THE QUICK SLANT
FLORIDA 33, TULANE 8
What Happened
TAMPA, Fla. — Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 305 yards and a second-half touchdown, junior kicker Trey Smack booted four field goals and the Florida Gators capped the 2024 season with a fourth consecutive victory Friday, defeating Tulane 33-8 in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.
With their eighth win, the Gators clinched their most in four years and sent third-year Coach Billy Napier into the offseason with the program’s longest win streak since 2020, along with a lot to be encouraged about with regard to the future of Florida football, given the turnaround from that ugly and lopsided 1-2 start to the season.
Smack, out of Severna Park, Md., kicked field goals of 34, 44, 24 and 30 yards, two in each half, with his first three staking his team to a 9-0 third-quarter lead. Lagway, named the Gasparilla Bowl MVP, completed 22 of 35 passes, with his 305 yards setting a bowl record for yardage. He had 7-yard scoring toss to tight end Tony Livingston in the third period that basically broke the game open, but also threw a pair of first-half interceptions, including one in the end zone, that kept the game close through the first two-plus periods until a run of 27 points bridging the third and fourth quarters turned a close game into a rout.
Though all eyes were on Lagway, the Florida defense, with Ron Roberts in total charge after co-coordinator Austin Armstrong’s exit last week for Houston, was probably the biggest factor of the game. UF virtually negated a Tulane offense that was one of the best in the nation during the regular season — 37.2 points (9th in the nation) and 421.1 yards per game (41st) — but was knee-capped by the defection of star quarterback Darian Mensah, (2,723 yards, 22 TD), who entered the transfer portal and signed last week with Duke. In his place, junior Ty Thompson, a former five-star prospect and transfer from Oregon, was under duress and inaccurate all game. Thompson finished just 11 of 29 for 125 yards and three interceptions, while scrambling nine times for 17 yards. Thompson’s 16-yard touchdown to Mario Williams with 29 seconds to play averted a shutout.
Smack kicked a field goal in each of the first two quarters, but the Gators’ inability to finish drives kept things close in the first half and well into the third quarter. Midway through the period, with UF up just 9-0, defensive back Dijon Johnson tipped a Thompson pass that was intercepted by walk-on teammate Alfonzo Allen Jr. at the UF 40. Seven plays later, Lagway play-faked, rolled right and tossed his short scoring pass to Livingston for a 16-0 lead with just over four minutes to go in the quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth, Smack nailed his fourth field goal to put his team ahead 19-0.
Florida added a pair of touchdowns inside the final seven minutes. The first came after the Gators sacked Thompson on fourth-and-3 to force a turnover on downs. UF moved to the Tulane 25 and faced a fourth-and-1, with Lagway attempting to sneak for the first down. The ball, though, popped loose and bounced backward, where true freshman tailback KD Daniels scooped it up and raced through the Green Wave defense 27 yards for a score with 6:29 to go. It was 26-0.
Walk-on tailback Anthony Rubio, the son of U.S senator and likely the next Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, capped the Florida scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining on a drive that included two plays — first a 1-yard run, then a lead block — by 449-pound defensive tackle Desmond Watson in his final collegiate game just down the road from his hometown of Plant City.
The Gators finished with 529 yards of total offense, their second-most of the season (behind the 632 against FCS-classed Sanford), including 224 on the ground. The Green Wave, who lost to Army in the American Athletic Conference championship game two weeks ago, were held to a season-low 194 yards, with nearly half (89) coming in the fourth quarter after the game had been decided.
What it Means
The last time the Gators exited a season with this much momentum was in 2019 when they beat Virginia in the Orange Bowl for a fourth straight victory and second consecutive 11-win season. That UF team, coached by Dan Mullen, had nothing close to the off-field momentum (read: recruiting) like the roll Napier and his army are on right now, with what is expected to be (when the final signatures come in) a top-10 class.
UF improved to 25-24 all-time in bowl games, winning its first since that UVA showdown in Miami. Napier evened his Florida record to 19-19 over three seasons.
In the Spotlight
The Gators are 6-0 when Lagway starts and finishes a game. He joined Chris Leak as the only true freshman quarterback in program history to win at least six games as a starter (Leak was 6-3 in 2003). He wasn’t perfect, far from it, but now the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year gets an offseason with all the first-team reps. Lagway’s final freshman numbers: 115 of 192 (59.9 percent) for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Staggering Statistic
Over the last four games (all wins), the Florida defense combined for 38 tackles-for-loss, 19 sacks, 13 turnovers and allowed an average of just 13.0 points per game.
Up Next
Keep an eye on the transfer portal, which will remain open until Dec. 28, followed by an enthusiastic start to offseason conditioning in January and what figures to be the most-anticipated spring season in years come March. In the interim, Merry Christmas, Gator Nation.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
