STARKVILLE, Miss.– If there’s any chance for the Florida Gators to turn around what’s been a struggling 2024 campaign, it starts on Saturday on the road against Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs, coming off a 41-17 home loss to Toledo, present the Gators’ best opportunity for a win for the rest of the season considering in the eight games after Saturday, Florida plays five ranked opponents.

“I talked with the players a little bit today about how you’re always searching for the the right combination of humility and enthusiasm and when you’re experiencing success, you need some humility,” said UF head coach Billy Napier on Wednesday. “I think when you’ve experienced a setback and maybe some failure, maybe things aren’t going the way you want them to go, there’s adversity. Do you have the ability to bring the same enthusiasm towards the work and maintain that same attitude, that positive energy. I think that’s the challenge.”

As opportune as this week is, Florida has struggled mightily away from the Swamp with a 2-9 road record under Napier. Their last road win, which was also their last win over an FBS opponent, came against South Carolina last season.

“I mean, thinking back to last year at South Carolina, that was a big road game win for us. A big turn of events,” said edge rusher Justus Boone. “It wasn’t necessarily going in our favor and we pulled it out. So, I definitely feel that road games, especially being in somebody else’s territory, getting a win and making a statement in their territory, there’s nothing better.”

Offensively, head coach Billy Napier reiterated his plans to play both Mertz and Lagway after rotating both quarterbacks on every possession last week. Napier explained the rotation would be open-ended dependent on how Lagway plays early.

“I think that some of it is open-ended. They know that,” Napier said. “Ultimately my expectation is they both prepare well, they both practice well, and they both play lights out when given a chance, right? So I think we know when it’s — sometimes on offense, you know, we got a crowd in there watching the game. They don’t know what sometimes is — hey, it’s not the quarterback’s fault or it is the quarterback’s fault, right? So we know, and I’m able to make decisions based off that.”

However, both will be without star receiver Eugene Wilson III, who’s set to miss his second-straight game after undergoing surgery on his knee.

“He got hurt during the (Samford) game,” Napier said. “So, yeah, when that happened I think he woke up the next day, and I think we’ve gotten to the bottom of what it is and all that. So, all good.”

In his place, the Gators will continue to rely on veteran transfers Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, who both scored touchdowns last week. Napier said the third spot, however, remains up for grabs, especially with expected contributor Kahleil Jackson out for the season and veteran Ja’Quavion Fraziars out for the fourth-straight game.

“We’re definitely a better team with Tre Wilson for sure,” Napier said. “But I do think Dike and Badger, in particular, stepped up in a major way. We have the ability to in formation plays to get the primary guys in position, much like we’ve done the past. We’ll take what we have each week and we’ll formation it and try to make those guys a primary and secondary.

“But I think last week, it’s a heck of a week for Dike and Badger. I thought they did a good job. Who’s the third? I think that’s the question mark. I think those guys will have a little opportunity this week.”

Defensively, the Gators took a hit on the interior defensive line depth with Joey Slackman and Michai Boireau both out. Slackman also recently had surgery on his knee, and his timeline for a return is unknown.

This comes on the heels of inconsistent play from the entire defense, which has led Napier and his staff to reevaluate the team’s practice setting.

“I would tell you a lot of our conversations this week with players have been about the practice environment relative to habit-building, the intentionality, the focus, in particular, the scout periods,” Napier said. “I think that’s an area where we can improve, the quality of those reps from start to finish and all parts working together to get that. So that’s scout offense and then the between-play process for the defense, I think that’s been the point of emphasis.”

The Gators will have to stop a fast-paced Mississippi State offense led by dual-threat quarterback Blake Shapen. Against fellow dual-threat quarterbacks in Miami’s Cam Ward and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, Florida has struggled to contain on the front end while also keeping strong coverage on the backend.

This week’s opportunity presents a chance for improvement against a Bulldog offense that ranks 82nd nationally in total offense.

“Definitely the mindset of my position group and my defense, we are definitely frustrated, because I mean we every day we go out there and we are planning to disrupt the quarterback, get to the quarterback,” Boone said. “Definitely not the success that we want but only another opportunity today to get better at it.”

Here’s everything you need to know for the Gators’ matchup against the Bulldogs, including broadcast information and betting odds as well as other gameday information.

Florida Gators (1-2) @ Mississippi State (1-2): What You Need to Know

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.

When: Saturday, Sept. 20, noon EST.

Watch: ESPN

Weather: 89 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny with a zero percent chance of precipitation, according to Weather.com.

Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Odds: Florida is considered a 6.5-point favorite over Mississippi State in Week Four, according to FanDuel. The over/under is set at 58.5 points.

Series History: Florida leads the all-time series 34-19-2. The Gators defeated the Bulldogs, 13-6, in the series’ last matchup on Sept. 29, 2018 in Starkville, Miss.

What’s At Stake: Florida has lost its last seven matchups against FBS opponents with its last win coming on the road against South Carolina on Oct. 14, 2023, which is also the last time the Gators have won a road game. With Napier on the hot seat, one more loss, especially in a winnable game, may be the icing on the cake in his tenure.

Important Stories:

PIKE COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Two people died during a crash involving two-vehicles, including a bus carrying members of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s (MGCCC) Band of Gold.

WXXV reported the crash occurred on Highway 98 in Pike County near the Walthall County line on Thursday, September 19.

Jackson police arrest 2 teens for shooting death of 17-year-old

According to officials, the bus was carrying band members to the football team’s road game against South Mississippi Community College. All students aboard the bus were not injured.

Officials with the Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) said the driver and passenger of the Ford Ranger truck involved in the crash both died from their injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV.

Mississippi teen Carly Gregg was severely depressed and possibly hearing voices when she allegedly gunned down her own mother, psychiatrists testified at her trial Thursday — but one argued she committed a “diabolical” act that keeps her from meeting the requirements of an insanity defense.

“I used the word diabolical. And I stand by that word,” psychiatrist Jason Pickett said of the 15-year-old, who was caught on camera texting her stepfather “When will you be home honey?” from her mother Ashley Smylie’s phone moments after allegedly shooting the 40-year-old in the face on March 19.

The text was an apparent trick to lure her stepfather home — when he returned a short time later, Gregg allegedly fired a pistol at him and grazed him in the shoulder.

“When she did that, to me, that was very specific and diabolical. And that to me is not consistent with a dissociative spell, it is not consistent with psychosis, that is not consistent with mania,” said Pickett, who interviewed Gregg for over four hours after her arrest, according to WAPT.

“In my opinion, Carly does not meet Mississippi’s standard for insanity at the time of the offense and she knew the nature and quality of her actions on that day.”

In Mississippi, defendants can be acquitted on the grounds of insanity if it’s demonstrated they were unable to understand the severity or impact of their actions, according to Justia Law — which is what Gregg’s defense is trying to establish.

Other psychiatrists at the trial painted a picture of a girl who was suffering severe mental illness in the lead-up to the alleged murder — including one who insisted Gregg was hearing voices.

“She said she had been hearing one voice, a male voice, since she was young — maybe around five or six years old,” said Dr. Amanda Gugliano, who also interviewed Gregg after her arrest.

“She said she heard the voice every day, but it was always in the background and she was able to tune it out,” Gugliano said, explaining the voice Gregg told her about was a snide critic who would make comments about people.

On Wednesday, Dr. Andrew Clark testified that the voices in Gregg’s head had been intensifying leading up to the shooting, and that she experienced a mental break that day and has no recollection of the incident.

But other medical professionals who worked with Gregg disputed the claim about the alleged voices.

Olivia Leber — a nurse who worked with Gregg in January before the killing — said she never complained about voices, delusions, or hallucinations while she was being diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

And Rebecca Kirk — a counselor who also met with Gregg in January after her parents said she was having severe intrusive thoughts — testified that the girl insisted she was not hearing voices.

Gregg and Kirk met nine different times and even had conversations about “Crime and Punishment,” the Russian novel about a man who murders a woman and then becomes plagued by anguish and guilt. But during none of those sessions did Gregg exhibit anything that might indicate she was about to commit murder, Kirk said.

Home surveillance footage from the family’s home in Brandon showed Smylie and her daughter coming home after apparently taking their dogs for a walk. Gregg was seen shuffling about the house, and eventually followed her mother out of the frame before three gunshots and screams rang out.

The teen then returned to the view of the camera with something behind her back, and appeared to be deliberately facing the camera. Within moments she picked up her mother’s phone and sent off a text message.

Clark suggested the news of her mother’s recent discovery of the teen’s marijuana habit, coupled with the emotional turmoil she was going through, might have sparked a psychotic episode.

“For Carly, in particular, she so cared about her mother’s approval, so for her, this was a crisis,” Clark said.

The teen faces charges of murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence — along with 30 years to life in prison if convicted.