Lagway, Baugh and big plays give the Gators a feel-good win

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If Saturday night indicates what the DJ Lagway The era will be such that the Gators will have to buy more fireworks.

And Billy Napier can settle down.

“(He) also made some plays with his feet,” Napier said. “That gets overlooked. “The read element in the run game, and then there's a couple where they were covered and he battled and was able to make some plays. He will only get better.

“The work he does Sunday through Saturday adds to what you see out there.”

Everyone saw Florida roll over Kentucky before a 10th straight sellout game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, defeating the Wildcats 48-20 in Lagway's first Southeastern Conference start – and second career start.

A week after the Gators suffered a disheartening overtime loss at Tennessee and lost their starting quarterback Graham Mertz After a season-ending knee injury, two true freshmen came to the rescue: Lagway and Tailback Jadan Baughthe first time in program history that the Gators started a true freshman quarterback and a running back in the same game.

“They’ve made great progress,” Napier said. “Both were top players coming straight out of high school.”

Lagway finished 7 of 14 for 259 yards and added 46 rushing yards, while Baugh passed for 106 yards and five touchdowns. Baugh's five fast-paced scores tied the program record shared by Tim Tebow and Trey Burton and set off constant explosions of orange and blue fireworks into the night sky above the South End zone.

Lagway and Baugh delivered Florida's first win over the Wildcats since 2020, ending a three-game losing streak in the series once dominated by UF. But they had plenty of support as the Gators scored their most points against an FBS opponent in Napier's three seasons.

The defense held Kentucky (3-4, 1-4) to 309 yards of total offense, 4 of 13 on third down and 1 of 5 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Gators (4-3, 2-2) turned three interceptions into 14 points to earn their most promising win of the season.

“The thing I’m most proud of is the resilience of this team,” Napier said. “This is a resilient group. I’ve been through a lot all season.”

In a season that began with the Gators suffering a black eye in a lopsided loss to Miami at The Swamp – and raised questions about Napier's future – the Gators improved to 3-0 in contests that many fans and media viewed as ” “Must-win” competitions. They won at Mississippi State after suffering a tough home loss to Texas A&M that left them at 1-2, then beat UCF at home after a bye week. That win silenced some rumors, but last week's loss at Tennessee fueled the critics again.

Lagway did his part to help his coach by leading the Gators on a 10-play, 63-yard drive on Florida's first possession Saturday night. In a taste of what was to come, Lagway ran 13 yards on UF's first play, and after Baugh's 5-yard run, Lagway scored with the ball Eugene Wilson III for a 40-yard pass, the first of his seven completions in which he averaged 37 yards per connection. Florida finished the game with 13 explosive plays (10 yards or more), with Lagway directly involved in eight. He added a 22-yard run and a hit receiver Elijhah badger for gains of 50, 58 and 40 yards and receivers Chimere Dike for passes of 23 and 44 yards.

“DJ, he still has a lot to learn, but I think you can see he has a lot of potential,” Badger said. “DJ made his throws tonight.”

As for Baugh, he started in place of the injured man Montreal Johnson Jr. and repeatedly beat the Wildcats into the red zone. Baugh scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter to give the Gators a 13-6 lead and added a 10-yard touchdown to cap a four-play, 98-yard drive after the Gators Defense had scored a four-and-1 stop with Kentucky at UF's 2nd moments later, after a Devin Moore 52-yard interception return, interception return, Baugh scored on a 1-yard run. He added two 1-yard touchdowns in the second half, often capitalizing on long lagway passes to move the Gators deep into Kentucky territory.

Had Atlanta native Baugh ever scored five touchdowns in a game?

“Yeah, I had more in high school,” he said. “Eight actually, but they called one back, so seven.”

Still, he introduced himself to Gators fans in a big way as Florida won on homecoming for the sixth straight year. A critical sequence occurred in the second quarter after Lagway's only major mistake. After Baugh's 7-yard run broke a 6-6 tie, Florida rallied Trikweze Bridges intercepted Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff to give the Gators possession at the 46th line. Two plays later, Lagway threw an interception that Wildcats strong safety Kristian Story returned 63 yards to Florida's 11 yards. But on fourth-and-goal from the 2, Florida's defense stopped running assist Demi Sumo-Karngbaye for no gain. Baugh managed a 27-yard run, and on the next play, Lagway beat Badger for 58. Then Baugh ran 3 yards before his 10-yard touchdown that finally put momentum in Florida's hands.

“We just knew Kentucky liked to keep the ball,” Bridges said. “The biggest thing was just getting the ball back so the offense could score points. We did that.”

Perhaps no moment summed up the feel-good vibes of Saturday night's win better than the second-year cornerback Cormani McClains The 29-yard interception return resulted in a touchdown, which was the final fireworks display of the evening.

McClain chose to recruit to Florida but ultimately signed with Colorado. After one season in Deion Sanders' program, the Gators offered McClain a second opportunity to get his career on the right track. He made his UF debut Saturday after apparently suffering a shoulder injury Jason Marshall Jr. leave.

When McClain scored, dozens of Gators rushed into the end zone to join in the celebration, drawing a flurry of penalty flags.

Nobody seemed to mind. The Gators were in for a standout performance as they prepared for the most harrowing stretch of their schedule.

“I was definitely on the field and on offense,” Badger said. “It felt good.” The confidence that surrounds him and everyone else on the team – that's what drives him forward and makes them do things like that. He didn’t know when his moment would come, and his moment came.”

The Gators also had a moment that they had needed all season.