Recognizing the Realities After Florida Gators Loss to LSU

D.J. Lagway suffered his worst outing as a Florida Gator Saturday night.

By CARLTON REESE

GatorBaitMedia.com

They just aren’t who we thought they were. And neither is D.J. No longer is it about good will earned in a furious finish to last season effectively fed into a paper shredder just three games into 2025; this is about questioning our own reality, our belief systems which we cling to like a religion.

Convinced the talent is there to compete for a conference championship and return to national prominence, we peruse the roster noting an All-American here, a star-in-waiting there, game-breakers, speedsters and ball hawks peppered elsewhere. Combine that with a “culture” (whatever that overused word means) that supposedly has bred a new character brand which builds long-term foundations of winning programs and there was no reason to believe the last two Saturdays were remotely possible.

Yet here we are at 1-2 with the Miami Hurricanes and Texas Longhorns looming. This after Florida lost 20-10 Saturday night. Keep in mind, LSU did not beat Florida 20-10 – Florida ‘lost’ as in the active use of the verb. This did not happen to the Gators; the Gators orchestrated this one – it just so happens that it was LSU on the other sideline.

It’s now time to admit we were wrong. Yes, at times it looked like Florida was the team we all thought it could be this year – the Gators controlled LSU in most facets of the game, and even when something great happened for the Tigers it was not the result of great LSU football, but of Florida charity.

Yes, we’re talking about D.J. Lagway. The kid is going to get beat up all week for his five interceptions that effectively cost the Gators any chance of winning a game that was theirs for the taking. Were those interceptions the result of aggressive plays where a superman effort overcame a good play, there would not be so much consternation.

Regrettably, all five Lagway interceptions made it seem as though he wasn’t even paying attention downfield. He threw into blanket single coverage, double coverage and even triple coverage and on none of the five picks did the Florida receiver have a scintilla of chance to make the catch.

Quarterbacks win games. Quarterbacks make franchises. But when you are building your franchise on a quarterback that now looks more like Kyle Morris than Kyle Trask, you are in trouble no matter how good everyone else may be, no matter how stunningly fabulous your defense is. Remember when the mantra was, “D.J.’s 6-0 in games that he starts and finishes!” Well, now he’s 7-3.

Against South Florida, everything went wrong. Against LSU, it was mainly D.J. A decent D.J. Lagway – not even a great one, mind you  -- and Florida is a better team than LSU. Much better. But Lagway was so astonishingly bad Saturday night, it nearly made you forget the myriad of holding penalties against that vaunted veteran offensive line.

We love D.J. Lagway and pine for him to be what we all envision, instead of accepting him for what he is. He’s the boyhood crush that can do no wrong no matter how much she cheats or lies – she’s just so darned good looking that you turn a blind eye to the misgivings. Now it’s time to wake up to reality: D.J. is a long way from reaching that potential.

When the game ended, ABC television announcer Greg McElroy noted this was “a teachable moment for Lagway.” It looked more like a soul-crushing moment for Lagway, and now we’ll see if Billy Napier can coach this kid back to confident. Nearly four years of data compiled in the Napier era is yet to provide the evidence he can.

With the game tied 10-10 late in the second quarter, Florida gift-wrapped the next 10 points to LSU. Trying to get a cheap score before the half and build some momentum, what looked to be a promising drive with the potential to steal three points and the lead blew up when Lagway tried to thread a needle with a mooring line.

That throw ended up in the hands of an LSU defender and resulted in a Tigers field goal.

Lagway followed that up with another mind-screw: his throw to a well-covered receiver was picked off by Deshawn Spears (not the primary defender in coverage) who returned it 70 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 lead. LSU hadn’t outplayed anybody, hadn’t outcoached anybody and hadn’t outsmarted anyone, yet enjoyed a 10-point lead.

Remember the days when a Florida quarterback would launch a pass downfield and you fully expected to see a Florida receiver running beneath it? Today, that pass goes up and nothing but fear strikes with the notion of what horrors lie in wait. That’s where we are.

So who’s at fault? LSU wasn’t any good – Florida’s defense made the Tigers look silly. Ten first downs? Really? The No.3 team in the country? Let’s think about that a while. LSU gained just 316 total yards and 147 of them came on three plays. Maybe LSU’s offense isn’t very good – more than likely the Gators’ defense is great when it’s not spitting into the face of opposing players.

I was all prepared for Florida to play well in Baton Rouge Saturday night and possibly win. Writing that column was going to be fun: Enjoy this great win, but brace yourself for some more elation tempered by moments of madness and disappointment. A great team with a brutal schedule has nothing in store but a frenetic ride we’ll remember always.

Florida did play well, but its quarterback failed to live up to the moment and delivered about as frustrating a loss one of double digits can be.

Have you seen enough, Gator fans? Do we have to sit through this again next week down at that parking lot in Miami Gardens? Is Florida going to go toe-to-toe with the Hurricanes and look the better team all the while giving it away? It’s what we fully expect, isn’t it?

Perhaps we were right for the most part in regard to how good Florida is. Yes, there is enough talent there to win at LSU. The problem is that there just isn’t enough mettle to win at LSU, and that matters. It’s as though the Gators just don’t believe deep down they can win games like this.

The Gators need a dose of self-help guru Stuart Smalley: “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”

A little confidence can go a long way, but right now the Gators are long way from a little confidence.