Rapid Reaction to the Florida Gators' 33-31 loss to Missouri
Florida dropped its fourth game in a row — and lost starting quarterback Graham Mertz — in Saturday’s 33-31 loss at Missouri. The Gators hit a go-ahead field goal with under two minutes left, but their defense gave up a fourth-and-17 on the ensuing possession and the Tigers made a game-winning kick in the final seconds.
Mertz threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with a collarbone fracture on a first-down run at the end of the third quarter. Redshirt freshman Max Brown came off the bench and led the Gators on two scoring drives in the fourth with 56 passing yards and 42 rushing yards, but his fumble in the red zone on his first series proved costly.
Mizzou junior quarterback Brady Cook threw for 331 yards and a touchdown, including 158 yards on nine catches by sophomore receiver Luther Burden III, and senior running back Cody Schrader rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Florida senior receiver Ricky Pearsall had 72 receiving yards and a 39-yard touchdown run, while sophomore running back Trevor Etienne caught a 37-yard TD and finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and another scored. Junior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. had a team-high 85 yards for the Gators, who rushed for their most yards in SEC play (261) and totaled 500 yards of offense.
However, their defense gave up over 500 yards (508) for the second straight week after allowing 701 yards at LSU.
In the video above, Gators Online shares our rapid reaction to Florida’s loss to Missouri.
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Billy Napier opening statement
“I have a lot of respect for the players in that locker room. I’ve got a ton of respect. I’m proud of that group. I think we showed some resiliency tonight. And, look, you know it’s a challenge to be prepared to play physically, mentally, and emotionally when you come up short a couple weeks in a row. To have the team ready to play, I have to compliment the leadership. I talked to the team Friday about, leaders on a team — the best leaders — make the other people around them better. They raise their level of play. They’re really good teammates. They’re invested in the other people in the organization. Ultimately, they make everyone around them better.
“I think we had some guys that did a really good job in a tough week. A tough couple of weeks here being consistent in their example, the words, the actions and certainly having them ready to play. I think defensively in particular we bounced back and played a good half of football to start the game. We’re going to see when we watch the tape, we’re going to see that there’s opportunities, things we could have done better as a staff, and certainly opportunities for players to make plays. But they battled. I know what’s inside those kids in there. I’m proud of that. Credit to Missouri. I think the game ultimately came down to a couple of turnovers. Certainly a heck of a drive by a veteran quarterback there to end the game.”
