Once again, the Florida Gators had a legitimate chance at winning a game, but instead, the team continues to shoot itself in the foot during Billy Napier's fourth season as head coach. But these issues have existed since before he arrived in Gainesville.
The Orange and Blue looked for a moment like they came to play the LSU Tigers in Death Valley to open up their 2025 SEC schedule. Subpar play from sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, poor play calling by the team's skipper -- who refuses to relinquish the reins on offensive play-calling despite clear deficiencies on his part -- as well as a parade of penalty flags doomed Florida, 20-10, in Week 3.
Following the game, the Gators Wire staff offers their instant and honest reactions to what was witnessed in Baton Rouge on Saturday night. Much like the rest of the fan base, we are getting a bit fed up with this terrible version of Groundhog Day that seems to keep playing like a broken record.
Here are our respective takes.
GOOD: The best thing Florida fans can cling to is that the defense, for long stretches, actually kept LSU's offense from blowing the doors off. Despite being put in bad spots by turnovers, the unit bowed up in the red zone and forced field goals instead of touchdowns. It wasn't pretty, but without those stops, the score could've been embarrassing.
BAD: Florida's rushing attack was once again a non-factor, and that's on Billy Napier. Jadan Baugh showed flashes when he actually got the ball, but he finished with just 10 carries. When you don't establish the run, you're asking a young quarterback to do too much, and we saw exactly how that played out.
UGLY: DJ Lagway's five interceptions will be the storyline, and rightfully so. Every time Florida had a chance to build momentum, the ball went back to LSU. Turnovers handed the Tigers points and erased any fight the Gators tried to show. Add in Napier's 20-21 record in his fourth year, and the ugly truth is this program still has no real direction.
GOOD: Florida's defense forced LSU to punt seven times. Sure, the Tigers could've added some points at the end there, but the point stands that this was a more-than-winnable game for the Gators. DJ Lagway's five interceptions are going to overshadow that performance, but it shouldn't. If Lagway can figure it out, this Gators squad is capable of beating the No. 3 team in the country.
BAD: I have criticisms of the run game today, or at least the decision to run 27 times to Lagway's 49 pass attempts. He clearly didn't have it and Jadan Baugh was making plays left and right. But LSU has a very good run defense, so there's some justification.
There's also the lack of Tre Wilson in the pass game. He got three targets and caught two on screens for 10 yards. This guy was a major weapon as a freshman, but the reliance on Vernell Brown III has all but eliminated him from the game plan.
UGLY: Lagway threw five interceptions. In what world is that not ugly? The bright side is it can't get worse.... right?
GOOD: Make no mistake, Jadan Baugh is a true baller. I love that he was more involved with the passing game, but with Lagway clearly not up to speed on the field, I really want to see him get more touches on the ground.
He only ran the ball six times in the first half (with three pass receptions) and finished with 10 carries for 46 yards and seven receptions for 59 yards. He absolutely has the talent to be a Marshall Faulk kind of impact on offense and needs to get more involved.
BAD: Lagway just does not look like the player he was in the latter part of last season. Does he still have some lingering injuries? Did his health issues inhibit his offseason progress? Maybe a little bit of both?
Regardless of the cause, the effect is that Florida is not able to effectively execute their gameplay without the face of the program at least performing up to last year's standards. He is still young, and it might be unfair to hold him to the lofty expectations set prior to the season, but he is supposed to be the spoon that stirs the drink.
Editor's note: I wrote this section before the fourth and fifth interceptions...
UGLY: Once again, penalties proved to be the bane of the Orange and Blue as points were taken off the board in key moments of the game, completely deflating the Gators' efforts. After a season-opener that was squeaky-clean, Billy's boys have been back to their bad behaviors and it continues to hamper Florida's efforts on the field.
When this program can embrace a consistent level of discipline (on and off the field), then we can start talking about being a contender again. Until then, we will remain pretenders.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.