DJ Lagway threw 5 interceptions, including one pick six, and a penalty wiped seven points off the board as Florida fell to LSU 20-10 in Baton Rouge on Saturday.
Neither Florida nor LSU looked impressive offensively. Both QBs played sloppy games, although DJ Lagway and his five interceptions were orders of magnitude worse than his Tiger counterpart Garrett Nussmeier. Florida moved the ball well between the 20s again, but this time, instead of penalties ending drives, DJ Lagway turnovers ended them, including two major scoring opportunities late in the game. LSU seemed to have a “stay out of their way and let them beat themselves” mentality, and it worked beautifully.
Defensively, Florida is not strong in the secondary, but they have only given up two offensive TDs all year. Florida is giving up about 13 ppg, and has held two of its three opponents to fewer yards than the Gator offense has gained. Yet the Gators sit at 1-2. This is the unfortunate new normal for Florida Gators football; instead of finding a way to turn losses to wins, they turn wins into losses.
It has been nine long years since Florida left Death Valley victorious. Hated rival LSU has taken control of this once fiercely competitive rivalry that held SEC and National title implications. Unfortunately, this is not only true of the LSU series. Since 2021 Florida has failed to beat Tennessee, a team it recently boasted both 12-game and 5-game winning streaks against, in back to back seasons. The Gators have beaten Georgia only once since 2016, FSU only twice since 2020 and, have not beaten Miami since 2019. They have also lost three out their last four matchups against the Kentucky wildcats, a team that at one point had lost thirty-one straight in the series.
It is hard to watch the product that Florida puts on the field each week; outside of a select few games, that has always been a constant under Billy Napier. It is even harder to take a step back and see that seemingly the entire SEC has passed Florida by under the current coaching staff. This once proud program that boasts 3 National titles and as many Heisman Trophy winners is now closer to the bottom of the SEC than they are the top. Florida fans expect to compete with the Alabamas, the LSUs, and the Georgias, but Kentucky and Mississippi State are more their speed. This is the Billy Napier effect. If Florida has any desire to become a serious program again, they will fire Billy Napier and bring in an athletic director that will be aggressive in the coaching market.
“Whatever must happen eventually must happen immediately.”
– Jeremy Foley
Eric White
College Football Digest 