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The shorthanded Florida Gators fell to 4-5 after being dominated, 49-17, Saturday against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns in Austin.
The Gators (2-4 SEC) were without nine starters. Starting quarterback DJ Lagway was not a go despite working all well to overcome a hamstring injury suffered against Georgia the week before.
Although Lagway did take first-team reps in pregame warmups, coach Billy Napier the decision that Lagway wasn’t at 100%.
https://twitter.com/ESPNGainesville/status/1855289736660980053
The Gators had faired well in their previous top-10 matchups against Tennessee and Georgia despite losing both QB Graham Mertz and Lagway. The difference this time was that redshirt freshman quarterback Aidan Warner. was forced into an impossible position.
Injured Gators
Once it was determined Lagway would not be playing, Warner became the Gators third starting QB to start this season, something that had not happened since 2017 (Feleipe Franks, Malik Zaire, Luke Del Rio).
Florida was also missing its top two running backs, top two wide receivers, top three cornerbacks among others. And Texas (8-1, 4-1) coach Steve Sarkisian took full advantage of each and every mismatch early on.
Texas Takeaways
For starters, it’s worth mentioning DKR Memorial Stadium is one of — if not the — hardest places to play in the nation and Longhorn fans made their presence known all game.
Caption contest? pic.twitter.com/6gxHZc7J9g
— Thomas Goldkamp (@ThomasGoldkamp) November 9, 2024
After a missed field goal on its first drive, Texas struck first on its second possession of the game. The Longhorns drove 85 yards in seven plays capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass from QB Quinn Ewers to wide receiver Matthew Golden.
https://twitter.com/TexasFootball/status/1855302213431615793
Before you knew it, the Gators trailed the Longhorns 35-0 off the back of Ewers throwing for 257 yards and four touchdowns in just the first half. Ewers also became just the second QB in 20 years to record four first-half passing touchdowns on the Gators (Mac Jones, 2020).
The second half started just like the first half ended, as the Longhorns intercepted a Gators’ pass to set up Ewers, who quickly tossed his fifth touchdown of the game, a 34-yard reception to receiver Isaiah Bond to make the lead 42-0.
Ewers finished with a career-high five touchdowns and a season-high 333 passing yards. Although the Gators defense effectively held both running backs in the first half, freshman running back (a Gainesville native) Jerrick Gibson ran for a career-high 100 yards on 16 carries.
The Longhorns averaged 8.8 yards per play and had 562 yards of total offense.
Gators Takeaways
The Gators proved they have a solid running back room. Both RBs combined for a season-high 204 rushing yards against a Texas defense that allows an average of only 105 yards per game.
The Gators also became the first team this year to record more than 300 yards against the No. 1 defense in the nation.
With redshirt senior Montrell Johnson Jr. sidelined for the last month, the consistent run game remains a bright spot, especially with such a young core. Senior receiver Chimere Dike continued to step up in the absence of both receivers Eugene Wilson III and Elijah Badger. He’s remained a consistent weapon for all three QBs, as he recorded five receptions for a game-high 95 yards, including a pair of huge receptions that put Florida in the red zone.
As for defense, the Gators have created a turnover in eight of nine games this season. Freshman linebacker Myles Graham forced his first fumble. Freshman cornerback Aaron Gates came away with the recovery while also recording a game-high seven tackles.
Up Next
The Gators face the No. 14 LSU Tigers (6-3, 3-2) at 3:30 p.m. (ABC, 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF) Saturday in the Swamp. The Tigers, own a five-game winning streak against UF, lost to Alabama 42-13 on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
