2025 Florida Football Postgame Notes
No. 4 Miami 26, Florida 7
Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, Fla.

THE OPENING DRIVE

The Gators and Hurricanes met on ESPN College Gameday for the first time since 2019 (Florida
24, Miami 20) and for the fourth time overall.
Florida made its 43rd appearance on Gameday, albeit the program’s second-ever as an
unranked team alongside Nov. 2, 2002 vs. No. 5 Georgia – a game Florida won, 20-13.
o The Gators are now 26-17 on College Gameday all-time.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

RB Jadan Baugh had multiple receptions for the second-straight game (first-two times of career)
and finished with a team-high three catches on three targets for nine yards.
Baugh rushed for his second touchdown of the season (ninth of career, 10 total TDs) to put UF in
the scoring column in the third quarter.
On the ground, Baugh carried 12 times for 46 yards and one touchdown.
Vernell Brown III led Florida with 22 receiving yards on two catches.
QB DJ Lagway completed 12-of-23 passes for 61 yards and a 74.5 rating.
WR Eugene Wilson III has recorded a catch in 18-straight games he has played in dating back to
his collegiate debut at Utah in 2023.
TE Hayden Hansen made his 26th-consecutive start, which is the second-longest active streak
on the team and leads all Florida offensive players.
Florida has punched in a rushing score in 34 of 42 games under Napier.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Florida allowed an opening-drive score for the first time in 12 games and surrendered its first
points in the first quarter in eight contests.
EDGE Jayden Woods made his first-career start and became UF’s first true freshman to start on
the defensive line since Jabari Zuniga in 2016.
o Woods logged his first-career sack in the second quarter – Florida’s lone sack in the
game.
CB Cormani McClain intercepted Miami QB Carson Beck in the third quarter for his first
interceptions of the season and the second of his career.
o It marked Florida’s second interception of the season and second-consecutive game
with a pick.
S Jordan Castell paced Florida with 10 tackles (five solo).
LB Myles Graham had seven tackles and added 0.5 tackles for loss.
EDGE Kofi Asare had a season-high five tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.
S Jordan Castell extended his team-leading starts streak to 28 in a row.
DL Brendan Bett made his first start as a Gator.
Florida has recorded a takeaway in 15 of its last 17 matchups.
o The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 32 of 42 games in the Napier era.
The Gators allowed under 200 passing yards for the second time this season and the 18th time
in the Napier era.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
K Trey Smack went 1-for-1 on extra point attempts to remain perfect in his career (83 of 83).
P Tommy Doman punted seven times for an average of 47.4 yards, highlighted by a long of 57,
three of 50-plus yards and one inside the 20-yard line.
MILESTONE WATCH
EDGE Tyreak Sapp surpassed 100 career tackles with three in tonight’s game.
P Tommy Doman eclipsed 5,000 career punt yards.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (2)
RB Ja’Kobi Jackson: 27-yard rush, third quarter
RB Jadan Baugh: 11-yard rush, third quarter
SERIES UPDATES
Tonight’s game in Hard Rock Stadium marked the 58th matchup between the two schools and
the second meeting under Napier.
With tonight’s loss, Florida fell to 27-31 against the Hurricanes and 0-2 in Napier’s tenure.
Miami took the series lead in Miami Gardens with 15 wins to the Gators’ 14.
THE SCORING STREAK
Florida has scored in 465 consecutive games — an NCAA record and 55 games longer than any
other college football team in history.
o Florida broke Michigan’s record of 365 games (1984-2014) vs. LSU on Oct. 7, 2017.
o The last time Florida was shut out was on Oct. 29, 1988, vs. Auburn (L, 16-0).

GAME DETAILS

Florida Game Captains: #19 P Tommy Doman, #5 LB Myles Graham, # 66 OL Jake Slaughter
Coin Toss: Miami won the toss and deferred; Florida received and Miami defended the west
endzone.
Attendance: 66,713

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Billy Napier, Florida Head Coach
No. 4 Miami 26, Florida 7,
Sept. 20, 2025

Opening statement…
“Heck of a football game, and hats off to Miami. They have a really good football team. I think they
played well enough to win tonight and credit Coach Cristobal and his team and how they played
complimentary football. I do think our kids battled their tail off. I think in particular, defensively, it was
an incredible effort. Obviously, not good enough on offense. We didn’t generate enough yards or
points. The first half was a trial of errors. Not many plays where we executed well at all. We had
mental errors in protection on third down and really struggled to stack any good plays together. Had
four three-and-outs and six punts in the first half. I do think the kids responded at halftime. The staff did
a great job and put together a good script. We found some running game there early in the second
half and able to kind of make it a football game there at 13-7. And get a takeaway, and in position
there with a fourth down, got to have it, come up a little bit short on the 30-yard line. At that point,
the game kind of gets out of control with a couple of short fields late. In general, our kids competed.
I’m proud of the way the kids showed up and the effort in which they played with. Now, the
execution on offense, obviously, was not good enough. We struggled to get off the field on third
down in the first half on defense. I do think that Tommy Doman had a good day in the punt game,
but it was a game of field position. We played on a long field in the first half, and obviously we got
kind of got back into some normal field position in the second half. But in general, had our shots. We
had our chances. There were some plays to be made in the second half in particular. But that’s a
good football team.”
On the inability to convert on third down…
“I think, in particular, in the first half, we had some busted protection. I do think there’s opportunities
there when you look at it big-picture wise, where we got to make some plays. We got to give Miami
some credit, too. They pressured us. They effected the quarterback. And it wasn’t good enough. I
think the first half in particular was a game that was about third down. They stayed on the field. They
got us off the field.”
On whether prior history against QB Carson Beck helped UF contain him…
“Look, I think we have a good defensive unit. I think we’ve got good personnel. Our staff does a great
job. And we played the early downs. I do think that he did a nice job on third down in particular in
the first half. But in general, our defensive staff and players did a great job of executing the plan.”
On taking ownership over the offensive struggles…
“When we watch the tape, it will be a combination of a lot of things. I think every position is
contributing to our issues. Obviously, we’ve talked about DJ and what he’s been through this
offseason. I do think that there’s some rhythm missing there. And that’s what, we’re going to go back
to the drawing board. I think the opening date is coming at a good time there. And we got to
evaluate everything we’re doing on that side of the ball.”

On the talent of Miami’s running back tandem…
“Obviously, a couple of those touchdowns are on short fields at the end of the game. But in general,
they’re effective. I think their OL does a nice job. It’s a vertical run game. They’re both big and both
heavy. And they’re tough to tackle. They’re both really good players.”
On the consideration of a field goal at fourth and four…
“Well, it’s fourth and four, a 53-yard field goal and rolling into the fourth quarter. Analytically, it was a
go, but if you think about it, it was a touchdown game at that point. Even if you get the three, it’s still
a touchdown game. So, I think we got it on the short field, we hadn’t had many of those the entire
night and it felt like we had the play there, we just had to get our depth on the route. The play was
there, we completed the pass, we just have to get our depth.”
On the confidence that bye-week corrections could be beneficial like last season…
“We’ve got to generate some points. We have to get more first downs. We’ve got to find some
rhythm on offense, bottom line. I think we have a good group in the kicking game and on defense,
those guys continue to show up and play. We’re lacking consistency, we’re lacking detail and we’re
struggling to stack plays.”
On what gives him confidence they could have a turnaround similar to last season…
“The young men in that locker room, that’s what gives me confidence. I know what they’re capable
of. In particular offensively, we’ve got to help them and we have to do our best from a leadership
standpoint and from a coaching standpoint with each group. I think the makeup of the group is
what gives me confidence.”
On the communication with Lagway and his demeanor between series…
“He’s battling. He’s a young player who’s had a unique offseason. He’s battling his tail off to try to do
his job for his teammates. I think his team rallied around him this week. They respect him as a person,
as a leader and as a competitor. They know what he’s been through, and I think that’s their intent,
and they certainly showed up and played that way.”

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Florida Student Athletes
No. 4 Miami 26, Florida 7,
Sept. 20, 2025

28 Devin Moore, Senior Cornerback

On his thoughts on the game…
“We keep the main thing the main thing. Keep on fighting, trust your brothers, and just go to work. We
gotta keep on going to work, clean some things up… keep working.”
On watching his teammates go down…
“It’s incredibly tough any time you see a teammate go down. Put in so much blood, sweat and tears
with those guys, I see it every day on them. It’s a horrible feeling just seeing them on the ground. But
it’s a next-man-up mentality and guys who were the next ones up stepped up to the occasion, for
sure. Definitely proud of those guys.”
On what he can say about the Miami team…
“They did a great job. They came out physical. We tried to match their intensity. We got some things
to clean up, but they’re a good team, for sure.”
On how the defense buckled down after Miami’s two scoring drives…
“Just made some adjustments. Guys started making plays. We cleaned up a few mistakes we had on
the sidelines, and just trusted each other, trust the coaches to put us in the right position and trust that
your brother will make that play.”
On his evaluation of the defensive effort…
“Definitely wasn’t good enough. We got some things to clean up, for sure. There’s a handful of plays
out there, if we made those plays, it could change the direction of the game, for sure.”
On Cormani McClain’s growth in the past couple of months…
“Incredibly excited for my brother, Cormani. I’ve seen the hard work he put in, the extra field time
with coach, just the extra little details that he really dialed in on and it’s showing.”

2 DJ Lagway, Sophomore Quarterback

On how frustrating tonight’s offensive performance was…
“It’s very frustrating. You know, we gotta clean a lot of things up. We’re not playing nowhere near the
brand of football we gotta play. So, yeah, we gotta clean a lot of things up.”
On the issues that led to the three and outs…
“You know, the weather and stuff like that was playing a big part. Just trying to get our footing. Trying
to figure out where the defense was going. We came out in the second half, we kind of had a
rhythm. Had a feeling, started running the ball. Started to make some plays…”
On the inability to convert on third down…
“I’d say we gotta execute. Offense, we’ve got to execute what coach is calling and we just gotta
do better.”
On Miami’s defense talking away the deep ball and the difficulties they posed…
“It wasn’t tough at all. Just taking what the defense gave me. I learned a lot from last week, so just
gonna take what the defense gives me. Can’t force anything.”
On the touchdown drive…
“We showed a lot of toughness, a lot of heart. I wish we could’ve had more drives like that, to
continue to build on. But we came out there and were resilient, fought hard and we just fed off each
other.”

Miami Hurricanes Football

Postgame Press Conference Transcript: Miami HC Mario Cristobal

Saturday, September 20, 2025
Hard Rock Stadium

Opening statement…
“This game means a lot to us. It means a lot to our alumni, the fan base and certainty we always
thought they were a very talented team. They have a lot of really good players and they were
always a play or two away from being really, really good. Our guys kept their composure when
we started getting in a rut a little bit there with the offense. The defense played off the charts
football, again.”

On how he likes where the team is right now after holding Florida to their least amount of yards
in 25 years…
“We don’t get to play these guys again. This game should be on the schedule every year, it’s a
shame that it’s not. We want to make sure that we took advantage of the opportunity. I love the
fact that we’re doing a much better job of blocking out all that noise and the rat poison people
always talk about. We’re focused on doing our job and doing right and playing for each other
and for the University of Miami. We’ve come miles, but we have miles and miles to go”
On the team getting in a rut the second and third quarter and managing that as coaches and
players…
“That’s program led. We had a lot of pre-snap penalties, that’s the ultimate killer. You get off the
schedule and all of a sudden, you got a good four-yard run that’s second and 11 instead of
second and six. I think we had six of them, if I’m not mistaken, and that’s very uncharacteristic
of us. We’ve done that now for a couple of weeks and we will fix that. Those guys have a lot of
pride. Honestly, it’s everybody led.”