Trailing 27-24, the Gators were driving down the field, looking to reclaim their lead in the fourth quarter. After two successful third down conversions, UF found itself at the Ole Miss 30-yard line, facing a third and five to gain.
Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway took the shotgun snap and rolled out to his left. Surveying the field, he launched a pass cross-body, looking to find sophomore wide receiver Aidan Mizell.
But Lagway’s pass didn’t make it far before disaster struck.
Ole Miss junior linebacker Suntarine Perkins deflected the pass, and the ball sailed into the hands of senior safety Wydett Williams Jr. It was the nail in the coffin in the Gators’ 34-24 loss to No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC).
Lagway’s lone turnover of the night marked another moment to forget in a tough season for the sophomore quarterback.
“This has been emotionally draining, this whole year to be honest, all the way back to January,” Lagway said. “But I’m gonna continue to get better, continue to work and continue to strive for greatness.”
Lagway’s 2025 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. He started the offseason on the sidelines dealing with a shoulder injury and recovering from surgery for a sports hernia injury. He strained his left calf in July before suffering another lower body injury in Florida’s loss to Miami.
Despite that, Lagway has toughed through a difficult campaign, where he’s completed just over 63% of his passes for 1,980 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He currently has a 63.2 Pro Football Focus grade, the lowest among quarterbacks who have played at least half of snaps in the Southeastern Conference.
“It’s been hard man. A lot of the early mornings and the late nights,” Lagway said. “But you’ve got to look at perspective. Sometimes, that’s what kind of gets me right. Six, seven months ago, I wasn’t even playing football, so I’m happy to be out there and just being able to play … But it’s hard when you don’t have success, though. That’s what you play the game for.”
Just one week after being benched in UF’s 38-7 loss to Kentucky, Lagway bounced back with a strong first half despite playing with a depleted offensive core. The Gators were missing three of their top five receivers on the season, including freshman Vernell Brown III, who was ruled inactive just moments before the game with a shoulder injury.
In the game’s opening 30 minutes, Lagway completed 9 of 17 passes for 155 yards, highlighted by a 57-yard touchdown throw to redshirt senior wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant in the second quarter.
“In the first half, you know, we’re just letting them run down the field on play action,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “Don’t matter how many receivers you got hurt, anybody if you don’t cover them, they can catch it. So you know, really at halftime we said let’s just stay back. Let’s drop more and make [DJ] earn it.”
With the adjustments from the Rebels’ defense, Lagway struggled in the second half, hitting 7 of his 14 throws for 63 yards and throwing the crucial interception. The Gators were ultimately held scoreless over the final two quarters.
“It’s a learning experience,” said Florida interim head coach Billy Gonzales. “But we can’t throw back across our body, especially when we’re coming back to the left.”
Lagway finished with a 62.9 PFF game grade, including a 74 grade when throwing 20-plus yards. However, there were some positive signs, as Lagway’s 69.1 running grade was his second-highest on the season, only behind the Kentucky game.
He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a five-yard designed quarterback draw in the late first quarter.
With the loss, the Gators (3-7, 2-5 SEC) were officially eliminated from bowl contention as more questions than answers remain about the future of Florida football. Despite that, Lagway continues taking everything day by day.
“Like I said, it’s just every single day, just continue to strive for greatness and continue to get better at your craft,” Lagway said. “Each and every week, just hoping to get it 1% better.”
Florida heads back to Gainesville to host No. 23 Tennessee and Florida State over the next two weeks to close its season.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his sixth semester at The Alligator and now serves as The Alligator's Football Reporter and is a junior sports journalism student. He previously served as The Alligator's Sports Editor, and served as reporter for women's tennis, volleyball and lacrosse. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. He wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and also loves niche professional athletes (shoutout Tomas Fleischmann).
