Graham Mertz era with Florida football starts with a resounding thud

The Graham Mertz era for Florida football got off to a rough start on Thursday night, as the Gators fell to Utah by a score of 24-11.

After an offseason full of excitement in Gainesville, Florida football started the year with a dud of a performance against Utah. The biggest storyline coming into this year for the Gators was the addition of quarterback Graham Mertz from Wisconsin.

Graham Mertz finished the night 31-of-44 for 333 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was a night full of checkdowns and settling, with Mertz averaging just 7.6 yards per attempt.

The reactions were brutal.

Mertz did finally find the endzone with a scoring throw in the fourth quarter, but he did so with a great play from Caleb Douglas more than an exceptionally accurate ball.

That was a 50/50 ball that easily could have been picked off if Douglas hadn’t elevated and snatched it out of the air. There weren’t many, if any, throws all night that proved worthy of the hype surrounding the Wisconsin transfer.

Mertz wasn’t the only Gator feeling the heat on Thursday night. Fans weren’t satisfied with the performance of head coach Billy Napier, and the attention of Florida football message boards has turned to a familiar, controversy-embroiled but title-winning face.

Florida football couldn’t have started the 2023 season in a worse way. Just a year after starting the dynamic Anthony Richardson, the Gators’ offense now rests on the uninspiring arm of Mertz. Next week, they’ll have a chance to reset things against McNeese State, but the respite will be short-lived.

In just two weeks, Mertz and the Gators will host Tennessee. Thursday night’s offensive performance showed absolutely no signs that Florida can go score-for-score against Josh Heupel’s electric and high-powered offense.

If Florida is going to compete against a schedule that also includes Georgia, LSU, and Florida State, things have to change quickly. There aren’t, however, many signs that Mertz and company have the tools to do so.