Florida vs. Florida State score, takeaways: Dominant defense fuels Gators win as offense sputters

Image Credit: UAA

The Florida Gators improved to 7-5 winning three straight games to end the 2024 season, but the final victory at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night left much to be desired from a team that had impressed massively over the prior two weeks. This despite Florida prevailing 31-11 over the Florida State Seminoles, snapping a two-game series losing skid with its first win in Tallahassee, Florida, since 2018.

Seven FSU fumbles — four recovered by UF — and an offensive line that was unable to handle the Gators’ dominant defensive front were ultimately enough, though, as head coach Billy Napier led Florida to three straight wins at the end of a season for the first time since 2019.

Despite the offensive inconsistencies, it never felt like the Gators were in much danger — even as the ‘Noles finally found pay dirt (plus a 2-point conversion) with 3:18 remaining.

Napier ultimately notched his third rivalry win in as many seasons continuing the momentum Florida has found both on and off the field over the last two weeks.

Let’s take a look at what went down Saturday night.

Dominant, destructive defense

The Gators did not perform as expected given the way they played in ranked wins over LSU and Ole Miss the last two weeks, but the defense absolutely showed up and took as much advantage as it could over an overmatched ‘Noles offensive line. Florida recorded 8 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hurries. UF’s eight sacks were its most in the rivalry since at least 2000. It also recovered 4 of 7 fumbles coughed up by FSU, five of which were forced.

Before the late touchdown drive, when the Gators largely played prevent defense, they had only given up 162 yards in the game. This despite entering the game down five starting defensive backs and seeing two defensive linemen injured in the first quarter.

It will be imperative for Florida to continue making progress on this side of the ball in 2025, but the results have certainly been impressive to this point given the personnel absences and where the unit started the season.

DJ (slightly) Lag-ging

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway did not have his best game Saturday night; neither did the Gators’ offense as a whole. He ultimately competed 14 of 22 passes for 133 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, his second straight game with a nearly identical stat line.

Lagway made some bad throws and decisions and even sailed some passes to wide-open teammates, including one for a would-be TD, but he also had little help. He started 1 of 6 with four of those incompletions being drops by his wide receivers — three of which would have gone for first downs. His interception was a combination of an underthrow and two receivers converging in one spot, which was certainly not how the play was drawn up.

Furthermore, the offensive line struggled to pass protect despite run blocking extremely well. Lagway was under constant pressure in the first half and unable to move the ball down the field as he had so frequently in prior starts this season.

Remember: He’s a freshman who has been missing his top receiving weapon. Plus, the Gators’ recent breakout pass catcher, redshirt senior WR Elijhah Badger, was shockingly ineffective catching just two balls for 11 yards after compiling 87+ yards receiving over three of his prior four games.

Lagway will get better and Florida’s offense will alongside him. He even made some incredible, off-schedule plays in the game that flashed what is possible with him under center. Saturday night, though, left a lot to be desired given the way the offense had been moving the ball over the prior two weeks.

DJ Lagway is officially not f'n around. #Gators pic.twitter.com/20A9wDnUuJ https://t.co/r0YvbLOp6n

— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) December 1, 2024

What went right

• The running game. The Gators have one of the best such rooms in the nation. Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. dominated after a long injury layoff with 10 carries for 99 yards, including a breakaway 65-yard touchdown to ice the game. Freshman Jadan Baugh rumbled 81 yards on 11 carries, while sophomore Ja’Kobi Jackson fought for 51 tough yards adding a score of his own.

👀🐊You gotta get your groove on before you go get paid. Florida #Gators go up 24-3 on FSU as Montrell Johnson Jr. breaks away for a huge 65-yard TD. pic.twitter.com/o3o53HclZq

— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) December 1, 2024

• Special teams. It was not asked to do much, but it was excellent. Coverage was top notch, including a muffed punt recovery by redshirt junior long snapper Rocco Underwood, who made an incredible scoop. Senior punter Jeremy Crawshaw booted six balls for 259 yards with two going 50+ yards. Junior kicker Trey Smack even nailed a 30-yard field goal for good measure. Tough to ask for more.
• Senior Cam Jackson and sophomore Jaden Robinson each grabbed two sacks, while singles went to redshirt junior Tyreak Sapp, redshirt junior George Gumbs Jr. and junior Jack Pyburn, who also forced and recovered a fumble. Junior linebacker Shemar James flew all over the field similarly forcing and recovering a fumble.
• Napier did well managing a 2-minute drill to close the first half. Florida had all three of its timeouts and methodically drove down the field 80 yards across nine plays for a TD. This as Lagway went 4 of 4 giving the Gators a two-score lead at the break.

What went wrong

• Napier again struggled with a second half-opening drive. Florida was unable to take advantage of having bookend possessions despite having the chance to basically put the game away early. This is a continued issue for the Gators coach, who is tasked with managing the entire team during halftime and therefore rarely makes substantial offensive adjustments. It’s precisely why Florida badly needs a dedicated offensive coordinator like every championship-caliber team possesses.
• The receivers were less than impressive over the entire contest but still made some key plays when it counted. Senior Chimere Dike compiled 63 yards as a consistent bail-out option for Lagway. Redshirt junior Marcus Burke had two drops and was likely at partial fault for Lagway’s turnover, but he also made a great catch for a key TD. Sophomoe tight end Tony Livingston grabbed the final score.
• The third-down defense was suspect. FSU entered ranked 131st out of 132 FBS teams converting just 27% of its third downs. While UF dominated every other down, it allowed the hosts to convert 6 of 13 opportunities (46.2%), which was one of the few reasons why Florida State was even in the game.
• The first quarter. The officiating crew, frankly, could not get its shit together. It was probably the most boring 15 minutes of football that most had witnessed this season.
• Penalties are going to happen, but the Gators had a couple of the back-breaking variety. First was a blindside block that negated a 35-yard punt return by Dike, one of the team’s best such plays this entire season. Later was an unnecessary roughness penalty that aided FSU’s lone points until that late TD.

Odds & ends

Florida improved to 38-28-2 all-time against Florida State with a winning 15-14-1 edge in Tallahassee … the Gators broke a two-game series losing skid and won in Doak for the first time since 2018 … UF is undefeated against FSU teams that ended their seasons with losing records … Florida has forced turnovers in 11 of 12 games this season with multiple takeaways in five of the last six games … the Gators are now 4-9 on the road (4-13 away from home) under Napier … Florida under Napier is 12-0 when allowing 20 points or fewer, 15-2 when leading after the third quarter, 14-5 when leading at halftime, 15-6 when scoring first and 14-5 when rushing for at least 150 yards … the Gators are now 41-13 against unranked opponents since 2018 … Florida has scored in 460 consecutive games, an NCAA record

What it means

Ugly wins happen, and this was one of them. Despite the Gators struggling with consistency on offense, the defense delivered as it has for the latter third of the season. Florida still won by 20 on the road playing nowhere near its best football. The Gators played seven top 25 opponents and ended the nation’s toughest schedule by winning three straight — two over those aforementioned ranked teams. This despite losing a bevy of starters on both sides of the ball — especially in key games against Tennessee and Georgia.

While no Florida fan enters a season believing six or seven wins is a successful, many were willing to soften their expectations given the Gators young roster and tough schedule. Florida ultimately met or exceeded some of those expectations even if the year started as poorly as possible. The resiliency coming out of the first bye week and after losing starting quarterbacks in winable games against Georgia and Tennessee was impressive. The players bought into Napier and his “process” even if results took a while to prove out. UF now holds that aforementioned momentum and must capitalize on it in the offseason.

What’s next?

The early signing period, opening of the transfer portal and the bowl game. The Gators have flipped nine high school prospects from Power Four schools in the last 14 days and sure seem like an attractive destination for upcoming transfers. Florida will learn its bowl game, dates and opponent on Selection Sunday in two weeks following the conference championship games.