The Gators had a pair of black eyes three games into the season after getting spanked at home by Miami and Texas A&M. And that was when they had their starting quarterback.
Florida pulled even with a road win at Mississippi State in Week 4, and then during the ensuing bye week, the Gators rebooted during a stretch of physical and competitive practices. In the aftermath, more young players began taking snaps on Saturdays and the defense started to show some resistance. Florida responded with a home win over UCF, but lost quarterback Graham Mertz to a season-ending knee injury the following week at Tennessee. Making matters worse, the Gators lost in overtime to the Vols in a game they had multiple chances to put away in regulation.
The season began to turn when true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway took over and led the Gators to a 48-20 home win over Kentucky. Another bye week followed the victory as the Gators prepared to face No. 2-ranked Georgia in Jacksonville. Florida led the Bulldogs in the second quarter and was in control of tempo when Lagway went down with a strained hamstring. He did not return, replaced by walk-on and Yale transfer Aiden Warner. Georgia came back to win and the Gators were back at .500 with a 4-4 record and a trip to face No. 5 Texas looming.
The low point of the season arrived when the Gators trailed the Longhorns 42-0 early in the third quarter. They lost 49-17 and with LSU and Ole Miss headed to The Swamp in back-to-back weeks, the Gators’ bowl hopes seemed buried at the bottom of Tampa Bay.
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But with Lagway back on the field, Florida upset both the Tigers and Rebels to become bowl-eligible and renew hope. The Gators closed the regular season with a 20-point win at Florida State and a few days later learned they would face Tulane on Friday in the Gasparilla Bowl.
“Our guys were excited when we found out we were going to be in Tampa,” UF head coach Billy Napier said this week. “It was a big deal and to play on the 20th, I mean, we’d be lying if we weren’t happy with that. I think these guys have an opportunity to finish the right way in our state, then be home for Christmas and have a couple weeks off before we get back out in January.
“Gator Nation will be on full display. It’ll be a great opportunity for our fans to come…
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