Florida football was tripped up by the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend in a demoralizing game that set the program back a step, but starting quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] was not the reason for the season-defining defeat. While the transfer from Wisconsin is nowhere near elite, he has been one of the most consistent presences on the team this fall.
Following Week 5, College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley ranked the Southeastern Conference’s starting signal-callers according to quarterback rating, with Mertz coming in at No. 10. This is essentially where he landed in last week’s rankings when he came in ninth, but the addition of Texas A&M‘s Max Johnson pushed him down a notch.
The redshirt junior’s QBR was 66.3 ahead of the Kentucky loss and lost a few points, dropping just a smidgen to 64.7 after the defeat. Interestingly, he ranks higher than UK’s Devin Leary, who came in at No. 13 this week with a 47.6 QBR, up from No. 12 at 49.5.
Next up for the Orange and Blue are the Vanderbilt Commodores, who come to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, for the school’s homecoming game. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. EDT and the game can be watched on the SEC Network.
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.