OGT-Florida Gators vs. McNeese Cowboys 9/9/23 7:30 ESPNU

Florida Gators (0-1, 0-0 SEC) vs McNeese Cowboys (0-1, 0-0 SLC)

Sept. 9 // 7:30 p.m. ET // Gainesville, Fla.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field
Game 2

ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Beth Mowins
Analyst: Kirk Morrison
Reporter: Stormy Buonantony
Channel (Cox): 251 / 1251 [HD]
Channel (DirecTV): 208 [HD]

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Shane Matthews
Reporter: Tate Casey
Channel: Local Affiliates
SiriusXM Channel: 136 or 201

 

NUMBER OF NOTE​

300
By outgaining Utah, 346-270, in Week 1, Florida eclipsed 300 total yards for the 18th-consecutive
regular-season non-conference game dating back to Nov. 25, 2017 against Florida State (280). Also in Week 1, QB Graham Mertz posted the first 300-yard passing game of his career in his 35th collegiate contest (33rd start), finishing with a historic 333 yards and 31
completions on 44 attempts (more on page 3)

 

THE STORYLINE​

• Week 2’s matchup not only marks the first-ever meeting between Florida and McNeese on the gridiron, but also the Gators’ first-ever football game against a Southland Conference opponent.

• Florida has faced McNeese six total times across two sports, owning a 2-0 record in baseball and 3-1 mark in softball. The most recent meeting came in softball in 2021, with the Gators winning, 1-0, in eight innings.

• Florida’s 33-straight wins in home openers leads the NCAA (last loss - 1989: Ole Miss 24, Florida 19).

• Florida has won seven-straight games vs. the FCS and is 22-1 against FCS opponents since 1981.

• The Gators have played 89 total games against FCS opponents, owning a 68-17-4 record (.787).

• Florida’s FCS matchups since 2019: Florida 52, EWU 17 (2022) | Florida 70, Samford 52 (2021) | Florida 38, Towson -
(2019) | Florida 45, UT Martin 0 (2019)

• The Gators have outscored FCS teams, 205-69, since 2019 while averaging 51.3 points per game.

• In Florida’s most-recent FCS matchup vs. Eastern Washington in 2022, 81 different Gators saw game action as Florida erupted for 666 total yards, which marked the sixth-most yards in a single game in program history.

• Florida is 15-1 in its last 16 regular-season non-conference games. Prior to losing at Florida State on Nov. 25 of last season, Florida had won 15-straight since the start of the 2018 campaign.

• Florida is coming off its first loss in a regular-season non-conference matchup since Sept. 2, 2017 vs. Michigan, which collectively hold status as the Gators’ only two losses in a season openers since 1990.

• Florida is 8-1 in its last nine regular season non-conference games since 2021, ranking eighth in the P5 with 244.9 rushing yards per game and ninth with 505.0 scrimmage yards per game.

• Despite falling to No. 14 Utah, Florida claimed the following statistical categories: total yards (346-270), passing yards (333-165), completions (31-15), completion percentage (70.5-65.2), yards after catch (179-57), first downs (17-13), passing first downs (15-5), total plays (65-53), yards per plays (5.3-5.1) and time of possession (31:58-28:02).

• The Gators’ 5.5 yards per carry in 2022 ranked fourth in program history (behind the 2008, 1976 and 2009 seasons)
» Florida ended the season ranking sixth in the FBS and fifth in the P5 in YPC.

• UF finished the 2022 campaign with 200.2 rushing yards per game - the program’s second-straight season over 200.
» That output ranked 25th in the FBS, 15th in the Power Five and fifth in the SEC.

• Florida boasts a 355-113-13 (.752) all-time record at The Swamp, holding the second-highest home winning percentage in the nation since 1990 with a 174-34 (.837) record.
» The Gators have outscored opponents, 7,828 to 3,369 in 208 games inside The Swamp since 1990, putting the average outcome at 37.6 to 16.2 (21.4 points).

• Florida has scored in 437-consecutive games dating back to 1988 - an NCAA record and 54 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport

 

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD​

• True freshmen WR Eugene Wilson III, RB Treyaun Webb, TE Tony Livingston and OL Knijeah Harris made their collegiate debuts in the first half, while redshirt freshman Hayden Hansen debuted in Week 1 as well.

• Hansen, Livingston and Wilson III caught their first-career passes, with Wilson III finishing with two for 24 yards.

• Additionally, WR Kahleil Jackson, OL Jake Slaughter and TE Jonathan Odom each made their first-career starts, while offseason transfers OL Micah Mazzccua and OL Damieon George both started in their UF debuts.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION​

• Florida brought in a plethora of experience this past offseason, adding 13 players via the transfer portal.

• UF’s group of 2023 transfers wields more than 10,000 combined snaps and 123 career starts, helping to fill vital voids at quarterback, offensive line, defensive end and inside linebacker.

• Over 70% of UF’s scholarship players are in ther first or second year at Florida.

• 93% of the 2023 roster was on campus for the offseason, featuring 27 midyear enrolees (17 HS, 10 transfer).

• Staff attrition was minimal during the 2022-23 offseason, as seven of Florida’s 10 full-time assistants returned.

• Despite last year’s 6-7 record, Florida outscored its opponents, 384 to 375, including 70-42 off turnovers.

• Florida lost six regular-season games in 2022 by a combined 61 points

GATORS RECEIVING NOTES​

• Florida saw 18 receivers catch a pass last season, the team’s most since having 21 players do so in 2018. In the 2023 opener alone, Mertz connected with 11 different receivers including seven with multiple grabs.

• After leading UF with 661 receiving yards last year (most since Kadarius toney’s 984 in 2020) senior WR Ricky Pearsall paced UF with 92 yards in Week 1 and a Gator-career-high eight catches on a team-best 14 targets.

• Pearsall’s eight receptions are tied for second in the SEC.

• Pearsall enters Week 2 having recorded a reception in 29-conesecutive games.

• Pearsall ranked fourth in the FBS with 20.0 yards per catch in 2022 - which ranked third in program history.

• Pearsall is on the Maxwell Award Watch List for the nation’s most outstanding player.

• Of Pearsall’s 41 receptions at UF, 31 have gone for first downs or touchdowns and 31 for double-digit yards.

• Pearsall was one of six FBS players with 110-plus rushing yards and 650-plus receiving yards last year.

• Pearsall’s 76-yard TD run vs. Eastern Washington was the longest rush by an FBS WR last season and ranks t-10th in the FBS across the last five seasons (third-longest run by a UF wide receiver in the last 25 years).

• At FSU in Week 13, Pearsall set a career high with 148 yards receiving while his two TDs tied his best.

• TE Jonathan Odom set career highs with 43 yards receiving and four receptions.

• WR Caleb Douglas caught his second-career touchdown at Utah, receiving Mert’z first touchdown pass as a Gator with a 19-yard connection in the fourth quarter.

• Douglas made his first-career start vs. South Carolina in 2022 as the first true freshman to start at WR since Kadarius Toney (10/7/17 vs. LSU). Douglas led UF with three receptions and 53 yards.

• Douglas’ 53 yards were the most by a UF WR in his first start since Josh Hammond’s 72 vs. North Texas (9/17/16)

 

More notes here
UF NOTES WEEK 2 McNEESE (PDF) - Florida Gators