimately, there
were a handful of those in the game where we’ve got players that can do better, but we also had
plays where we’re in a good call and the guy made a play. So, I think it’s a combination of both. I’ll
probably have a little bit better of an answer for you on Monday, but I do think the guy’s a terrific
player.”
On his message to keep the team together during a wacky third quarter…
“We don’t have that problem. We don’t have any problem keeping guys together. We need to
execute a little bit better, but we’ve got intangibles. We’ve got morale. We have a group that tries to
do it the right way. We just got to continue to learn and grow, play with more detail, more discipline,
more poise. Communicate better. Work harder on our fundamentals. Those are where our issues are
at. We don’t have any issues staying together. That’s a fact.”
On manufacturing more touches for Eugene Wilson III in the middle of games…
“We called a lot of plays for Tre tonight. I think sometimes concepts are designed in that you try to
put your best players at primary spots, and then ultimately the defense kind of dictates where the ball
goes to some degree. But, we did some design touches. We had a reverse to him in the red area. We
pitched him a couple sweeps. I think that that has nothing to do with our intention, I can promise you
that. If there’s one thing that’s been evident, we’re trying to get him the ball.”
2023 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Graham Mertz, Florida Quarterback
No. 18 LSU 52, Florida 35
November 11, 2023
On returning to his home region and what he sees from Mizzou…
“Obviously, I haven’t studied them on the defensive side yet. I will start that tomorrow.
I’ve seen them offensively, just watching other teams, and you kind of get a feel of how
they play throughout the season. I grew up, Drew Lock, he played quarterback there. I
grew up going to Mizzou games and I’ve got a lot of people who went to school there
so it’ll be fun.”
On Eugene Wilson III’s early involvement and then lack of…
“I think in the middle of the game we really established a run game. I think the guys
were blocking well up front, the running backs were running hard. We have sets of rules
in our RPO game where if it’s a light box and we are running it good, we are going to
run it in there. Early in the game, they were loading up the box and the first drive we
were opening it up a little bit and they made some adjustments. There are so many
different rules on every single play. Obviously, you would love to get him involved.”
On the Kahleil Jackson play getting overturned…
“I didn’t see it come off my hand. But I saw it on the Jumbotron and it looked like a
catch. But anytime it’s a third down and obviously we need to be better on third down.
We talk about it every week, it’s a point of emphasis. I can do a better job in that.
Especially when it’s a third and six and you get that big conversion, big chunk play, and
you are moving down there and it gets called back, obviously its fourth down and you
can’t play another play and you need to punt. It definitely provided some momentum
but our team, we got to stay steady in the game.”
On the importance of getting one more win for a bowl game…
“I mean I think any game you go into; our goal is to win every game. I think if that’s not
your goal you should quit the sport. We are going to do everything we can to go out
these next two weeks and do our best to win.”
2023 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Derek Wingo, Florida Linebacker
No. 18 LSU 52, Florida 35
November 11, 2023
On his assessment of the defense…
“He’s [Jayden Daniels] a great player. He came out here today and competed. There
were a couple things we should’ve executed a lot better. We should’ve maybe played
a little bit better. But you know, he’s a great player and he came out and played well
today. Obviously, we probably should’ve played a little more for the quarterback run. I
thought we did a pretty good job of executing some of the blitzes and some of the stuff
we had set up for them. Obviously, when we go back and watch this film there’s a lot
of things we need to correct and lot of things we need to prepare for next week’s
game.”
On the goal-line stand in the beginning of the game…
“I think that says a lot about our defense. It says a lot about our heart and our mentality.
How far we’ve really come as a team and even as just a defense. The pride we took
during those couple plays reflects what Coach Napier and Coach Armstrong stress
each and every day in practice. Little things like: ‘don’t let them cross your goal-line’
and ‘don’t let them do this.’ All these different things. For us to be able to do that really
brought us really close together and it felt really good to get the momentum swing
early in the game.”
On how the defense needs to improve in the final two games…
“When we get back tomorrow and go back to practice we will be able to go over the
film and correct a lot of different things. Getting ready to play again next week, at
night, against another really good team who has been having a good season. I’m
really excited. I think we will be able to make those corrections. Coach Napier and
Coach Armstrong are going to have an amazing plan to come in tomorrow and I think
we are going to be able to execute that.”
