5 takeaways from Florida football’s Week 1 loss at Utah

Despite facing Utah’s third and fourth-string quarterbacks, the Florida Gators gave up an early 70-yard passing touchdown and never recovered as things went from bad to worse in a 24-11 season-opening loss on Thursday.

Florida’s two-headed monster at running back was anything but. Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne both had trouble getting things going, leaving Wisconsin transfer quarterback Graham Mertz to create most of the offense. The defense was perhaps even more disappointing, though.

A 70-yard touchdown from the Utes set the tone for the evening, and Florida’s fourth-quarter push ended almost as soon as started.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s humbling loss.

Where's the running game?

Florida’s running backs couldn’t get anything going against Utah.

In the first half, Trevor Etienne led the team in carries with four for 18 yards in the half while Montrell Johnson Jr. and Treyaun Webb were limited to just one rush apiece.

Things didn’t really change in the second half. Utah’s defense was all over Florida’s rushers. A possible explanation for this could be the absence of center Kingsley Eguakun. Florida’s offensive line wasn’t collapsing without its anchor, but they weren’t opening up too many holes either.

Florida’s rushing attack was supposed to be the safety net for this offense as Graham Mertz settled into his new digs. Instead, Mertz did most of the heavy lifting in Week 1.

Graham Mertz more good than bad in his Gators debut

Graham Mertz’s debut with the Gators didn’t go terribly. He provided most of the offense in the first half of the game, but an interception during the first drive of the second half cost him some goodwill.

The interception came on a ball that Ricky Pearsall wasn’t even ready for, and it wasn’t the first time the two failed to communicate on a pass. The duo finally figured things out on the next drive, but UF was already facing a 21-point deficit by then.

The Gators don’t stand a chance this season if Mertz can’t find Pearsall regularly. The two need to get in sync over the next two weeks before facing Tennessee.

Still, he completed 31 of 43 pass attempts for 333 yards and found Caleb Douglas in the end zone for a nice score. This loss is hardly on him, even if a few throws were off.

The defense is off to a worrisome start

Things went bad almost immediately for Florida’s defense. Safety R.J. Moten took a bad first step and got burned along with the Gators’ top corner, Jason Marshall Jr. Both of those guys should be defensive leaders, and to see them flop so mightily on the first play of the year had to be deflating.

Shemar James finished the night with 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for a loss, but no one else really impressed. Utah didn’t put up any major offensive numbers, but Florida never seemed in control defensively. The Utes could afford to try out both quarterbacks with such a big lead for most of the game. Imagine what a healthy SEC offense will do to them…

There were a few times that Florida could have forced a turnover, but the defensive backs didn’t make the catches and the front seven didn’t fall on the ball when it was fumbled right in front of them. Florida can’t win the turnover battle if it doesn’t force any turnovers.

Here we go again with the penalties...

Here we go again… Florida shot itself in the foot several times on Thursday night, drawing flag after flag in crucial moments of the game.

The second quarter felt like a non-stop barrage of mental mistakes from Florida. A delay of game and false start led to Adam Mihalek pushing a field goal wide right from 31 yards out, and a defensive flag gave Utah a free first down before scoring.

In total, Florida was penalized nine times for 45 total yards. Three of those came in the red zone.

The Gators can’t afford to give opponents second chances.

Watch out for Tre Wilson

There wasn’t much to celebrate on offense today, but Eugene “Tre” Wilson flashed his playmaking ability with a couple of nice plays in his collegiate debut, including the rush above. Wilson has great speed and is elusive enough to make defenders miss in the open field. Nearly every time he touched the ball tonight he put together decent yardage.

Napier is known for rewarding players for their performance regardless of age or seniority, so expect Wilson’s role in the offense to increase over the next few weeks, especially if he keeps it up against McNeese State.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire