2024 Florida Football Postgame Notes
Florida 24, UCF 13
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field – Gainesville, Fla.
GATORS USE WIRE-TO-WIRE VICTORY FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT P4 WIN
- Florida has outscored UCF, 124-40, and is 3-0 in three Gainesville meetings.
- The Gators scored on their opening drive for the first time this season and never relinquished the
lead (last: 2023 at Missouri). - Week 6 vs. UCF marked the ninth-straight sellout in The Swamp and the 13th of the Billy Napier era.
- The Gators have won back-to-back games vs. Power Four opponents by a combined margin of 28
points (69-41). - For the second-straight game, QB Graham Mertz handled the first, second, fourth and fifth drives of
each half while QB DJ Lagway manned the third and sixth drives.
o The duo finished 23-of-28 (82.0%) for 229 yards and one touchdown after going 26-for-28
(92.8%) for 277 yards last game at Mississippi State. - Mertz finished 19-of-23 for 179 yards and one score while Lagway was 4-for-4 for 50 yards.
OFFENSIVE NOTES - QB Graham Mertz threw his 30th TD pass as a Gator to complete a 15-play, 75-yard opening drive.
o Mertz has thrown for a touchdown in 29 of his last 33 starts including 14 of his 15 starts as a
Gator.
o In 23 of 30 games in the Napier era, Florida has registered at least one passing touchdown. - QB DJ Lagway and Mertz combined to go 9-of-10 for 91 yards and one TD across UF’s first three
drives.
o They finished 16-of-20 (80.0%) for 172 yards in the first half. - WR Elijah Badger recorded a reception for the 31st-consecutive game, which is tied for 12th-
longest in the FBS.
o Badger scored his second TD as a Gator to complete UF’s opening scoring drive.
- WR Tank Hawkins set career highs with a team-high seven receptions and 60 yards receiving.
- RB Ja’Kobi Jackson scored a rushing TD for the third-straight week – the first-three TDs of his career.
- The Gators have punched in a rushing touchdown in 12 consecutive games and in 25 of 30
contests since 2022. - RB Montrell Johnson Jr. rushed 10 times for 54 yards and one TD while tying his career high with six
receptions for 24 yards.
o Johnson Jr. owns 31 career rushing TDs (19 at UF), which is the highest total of any active
SEC rusher.
o Johnson Jr. has 33 career touchdowns (two receiving). - WR Chimere Dike surpassed 2,500 career all-purpose yards, finishing with four catches and a team-
high 88 yards receiving. - The Gators have rushed for 100-plus yards in four of five games this season and in 24 of their last 30
games since 2022. - Florida has won the time of possession battle in 12 of 17 contests since the start of last season.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
● Florida registered a season-high five sacks in Saturday’s win over UCF while not allowing a single
sack on offense.
o Since the start of 2021, Florida has out-sacked its opponents by a plus-19 margin.
o Florida’s 214 sacks since 2018 season ranks second in the SEC and 12th nationally.
● The Gators held the Knights to a 28.6% success rate on conversion downs (4/14).
● DE Tyreak Sapp and S RJ Moten combined for a second-quarter sack.
● DE Justus Boone and EDGE George Gumbs Jr. also teamed up for a second-quarter sack.
● LB Grayson Howard notched his first-career sack to increase UF’s game total to three.
● DL D’Antre Robinson and EDGE LJ McCray combined for UF’s fourth sack, marking the first half-sacks
of both of their careers.
● Gumbs Jr. logged a career-high 1.5 sacks, picking up a solo sack for UF’s fifth of the night.
● DB Aaron Gates recorded his second-career tackle-for-loss.
● Florida limited UCF to 29 yards rushing and 119 total yards in the first half.
● DB Bryce Thornton nabbed his first-career interception in the fourth quarter.
● Florida held UCF to under 300 total yards of offense (273).
o This is the ninth time since the start of the 2022 season that the Gators have held an
opponent to 300 yards or fewer.
● Florida held its opponent to under 200 passing yards for the 12th time in the Napier era.
● Since 1996, the Gators are tied-for-sixth nationally in interceptions with an SEC-leading 414.
● The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 21 of 30 games in the Napier era.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
● P Jeremy Crawshaw punted four times for an average of 45.8 yards, including a long of 53, two of
50-plus yards and three inside the 20-yard line.
o Crawshaw’s second punt traveled 53 yards to pin UCF at their own three-yard line.
o Crawshaw has punted for 50-plus yards on 61 of 148 career punts.
● K Trey Smack went 1-for-2 with a 28-yard field goal while missing from 53 yards.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (7)
● WR Chimere Dike (from QB DJ Lagway): 37-yard reception, second quarter
● WR Elijhah Badger (from QB Graham Mertz): 18-yard reception, second quarter
● WR Tank Hawkins (from Mertz): 31-yard reception, second quarter
● WR Chimere Dike (from Mertz): 20-yard reception, second quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 34-yard rush, second quarter
● WR Chimere Dike (from Mertz): 24-yard reception, third quarter
● RB Ja’Kobi Jackson: 19-yard rush, fourth quarter
SERIES UPDATES
● Today’s game represented the fourth all-time meeting between Florida and UCF and third meeting
in Gainesville.
● With tonight’s victory, the Gators improve to 3-1 (.750) in the all-time series vs. UCF and 3-0 (1.000) in
Gainesville.
o Florida has outscored UCF 124-40 in the three games in Gainesville.
- HC Billy Napier improves to 1-0 against UCF HC Gus Malzahn as head coaches.
o Napier and Malzahn have coached on opposing sidelines seven times with Napier 5-2.
THE STREAK
● Florida has scored in 453-consecutive games — an NCAA record and 53 games longer than any
other college football team in history.
o The Gators broke Michigan’s record of 365-consecutive games (1984-2014) vs. 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: #1 Montrell Johnson Jr., #44 LB Jack Pyburn, #29 K Trey Smack
● Coin Toss: UCF won the toss and deferred, Florida defended the north endzone.
● Attendance: 90,369 (ninth-straight sellout)
University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Coach Billy Napier
Press Conference
Florida Gators 24, UCF Knights 13
BILLY NAPIER: Okay. I think today was a product of a lot
of hard work the past two weeks. I think we made a ton of
progress in the open date. I know we talked specifically
about that, but I can’t compliment the players and the staff
enough in terms of their attitude towards the work we’ve
been doing the last two weeks and then I thought that
carried over.
I think defensively, to hold this group to 108 yards rushing
and to have really got after the quarterback a little bit, two
big fourth down stops and we were really good on third
down, you know, so I think defensively, took some steps in
the right direction. We played a good half of football on
offense. Felt both quarterbacks were really sharp. We had
good balance. I thought that overall played some good
situational football before the half and then we sputtered a
little bit. They had the ball quite a bit in the second half
and I think we had three real possessions and we
struggled to move it.
A few undisciplined penalties that we need to clean up I
think on offense, but overall I think the kids showed up with
a mentality tonight and I’m very thankful for our players and
how hard they’ve worked and for them to take that
momentum we felt to the park tonight and play the way that
we would want them to play and the way they want to play,
right?
Now, we are still a work in progress. We’ve got a lot of
areas where we need to continue to improve. We need to
improve the football, and we need to continue to improve
our mentality and approach. We had a lot of people
throughout the entire organization that contributed. I think
our scout teams did a great job, offense, defense, special
teams. We got a lot of players that contribute during the
week and I thought they did a really good job, so good day
and we’ll enjoy this thing tonight. We’ll turn the page and
get ready for the next one.
Q. Staying on the defensive side, players were
adamant that this would be a different defense we
would see tonight. It obviously was, 273 yards, five
sacks as you alluded to. Other than the extra work,
was this a little bit of a buy-in on the defensive side?
A different, you know, confidence level for them?
BILLY NAPIER: Well, I think you have a staff that has
worked extremely hard trying to come up with solutions.
Really a lot of quality control, a ton of research in terms of
— because we felt like we anticipated being better, to be
quite honest and we just didn’t quite put it together in a
couple of the games, so I think they did a good job, but
more importantly, I think on the player end, there was a ton
of ownership in terms of, hey, look, we can do better.
What is the solution? And I think they collaborated. I think
we did a good job in all parts to get to a solution there, but I
do think the open date ultimately was where the flip was
switched I think Wednesday after practice during that open
date is where, again, I told you that was one of the best
practices I’ve ever been a part of and I think it showed up.
So we need more of it and certainly with a schedule we
have we’re going to have to play complementary football.
And we know at some point around here if we’re going to
be a contender, we have to play championship level
defense. And they know that, right? They know that.
That’s a part of our formula and I’m hopeful we can
continue there.
Q. Billy, another one on that, what specifically was
effective with the run defense? I think that was the
third lowest Gus has been held to since he’s been at
UCF.
BILLY NAPIER: Well, I think that we played with better
gap integrity. I think we got after it up front. I thought we
tackled. There was a lot more pursuit, gang-tackle, knock
back. I think we’re on the same page and ultimately we
played well on all three levels, I think got to do that if you’re
going to play good run defense. We’re close to playing
even better. There’s a handful plays where the ball kind of
rolls off the table or breaks contain. We could have
definitely play better.
Q. You said that the mentality the team showed up
with. What was the kind of genesis of that besides just
one practice on Wednesday. It’s got to go deeper than
that.
BILLY NAPIER: Well, look. You guys obvious understand.
These kids have been beat up pretty good here the first
month of the season, you know. Ultimately I’m consumed
with trying to put the players in the best position so that —
I’ve been watching these kids work since the beginning, the
offseason, right? And I want them to have the gratification
of the work that they’ve been doing, so we’re looking to
push every button.
Ultimately what we did is we said hey, let’s call it. Let’s put
the ball down and let’s compete. We divided the teams up
differently for three days in a row based off production and
performance, shuffled the deck and scored every single
rep, created a ton of situations, played some move the
field.
I think, again, it goes back to that between the play process
for the defense. We just said hey, screw the scripts, call it
live. Real play clock, let’s work on that part. I think
ultimately that’s where — and then it became very
competitive, right? So, yeah, I think just the competition,
the competitive experience, the practice environment. I
think we leveled up a little bit in practice and I think that
helped.
Q. Two weeks ago you guys were booed off the field
against Texas A&M. Today very different story. A lot
of fans cheering. Obviously you’ve talked about not
taking it personal hi with the fans but just how does it
feel seeing all those happy faces and just a much
better morale in the stands as you exit the field
tonight.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, man, I think two things motivate me
a lot. Ultimately my obligation, our obligation as a staff and
organization to the players, you know? I want them to
experience success. I want them to have the gratification
that comes with playing football at a high level. I want to
teach values wile we’re doing that, and then I would say
I’ve always felt strongly like they pay you to do a job, you
know?
You were brought here to do a job and you want to do the
job for the people that believed in you and gave you a
chance and then once you arrive you meet people, you
continue to meet more and more people that care about
this place that had special experiences here that want the
place to have success and want to be in contention. And
I’ve met so many great people that have great intentions
that are passionate about this place and we want to do our
job. That’s what we were brought here to do, so both of
those things motivate me. And I think ultimately allow me
to keep perspective. And while we’re doing it, we’re going
to try to do it the right way.
Q. A lot of contributions from younger players on
defense, LJ McCray, Pup Howard, Bryce Thornton, his
first interception. How encouraging is that to see and
how have they taken advantage of their opportunities
during practice and during the course of the season?
BILLY NAPIER: Sure. Those guys continue to improve.
They’re very talented. There’s so much to learn, you know,
there’s not only a physical component, you have to get
bigger, stronger, you have to get in condition. You have to
learn fundamentals and technique but there’s also tons of
mental to this game and I think those guys, it’s starting to
make sense. They’ve gotten some experience. They’re
starting to acquire reps. Those are adding up and then all
of a sudden, they get out there and they make the most of
their opportunity.
So there will be a compound effect to that. Now that
they’ve been out there and had some success, they’ll want
to work harder in the future, so we, I don’t know, we had a
ton of young players that play for sure, but, again, I think
we have 20 seniors maybe, so there’s a bunch of players
out there that are in their first, second, third, fourth year.
Q. Billy, obviously you had DJ come in about every
third or fourth drive today. Just talk about how you
thought the two QB system worked throughout the
game in the first half and the second half.
BILLY NAPIER: Well, I think that we started fast. I think
ultimately what a great drive. I thought Graham made a
bunch of plays in that first possession. We had some
balance, a lot of conversions and then I think that if I’m not
mistaken, DJ, we had to punt and maybe DJ comes in and
two plays, the double move went around on the backside
there, the sluggo seam. Great throw, great catch, great
route.
You know, I think we stuck with our plan. I do think that
UCF gave us some game plan pressures. There was a lot
of variables out there. There was a lot of new stuff, so I
think they handled that well, but there’s some plays that we
would like to have back. I think both of them would tell you
that, but if you look at the statistic, both of them were very
efficient. The QBR numbers are really good. I think we
could have done a better job on third down. I think we
ended up 50%, but there’s a handful of plays there where
we can help them as a staff, but, yeah, I think both guys
continue to get better and the leadership that they show
and the way they work throughout the week, again, it’s a
very healthy dynamic for our team.
Q. Coach, with the redshirt rule, there’s been some
opt-outs this week in college football. I think they had
four or five. I don’t think you had any. What do you
attribute that to?
BILLY NAPIER: I think we got a hungry team and I think
these players, their time is consumed with how do we get
better? What do we need to do to improve? I think they —
this is a group that has worked extremely hard and
obviously they were very disappointed with some of the
earlier performances so I think ultimately, this group is
consumed with getting better, how can I do my job to make
the team better, all levels of the team.
So, look, it’s a product of our current system I think
ultimately. So I have a ton of respect for the players on our
team. We got a good group and I would just say any time
that we waste on stuff like that is a waste of time. It’s a
distraction and I think we got some guys that don’t want to
be a distraction. They’re here too work and improve.
Q. Also, can you speak to the fact that anything can
happen the rest of the season? You had Vandy
beating Alabama today, Arkansas beating Tennessee.
There’s a lot of season left.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, no, I think it’s one thing I’ve learned
in my career, I think the cream will rise to the top. I think
ultimately there’s lots of things that happen early in the
season. The key is can we stay focused on improvement?
Can we bring the right attitude and focus and urgency and
mentality to how we prepare, how we practiced? We have
the self-discipline to hit the reset button when we wake up
tomorrow and work as if we didn’t have success. Sure we
have some momentum but you have to have the right mix
of humility and enthusiasm. Sometimes when you struggle
you struggle to keep the enthusiasm part. When you have
success, you need more humility, so two in a row, I’m
hopeful this group will stay grounded here and certainly we
know going to Knoxville next week will be a great
challenge.
Q. Billy, how close was Eugene to playing tonight?
And then what did Aidan have going on and with those
guys out, what did you think about the Tank stepped
up?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I think it was a big story line. Burke
actually got banged up in pre-game and wasn’t available,
so here we go. Tank’s running out there on the first play
and he made some plays. I think he showed that he
belongs so he stepped up in a major way. We do feel
really good about Trey and Aidan’s progress. I think we’re
just sticking to the protocol, the medical side, the sports
science side there. Definitely looked great in pre-game.
There was a part of me that said man, that joker looks like
he’s ready to go, but a little bit of asymmetry there, but we
anticipate him being available and we’ll give you a — there’s
no hiding anymore. Wednesday at 8:10:00 p.m., you’ll
have the information.
Q. And the play of Bryce Thornton, the pass break up
in the endzone on the first grave and the game sealing
pick.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, no, Bryce has had a good couple of
weeks I think obviously earned the opportunity to start,
played a lot as a true freshman last year, I think just all
three levels of the defense played better. I’ll watch the
tape and let you know what I think, but I think it’s evident
that we took a step in the right direction on defense.
Q. After Montrell’s touchdown there heading into half
you called a time-out, trying to be aggressive, get the
ball back. I think the fans enjoyed you getting fired up
there after the running into the kicker call. What was
your view on that and what were you trying to tell the
referee about your opinion?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, it’s a bang-bang play, right? It’s a
new rule this year with the rugby punter, they’re trying to do
a little better job, it’s a very common play in our game.
They’re protecting the guy, so if he’s not outside the
pocket, then you can’t rough the guy, right? Whereas —
and I think it’s sometimes that can be very gray, right? Is
the guy in or outside the pocket? So rugby punter we felt
like maybe was outside the pocket.
So, you know, look, those guys got a hard job. We have a
hard job. You have a hard job. Probably need to show a
little bit more poise and composure there, but I was here to
compete tonight, right? But I do think that it will be great to
turn that in and ask for interpretation and those guys do a
fantastic job, but, yeah, I think it is what it is.
Q. Coach, how much did KJ Jefferson’s performance
last season against you guys, was that something that
they took note of that was probably one of his best
games last year, really had a lot of success, was that
something that the guys really took note of and wanted
to make a point in this game?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, familiarity with him as a player
definitely was a factor. His ability as a runner and then
when he is a passer, his ability to escape and extend. You
started talking about stopping that offense, it starts with
him. His — the read game, all the elements, whether it’s
the zone read, the power read, him as a pure runner, as a
Q draw game and then when he is a passer and you get an
opportunity to finish on the guy, you got to wrap up and
finish and do that with multiple players, so we did that well.
Thought the staff had a good plan and the players
executed.
Q. You mentioned the offense sputtering a little bit
during the second half. Without going back and
watching the film, just what did you observe that
maybe led to that and was it anything that UCF
corrected there at halftime?
BILLY NAPIER: No, I think when we look back at it, there’ll
be some things we can clean up. Some of it is execution.
Some of them we can help them as a staff. I think with got
to some good stuff as we went there.
We had I think second and one in the red zone and we got
a holding penalty. Ultimately I think we shot ourselves in
the foot a little bit. I think ultimately when we look at it
that’s what it’s going to be. And we only had it three times,
right? So they really chewed up the clock and had some
long possessions.
Q. How much did you feel like the bye week’s
competitiveness maybe sharpened play along the lines
of scrimmage. You guys had five sacks but also you
didn’t allow any tonight which was significant.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I think every part of our team got
better because of the intensity of practice, just to be very
blunt. I mean, it was competitive, right? And I think it
needed to be. It’s different approach to an open date
unlike any approach we’ve ever taken in the past. I’m not
sure I won’t do it any different in the future and, look, we
took some of those same parameters and applied it to
Tuesday, Wednesday in the good-on-good sessions and
that was very competitive.
So this is a developmental game, it’s a habit-building,
practice environment game and I think ultimately we’ve
learned a lot and I’m thankful for our staff and our players.
Q. Billy, I’m going to piggyback a off of his question a
little bit, the fact of your offensive line tonight. Your
quarterback’s only missed on four pass attempts and
they didn’t get sacked, so this is kind of an apples to
oranges question, but how do you look at this
offensive line performance tonight, this year, maybe
the three years here at Florida?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, we’ve gotten better. I think that it’s
a combination of the players’ hard work and effort and I
think our coaches have done a good job. We settled into a
little bit of a rotation there and I think we’re also I think
schematically doing some things I think maybe they do a
little bit better. I think a lot of things contribute to that. But
look, now, let’s be honest here, there’s bigger challenges
ahead, right? We have to continue to improve all parts of
our team and that part in particular.
Q. Treyaun Webb didn’t play. What’s going on?
BILLY NAPIER: Wednesday 8:10 p.m. (Laughter) But, no,
obviously didn’t play, so we’ll give you the information on
Wednesday. There’s others, you missed them. Okay.
Thank you.
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