Lagway coming off disastrous outing as UF turns attention to Miami

In 1969, Florida quarterback John Reaves threw nine interceptions against Auburn. No one has topped that single-game total since.

Gators quarterback DJ Lagway did his best imitation — throwing the season’s FBS single-game high with five interceptions against LSU on Saturday.

‘I’ve never had a performance like that in my life,” Lagway said. “I played horrible football tonight. I have to do better.”

To be clear, Lagway’s collapse in Florida’s 20-10 loss in Death Valley doesn’t fall entirely on him. As usual, Florida’s offense looked stagnant and rarely gave the sophomore quarterback good options before his pocket collapsed. Coach Billy Napier’s play-calling, which he insisted he wouldn’t give up this week, was as adventurous as ever.

However, four of Lagway’s five picks against the Tigers were thrown into double- or triple-coverage. In several instances, the ball was at least five yards away from his intended receiver when intercepted.

So it’s safe to say his Heisman campaign is on ice, especially with No. 5 Miami looming this week and a gaggle of ranked opponents in tow. If Lagway and Napier don’t cook up an offense that can muster more than 16 points, which is the Gators’ current high this season against FBS opponents, both could have different roles before Halloween.

Here are some other tidbits about what Florida learned (and didn’t):

Sophomore Slump

It is kind of cheating, but Lagway’s performance deserves a little more attention.

As a freshman, when the five-star recruit walked off the field of the Gasparilla Bowl having winning his final four games of the 2024 season, it felt like he could do no wrong.

Fast forward to Saturday night, and times have changed.

The decision-making problems are concerning. He struggled to identify zones and still looked hesitant to push the ball downfield, drawing his 6.7 yards per attempt (80th nationally) even further from the top-five clip it was last year. But when he threw deep, you could regularly expect ABC to pan to Florida’s dejected hero seconds later as he sat back down on the bench.

Napier, to his credit, didn’t point blame, despite Lagway becoming the first Florida quarterback since Shane Matthews in 1992 — 13 years before Lagway was born — to throw five interceptions.

“I do think it’s important for everyone to understand that he’s still a young player…” Napier said. “Tonight is not indicative of who he is as a teammate, a football player and a leader on our team.”

But their team is 5-14 on the road under Napier. Prior to LSU, Lagway hadn’t played a true road game against a team that hadn’t given up on its season (sorry, 2024 Florida State). So maybe this should’ve been expected.

With the loss, though, Napier falls to 20-21, becoming only the second Florida coach with a losing record this far into his tenure. And all of what went wrong offensively Saturday is replicable by a Miami defense that’s forced four turnovers this season and is 34th nationally in total defense.

Miscues

If the Hurricanes are going to dominate a week from now, it will be the product of playing clean football.

Entering Week 3, Miami had 10 penalties for 101 yards this season. Against USF alone, Florida had 11 for 103. Add in another seven for 57 against LSU, and you’re looking at a bottom 50 rate in the country.

But it’s not just the number that’s killing Florida; it’s the circumstances surrounding each case. Florida lost an 87-yard touchdown by Jadan Baugh due to holding in the second quarter Saturday. The score would’ve given Florida a critical 10-0 lead, but instead it was the Gators’ third touchdown called back in two weeks.

“We just made too many mistakes to win the game,” Napier said in an abbreviated conference after the game. Five penalties by an offensive line that was supposed to be among the best in the nation won’t cut it against the likes of Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.

“We’ve lost two in a row like that,” Napier said. “We had momentum at times, and then we gave it away.”

Well, if it does so again, a swarming Miami will take advantage. If the Gators leave Hard Rock Stadium with a loss, Napier’s team could fall to 1-3 entering a bye week. That’s a recipe for change.