When two of the perennial football programs in the same state meet, emotions on the field will always be amplified. Players, coaches and fans on both sides needed no extra motivation for the matchup. The rich history of the Florida-Miami rivalry was revived once again on a hot and sticky day.
As head coach Billy Napier was set to embark on what he hopes will be a breakthrough campaign in 2024, Miami scored more points than any other opponent Florida has played in a home opener in the program history.
Florida (0-1) was dismantled by No. 19 Miami (1-0) 41-17 in front of over 90,000 fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville Saturday.
"It's embarrassing to be quite honest with you," Florida head coach Billy Napier said. "It's how I feel. It's how our kids feel. "I just told them there's no excuses, keep our mouths shut and show up for work."
UF got a chance to showcase its offense in the opening drive, as Miami selected to receive the ball after the first half.
Sophomore wide receiver Eugene Wilson III is always hungry to get the ball in his hands, and that certainly won’t change in 2024. Wilson III turned in a quality performance through Florida’s struggles, recording 7 catches for 50 yards.
But the home fans anxiously watched their offensive unit struggle to make an early statement, largely due to Miami halting UF’s running attack throughout almost the entirety of the game.
A crucial aspect of being able to depreciate a rabid atmosphere as a road team is to score early. It was an incredible performance from senior Washington State transfer quarterback Cam Ward, who did just that against the Gators. He kept UF’s defense on its toes with both his arm and his legs.
In his first game as a Hurricane, Ward finished 26-35 for 385 passing yards, 33 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
"Obviously a good player," Napier said. "I do think that in the first half in particular, we've got a couple opportunities to get off the field. The two roughing [the passers] were critical and there was some missed tackles."
Ward led the Hurricanes down the field midway through the first quarter with a pair of quarterback keepers that went for first downs. Moreover, a sensational catch at Florida’s 43 yard-line by Miami’s fifth-year senior wide receiver Xavier Restrepo pushed the ball into Gator territory.
As Ben Hill Griffin Stadium sensed a massive third down approaching, it collectively came to a roar.
Florida appeared to come up with a crucial stop to keep the score knotted at 0-0 in the first quarter, but a penalty flag was thrown on redshirt junior edge Justus Boone for roughing the passer, leaving the door open for a touchdown on the very next play for the Hurricanes.
Ward found redshirt senior tight end Cam McCormick for a nine-yard touchdown, capping off an 11-play, 84 yard drive for Miami and taking the game’s first with 6:48 left in the first quarter, 7-0.
Florida looked more in rhythm offensively as it faced its first deficit of the season with help from a duo of transfer wideouts. Seniors Chimere Dike and Elijah Badger mustered back-to-back receptions for a combined 30 yards, but UF came out of the drive scoreless.
Florida’s offensive struggles in the first half were largely a result of an inability to consistently run the football at a consistent pace, largely due in part to the lack of quality line play.
"We weren't able to really pick up momentum," Dike said. "Just a lack of execution. I know the guys in our room [and] I know the guys on our team are willing to grow from this."
The Gators trailed by seven late into the first quarter, but junior linebacker Shemar James made a momentum-changing interception up the middle at the 2:31 mark. This setup a field goal off the foot of junior kicker Tre Smack to cut Miami’s lead to 7-3.
Contributing to Florida’s struggles in the trenches was the inconsistent pressure put on Ward from the Gators’ defensive front. UF totaled just one sack in the game.
Miami extended its lead to 10-3 on a 23-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. It didn’t take long for UM to do even more damage on the scoreboard against a Florida defense that couldn’t stop much of anything in the contest.
For the second time in the first half, the Gators committed a roughing the passer penalty, leading to a touchdown for their opposition on a 10-yard rush by sophomore running back Mark Fletcher Jr. extending Miami’s lead to 17-3.
"From a player perspective, we beat ourselves on a lot plays," Boone said. "We beat ourselves on a lot of plays. There was a lot of explosive plays that was on our mess up."
The Gators saw their hopes of a season-opening rivalry victory slipping away. They needed to make a splash offensively, and senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. provided just that with an explosive 71-yard touchdown run down the left sideline.
Florida’s rushing attack was limited, totaling just 68 yards outside of Johnson Jr.’s touchdown run.
"We struggled to produce any running game outside of one explosive," Napier said. "
Just as Florida seemed to be right in the thick of things with its in-state foe, Ward added to his exceptional day on his second passing touchdown of the contest, this time to the speedy Restrepo for a 24-yard score.
As the Gator sideline began to lack energy, the Hurricanes pulled away and in a huge way.
The Restrepo touchdown started a 21-0 Miami run. By the time Florida fans checked the scoreboard, the Gators trailed 38-10 heading to the fourth quarter.
As the game was considerably out of reach, matters only worsened for the Gators. Mertz suffered a concussion on a big hit in the fourth quarter, paving the way for freshman five-star quarterback DJ Lagway to make his Gator debut.
"Graham had a concussion," Napier said. "He'll be in protocol. "We'll give you an update when we meet with you Monday."
Sophomore running back Treyaun Webb tacked on a UF touchdown with just over seven minutes left, but the deficit was too tall to overcome for Florida.
Mertz finished 11-20 for 91 yards, one interception and zero touchdowns. In the sixth-year college quarterback’s absence, Lagway went 3-6 for 31 yards and also threw a pick.
Florida will remain at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for its Week 2 matchup against Samford Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
"We're gonna get another opportunity next week and we gotta coach better and play better," Napier said.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
