2023 Florida Gators football team explained

Year:	2023
Team:	Florida Gators
Sport:	football
Logo Alt:	Florida Gators logo
Conference:	Southeastern Conference
Division:	East Division
Short Conf:	SEC
Record:	5–7
Conf Record:	3–5
Head Coach:	Billy Napier
Hc Year:	2nd
Off Coach:	Rob Sale
Oc Year:	2nd
Off Scheme:	Pro-style
Def Coach:	Austin Armstrong
Dc Year:	1st
Codef Coach1:	Sean Spencer
Codc1 Year:	2nd
Def Scheme:	4–2–5
Stadium:	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

The 2023 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Billy Napier, the Gators played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

Schedule

^[1]

Game summaries

at No. 14 Utah

See also: 2023 Utah Utes football team. The season-opening matchup against Utah was notable for it being the Gators' first non-conference true road game outside the state of Florida since a 38–21 loss to Syracuse in the 1991 season.^{[2] [3]} With the loss, the Gators' most recent non-conference road win outside the state of Florida remains a 38–13 win at Memphis State on September 23, 1989. They also had not played a road game west of the Rocky Mountains since a 1983 game at USC.^[4]

Statistics	FLA	UTAH
First downs	17	13
Total yards	65–346	53–270
Rushing yards	21–13	30–105
Passing yards	333	165
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	31–44–1	15–23–0
Time of possession	31:52	28:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	31/44, 333 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Trevor Etienne	7 carries, 25 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	8 receptions, 92 yards
Utah	Passing		12/18, 159 yards, TD
Rushing		6 carries, 45 yards, TD
Receiving	Money Parks	1 reception, 70 yards, TD

McNeese (FCS)

See also: 2023 McNeese Cowboys football team.

Statistics	MCN	FLA
First downs	6	33
Total yards	40–112	74–560
Rushing yards	26–46	51–327
Passing yards	66	233
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7–14–0	18–23–0
Time of possession	23:51	36:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese	Passing	Nate Glantz	6/13, 62 yards
Rushing	D'Angelo Durham	11 carries, 45 yards
Receiving	Jon McCall	1 reception, 18 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	14/17, 193 yards, TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	15 carries, 119 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	6 receptions, 123 yards, TD

style=	Pregame line^[5] !	style=	Over/under
Florida −47.5	55.5

No. 11 Tennessee (rivalry)

See also: 2023 Tennessee Volunteers football team.

Statistics	TENN	FLA
First downs	17	21
Total yards	64–387	67–349
Rushing yards	30–100	43–183
Passing yards	287	166
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–34–1	19–24–0
Time of possession	22:32	37:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Joe Milton III	20/34, 287 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing		16 carries, 63 yards
Receiving	Bru McCoy	5 receptions, 94 yards, TD
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	19/24, 166 yards, TD
Rushing	Trevor Etienne	23 carries, 172 yards, TD
Receiving	Eugene Wilson III	6 receptions, 44 yards

style=	Pregame line^[6] !	style=	Over/under
Tennessee −5.5	55.5

Charlotte

See also: 2023 Charlotte 49ers football team.

Statistics	CLT	FLA
First downs	10	21
Total yards	53–210	59–395
Rushing yards	28–77	36–136
Passing yards	133	259
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	14–25–0	20–23–0
Time of possession	28:25	31:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Charlotte	Passing	Jalon Jones	11/16, 111 yards
Rushing	Jalon Jones	20 carries, 65 yards, TD
Receiving	Colin Weber	4 receptions, 54 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	20/23, 259 yards, TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	16 carries, 63 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	6 receptions, 104 yards

style=	Pregame line^[7] !	style=	Over/under
Florida −28.5	48.5

at Kentucky

See also: 2023 Kentucky Wildcats football team.

Statistics	FLA	UK
First downs	15	23
Total yards	59–313	56–398
Rushing yards	29–69	36–329
Passing yards	244	69
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–30–1	9–20–0
Time of possession	31:14	28:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	25/30, 244 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	10 carries, 42 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	3 receptions, 62 yards, TD
Kentucky	Passing	Devin Leary	9/20, 69 yards, TD
Rushing	Ray Davis	26 carries, 280 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		4 receptions, 37 yards

Vanderbilt

See also: 2023 Vanderbilt Commodores football team.

Statistics	VAN	FLA
First downs	13	25
Total yards	53–344	71–495
Rushing yards	19–64	30–215
Passing yards	280	280
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19–34–0	34–41–1
Time of possession	23:02	36:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	19/34, 280 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Sedrick Alexander	8 carries, 29 yards
Receiving	Will Sheppard	3 receptions, 107 yards, TD
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	30/36, 254 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	18 carries, 135 yards, TD
Receiving	Arlis Boardingham	7 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TD

style=	Pregame line^[8] !	style=	Over/under
Florida −18.5	51.5

at South Carolina

See also: 2023 South Carolina Gamecocks football team.

Statistics	FLA	SC
First downs	28	23
Total yards	81–494	63–465
Rushing yards	33–71	33–152
Passing yards	423	313
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	30–48–0	23–30–1
Time of possession	32:44	27:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	30/48, 423 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	11 carries, 50 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	10 receptions, 166 yards, TD
South Carolina	Passing	Spencer Rattler	23/30, 313 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing	Mario Anderson	20 carries, 98 yards
Receiving		5 receptions, 110 yards

style=	Pregame line^[9] !	style=	Over/under
South Carolina −1.5	50.5

vs No. 1 Georgia (rivalry)

See also: 2023 Georgia Bulldogs football team.

Statistics	UGA	FLA
First downs	23	16
Total yards	486	339
Rushing yards	171	109
Passing yards	315	230
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19-28-0	25-34-0
Time of possession	33:29	26:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia	Passing	Carson Beck	19/28, 315 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Daijun Edwards	15 carries, 96 yards, 2TD
Receiving	Ladd McConkey	6 receptions, 135 yards, TD
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	25/34, 230 yeards, 2 TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	9 carries, 82 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	6 receptions, 99 yards

style=	Pregame line^[10] !	style=	Over/under
Georgia −14.5	50.5

Arkansas

See also: 2023 Arkansas Razorbacks football team.

Statistics	ARK	FLA
First downs	23	20
Total yards	78–481	70–394
Rushing yards	47–226	28–112
Passing yards	255	282
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–31–1	26–42–0
Time of possession	29:46	30:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arkansas	Passing	KJ Jefferson	20/31, 255 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing		18 carries, 103 yards
Receiving	Andrew Armstrong	3 receptions, 103 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	26/42, 282 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Trevor Etienne	12 carries, 80 yards, TD
Receiving	Eugene Wilson III	8 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD

style=	Pregame line^[11] !	style=	Over/under
Florida −2.5	49.5

at No. 19 LSU (rivalry)

See also: 2023 LSU Tigers football team.

Statistics	FLA	LSU
First downs	27	25
Total yards	80–488	61–701
Rushing yards	42–177	35–329
Passing yards	311	372
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	23–38–0	17–26–0
Time of possession	34:24	25:36

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	26/38, 311 yards, TD
Rushing	Trevor Etienne	18 carries, 99 yards, 3 TD
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	7 receptions, 103 yards
LSU	Passing	Jayden Daniels	17/26, 372 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Jayden Daniels	12 carries, 234 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Brian Thomas Jr.	6 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TD

style=	Pregame line^[12] !	style=	Over/under
LSU −15.5	67.5

at No. 9 Missouri

See also: 2023 Missouri Tigers football team.

Statistics	FLA	MIZZ
First downs	23	21
Total yards	500	508
Rushing yards	261	177
Passing yards	239	331
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–26–1	20–35–0
Time of possession	33:08	26:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	14–21, 183 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	12 carries, 85 yards
Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	2 receptions, 72 yards
Missouri	Passing	Brady Cook	20–34, 331 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Cody Schrader	23 carries, 148 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		9 receptions, 158 yards

style=	Pregame line^[13] !	style=	Over/under
Missouri −12.5	55.5

No. 5 Florida State (rivalry)

See also: 2023 Florida State Seminoles football team.

Statistics	FSU	FLA
First downs	16	13
Total yards	57–224	60–232
Rushing yards	31–90	44–146
Passing yards	134	86
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–26–0	9–16–1
Time of possession	25:08	34:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida State	Passing		12/25, 134 yards
Rushing	Trey Benson	19 carries, 95 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		6 receptions, 64 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	9/16, 86 yards, INT
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	18 carries, 107 yards, TD
Receiving	Eugene Wilson III	3 receptions, 36 yards

style=	Pregame line^[14] !	style=	Over/under
FSU −6.5	49.5

Personnel

Roster

^[15]

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Joined staff
		2022
		2022
Austin Armstrong		2023
		2022
Jabbar Juluke		2022
		2022
		2022
		2022
		2023
		2022
	Offensive line	2022
Mark Hocke		2022

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2024 NFL draft.

1

31

WR

San Francisco 49ers

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 Florida Football Schedule. FBschedules.com. April 18, 2023.
2. News: Florida falls to Utah in familiar, dispiriting season-opening loss – Sports Illustrated . en-us . Sports Illustrated . September 21, 2023.
3. Web site: Game Day: Florida at No. 14 Utah (ESPN, 8 pm) . September 21, 2023 . Florida Gators . en.
4. Web site: Kamrani . Christopher . Florida falls at Utah, but rare trip shows SEC teams are (finally) coming out West . September 21, 2023 . The Athletic . en.
5. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/285600/ McNeese betting
6. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/scores/college-football/matchup/285686/ Tennessee betting
7. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/285806/ Charlotte betting
8. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/285927/ Vanderbilt betting
9. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/285985/ South Carolina betting
10. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/286051/ Georgia betting
11. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/286151/ Arkansas betting
12. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/286221/ LSU betting
13. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/286236/ Missouri betting
14. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/286351/ FSU betting
15. Web site: 2023 Football Roster. Florida Gators. July 31, 2023.