A bowl game is back on the menu in Gainesville.
The return of star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway led to a return to the win column for the Florida Gators, who took care of No. 22 LSU 27-16 Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The win not only improved the Gators to 5-5 on the season, but drove a stake through the heart of LSU’s College Football Playoff hopes.
Florida has two chances to reach bowl eligibility — home vs. No. 10 Ole Miss next week and at arch-rival Florida State to end the season. Doing so would be an impressive accomplishment considering the difficulty of the schedule, which was hyped in the preseason as one of the toughest ever.
Lagway, who was injured in the 34-20 loss to Georgia, and missed last week’s blowout loss to Texas because of it, gave Gators fans a glimpse of what the team is capable of when he’s healthy (not to mention, a glimpse of why Florida was so eager to announce coach Billy Napier will return next season). Even with his mobility limited by the hamstring injury, Lagway was able to make plays through the air. The No. 1 QB recruit in the class of 2024 finished the day completing only 13 of his 26 pass attempts, but finished with 226 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target on the day was Elijah Badger, who finished with 6 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Still, while the offense did enough to win, the true star of the day for Florida was its defense. The Gators held LSU to only 4.2 yards per play despite being on the field for over 41 minutes of game action. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier probably feels like he was on the field for 40 weeks, because the Gators defense was on him all day.
Florida finished the day with 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. LSU had allowed only six sacks all season coming into the game.
The win means the Gators need to win one of their final two games against No. 11 Ole Miss or at Florida State to get to a bowl. While upsetting Ole Miss won’t be easy, Florida State has been one of the biggest disappointments of the college football season and is 1-9.
Florida is just over a week removed from announcing embattled coach Billy Napier would return for the 2025 season. With Lagway at the controls, there should be plenty of optimism around Gainesville.