GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida quarterback CJ Lagway led a balanced offense as he passed for 180 yards, which complemented 164 yards by the Gators running game, as the Gators effectively eliminated Ole Miss from the 12-team NCAA field with a 24-17 win on Saturday in The Swamp.
In the second quarter, Lagway threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Badger to post a 7-0 lead as the Gators opened scoring with 14:56 remaining before halftime. He next hit running back Jaden Baugh with a 22-yard swing pass for a catch and run and a 14-14 score with 6:52 remaining in the first half.
“God has been leading me throughout this whole journey, through my whole journey just playing football,” said Lagway. “It’s just a blessing to have just amazing teammates, amazing coaches around me to develop me, and it’s been amazing just to see how everybody rallies behind me. It’s truly a blessing.”
Wide Receiver Elijah Badger again led the Gators in receiving with 87 yards on five catches as he set the tone with the early touchdown. He is Lagway’s primary receiver this season with 778 yards on 35 catches. His 22.2-yards-per-catch has doubled his 2023 average at Arizona State.
Chimere Dike was a complementary receiver again as he caught a 41-yard pass early in the fourth quarter to set up Montrell Johnson’s game-winning touchdown with 7:40 to play. Johnson recorded 107 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown.
“Those guys have been great resources on and off the field,” said Lagway about his wide receiving corp. “They’re great leaders. They have different leadership styles, but they are great leaders, and I appreciate those guys for real.”
Coach Billy Napier sees Lagway’s presence inside the offense as a huge upgrade for any of his skill players.
“We caught a game where their front wasn’t able to be a factor to some degree,” said Napier. “I think we did what we needed to do to win, and he was a huge part of that for sure. Those were phenomenal plays. Guys are draped all over him, he finds a guy, and keeps his eyes downfield. For the most part, we kept him clean today.”
While the defense gave up 464 total yards, it came up strong when Ole Miss threatened. On the last two dives, defensive back Bryce Thornton ended those with interceptions of Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who completed 24-of-41 passes for 323 yards and two TD passes, one each to to Cayden Lee and Tre Harris.
Thornton’s first interception was in the end zone with 1:27 remaining as Dart was working his deep ball in search of his talented receivers. Thornton then picked Dart off to end the game with just 17 seconds remaining.
Ole Miss had the top offensive team in the country with 509 total yards per contest and they still put up 456 on Saturday. A big key was Florida’s athleticism on defense and how they forced Ole Miss to be even quicker with trying to execute its offense.
“I felt like this defense, everybody played a part, and the D-line had a great game. I feel like they helped, especially the back end contains, made him throw, especially for my pick, difficult throws,” said Thornton, who also noted the Gators’ linebackers and defensive backs.
Florida’s athleticism on defense also accumulated four quarterback sacks, two-and-a half from defensive end Caleb Green, and nine tackles for loss. Thornton finished with 14 tackles to go with his two interceptions.
“I feel like we should be ranked, so we’re going to keep performing, and I feel like everybody is going to see how Florida is supposed to be,” Thornton said.
