2025 Florida Football Postgame Notes
No. 5 Texas A&M 34, Florida 17
Kyle Field – College Station, Tex.

THE OPENING DRIVE

This is the first time in program history that the Gators have played four top-10 opponents in a
row (at No. 3 LSU, at No. 4 Miami, vs. No. 9 Texas, at No. 5 Texas A&M).
o Florida is the first team since 1968 to do so (Northwestern & Illinois).
Although Florida has won three-straight ranked games at home, Week 7 would have marked the
Gators’ first ranked win on the road since Sept. 29, 2018 at No. 23 Mississippi State (W, 13-6).
Despite a 2-4 record, Florida has a plus-15-point differential this season (134-119), holding
opponents to 19.8 PPG while averaging 22.3 PPG on offense.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Florida had 10 explosive plays while holding Texas A&M to six in Week 7.
Florida’s 157 yards in the first quarter equated to 49.2% of the team’s total for the game (319).
o The UF passing attack was 10-of-12 for 128 yards in the first quarter.
WR Vernell Brown III and WR Dallas Wilson became the first two true freshmen wide receivers
to start in the same game in program history.
Wilson caught a touchdown for the second-straight game to begin his collegiate career and now
has three receiving touchdowns in two contests this season.
o He is the only UF true freshman receiver to catch touchdowns in each of his first two
games. The rookie finished with three catches for 20 yards.
Brown III led Florida with six receptions and 77 yards receiving on a team-high nine targets,
powered by 39 yards after the catch.
QB DJ Lagway was 21-of-37 for 245 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks for a 130.2 rating.
Lagway has posted a QB rating above 130.0 in 10 of his last 12 games.
Lagway surpassed 3,000 career passing yards in the game and has thrown for over 200 yards in
four of the last five contests.
Lagway threw multiple touchdowns for the third time this season.
Lagway has thrown a touchdown in five of six games this season, and 11 of his last 13 contests.
RB Jadan Baugh carried 18 times for 65 yards while adding four receptions for 10 yards.
Baugh caught multiple passes for the fourth-straight game, marking the first-four games of his
career with multiple receptions.
o In that span, Baugh has 17 catches (first among SEC running backs on the season).
TE Amir Jackson caught his first-career touchdown on his second-career reception as the Gators
found the endzone on their opening drive.
Five different UF receivers recorded a reception on Florida’s opening drive as Lagway went a
perfect 6-for-6 for 58 yards while throwing a touchdown to A. Jackson.
TE Hayden Hansen made his 28th-consecutive start, which is the second-longest active streak
on the team and leads all Florida offensive players.
Florida has registered a passing touchdown in five of six games this season and 34 of 44 contests
during the Napier era.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

Through six games, the Florida defense has allowed a total of 110 offensive points (safety vs.
USF and pick-six at LSU) for an average of 18.3 points per game.
S Jordan Castell nabbed his second interception in as many games, picking off QB Marcell Reed
in the endzone on the first play of the fourth quarter.
o Castell has a career-high two picks this season, as he has three total in his career.
o Castell extended his team-leading starts streak to 30 in a row at Florida.
The Gators have notched a takeaway in eight-straight ranked SEC matchups.
Florida has recorded a takeaway in five of six games this season and 17 of its last 19 matchups.
o Florida has seven takeaways this season.
o The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 34 of 44 games in the Napier era.
LB Aaron Chiles more than doubled his previous career high in tackles (three) with seven in the
first half alone, finishing with nine (four solo) in the game.
True freshman EDGE Jayden Woods logged a career-high six tackles, doubling his career high.
DL Brendan Bett set a career high with seven tackles.
With five tackles tonight, LB Myles Graham (34) broke his career-high of 30 set last season.
Florida has yet to allow a 300-yard passer this season (season high: 289 vs. Texas).
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
K Trey Smack went 2-for-2 on extra points to remain perfect in his career (88 of 88).
With a 45-yard field goal tonight, Smack moved ahead of kickers Matt Leach (2001-04), Bobby
Raymond (1983-84) and Brian Clark (1979-81) for the fourth-most made in UF history with 44.
o Smack improved to 19-for-27 from 40-plus yards in his career.
P Tommy Doman punted six times for an average of 45.2 yards, highlighted by a long of 57, one
of 50-plus yards and two inside the 20-yard line.
o Doman pinned the Aggies at their own four-yard line at 2:05 in the second quarter.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (10)

TE Hayden Hansen (from QB DJ Lagway): 24-yard reception, first quarter
RB Jadan Baugh: 15-yard rush, first quarter
WR J. Michael Sturdivant (from Lagway): 26-yard reception, first quarter
RB Jadan Baugh: 11-yard rush, first quarter
WR Vernell Brown III (from Lagway): 31-yard reception, first quarter
WR Eugene Wilson (from Lagway): 25-yard reception, third quarter
WR TJ Abrams (from Lagway): 15-yard reception, third quarter
RB KD Daniels: 16-yard rush, third quarter
WR J. Michael Sturdivant (from Lagway): 27-yard reception, fourth quarter
WR Vernell Brown III (from Lagway): 16-yard reception, fourth quarter

SERIES UPDATES

Tonight’s matchup in College Station marked the fourth road meeting between the two
programs and the eighth matchup overall.
The Aggies now hold a 4-2 lead over the Gators across six SEC meetings from 2012-25.
With today’s loss, Florida fell to 3-5 overall against Texas A&M and 1-2 in Napier’s tenure,
including 1-1 on the road.
The series is now tied at 2-2 in College Station.
THE SCORING STREAK
Florida has scored in 467 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: #70 OL Damieon George Jr., #2 QB DJ Lagway, #18 DB Bryce Thornton
Coin Toss: Florida won the toss and received; Texas A&M defended the north endzone.
Attendance: 105,086

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Billy Napier, Florida Head Coach
No. 5 Texas A&M 34, Florida 17
Oct. 11, 2025

Opening statement…
“First of all, hats off to Texas A&M. They played a heck of a game and they’ve got a really good
football team. Well-rounded team, good in all parts. I think our kids, early, on defense, started a little
bit slow. Offensively, we started fast. And then we kind of settled in on defense and then struggled to
generate many points from that point forward on offense. I do think, look, 74 rushing yards to 183.

Three turnovers to one. And then really, 13 points off of turnovers. Third down was big. We were 1-for-
10, think they were 9-for-17. And in general, we didn’t sack their guy and obviously, we struggled to

protect DJ at times, especially late. The kids played extremely hard in the game. I think once we
settled in on defense, I thought the effort was there. But in general, we dug a little bit of a hole. We
had trouble getting out of it. And then it became a two-score game late. Think Texas A&M’s got a
good team. Think that Coach Elko and his staff do a really good job. It was a great atmosphere in
there tonight. We’ve got a lot of respect for how they play the game and our kids battled their ass off
tonight. But I think in general, the parts of football that you have to do to win, we did not do and they
did.”
On the fourth-down call after the interception in the fourth quarter…
“I think that the analytics would say, at that point, you go for it. But in general, yes, that’s one you
think about. I think we got to execute the third-down play a little bit better. In general, we got to
execute better on first and second to stay out of some of these third-and-longs. But yeah, you always
look back at those, when they don’t work. I think sometimes they do and you’re happy with them,
but when they don’t work, you can second guess yourself.”
On how impactful the third and longs were throughout the game…
“I think they can rush. I do think that, in general, we could do better. But yeah, any time you play on
third-and-long, those are the downs you want to avoid.”
On adjustments the Texas A&M defense made after two early UF touchdowns…
“They showed up playing a little bit more man coverage, man pressure, they played bracket, mixed
bracket with that. Obviously, a lot of those throws were runs that were tagged with run-pass options
and we were attacking the corners in cover one. Once we proved that we could win outside, I think
they settled down and played a little bit more post-safety zone. We were running into light boxes at
times; it was muddy in there. We got six-for-six and we’re getting three. In general, we got to be
cleaner in the run game. We’re handing it off and the boxes are light. Now, we threw some great
RPOs. I thought DJ did a good job in that regard. Our guys made plays outside, but just not enough
consistency to move it once we got into the scoring area. We got to finish those possessions.”

On whether the pressure threw Lagway out of rhythm…
“We were inefficient on first and second down. We weren’t able to run it effectively and then
obviously at times, when we did throw it, they were able to get pressure. And then you’re playing
third-and-long… Mike [Elko] does a great job with his third-down packages. They’re really good at
what they do in that regard. We had some penalties that I think were pretty costly, in my opinion. But

in general, it’s all about first and second down efficiency, and then, got to stay out of the third-and-
longs.”

On specific penalties that stood out to him…
“The facemask on the punt I thought was a big play. Ended up not creating points, but in general,
the field position after that face mask, I thought was a big one. The penalty right before the half
where they called illegal formation. There will be a lot of debate about that one. Dallas’ penalty. But
look, those guys do a great job. They’ve got a tough job, just like we do. In general, that wasn’t why
we lost.”
On some of the screen plays on third and long…
“We threw a screen into man-match coverage, which was not great. They played zone, they just
pushed through the zone and matched the back. Our lineman was not able to out and get the guy
covering the back. And look, sometimes those work. Sometimes they don’t work. But that specific
play, we felt as if it was zone and it ended up pushing through four-strong low to match the pattern.”
On Florida’s inability to get to QB Marcell Reed…
“We were there quite a bit. I think the guy’s tough to get on the ground, his ability to escape and
extend, and then you could be free and not get him down. And then, he makes some plays with his
feet. In general, that’s the challenge, right? You’ve got, really, two elite receivers. You got two good
backs. The O-line. I think their ability to run it and then the matchups with the two receivers, and then
he obviously, you may have him but can’t get him down. We didn’t sack him all night. And they
stayed ahead of schedule. A lot of their third downs were very manageable, and I think ultimately
that’s why they were successful on third down.”

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Florida Student-Athletes
No. 5 Texas A&M 34, Florida 17
Oct. 11, 2025

2 DJ Lagway, Sophomore Quarterback

On The offense slowing up after the first-three series…
“Just the execution, you know. I say execution and we just gotta execute better as an offense. Be
more consistent. My biggest thing, start fast, stay consistent and finish strong. We started fast, we
weren’t consistent and we didn’t finish strong, so we got a lot of things that we can clean up as an
offensive group. We gotta stay on the field on third down. I feel like that’s a main focus that’s going
to be made next weekend and to focus on things like that and just execute.”
On the issues converting on third down …
“Third and long is tough to be in. I’d say just all that kind of goes into what we do on first and second
down. We gotta have better first-down efficiency, better second-down efficiency and just stay out of
the third-and-longs and try to keep third-and-manageables and be like that. Once we get in those
third-and-longs, we gotta just be able to execute and be clicking on all cylinders. You can’t go 10 for
11, cause if you go 10 for 11, it could be a pick, it could be a big sack. So, I just say we just all gotta
click at the same time, and I feel like we weren’t clicking, especially on third downs.”
On what was working towards the beginning offensively …
“Yeah, I say just RPO game. Getting the ball out quick. When they came up, take it. Getting it over
top, taking them deep and stuff like that. That was a great way we started the game, and it felt
good.”
On missed opportunities to take advantage of the defense’s good performance …
“It was very disappointing. Kudos to the defense, they kept battling and I feel like overall we just
gotta play better complimentary football. We started off fast. They had a little bit of a slow start and
then they picked it up, and then we started kind of going downhill. But I just feel like we gotta play
good ball all at the same time, and that’s when the magic happens.”
On this being his first start back in his home state …
“Man, this is gut-wrenching, like I can’t imagine how I feel right now. This is not how I expected this
night to go and definitely we just gotta get back to work, and that’s all I can say.”

5 Myles Graham, Sophomore Linebacker

On Texas A&M scoring in two plays on the first drive…
“We just weren’t ready to play, just the whole game, we got to get off on third down. That was the
issue for us today. And we just got to start fast, like you said, that wasn’t our brand of football. We felt
like that wasn’t who we are. We picked it up at the end of the game, so I’m proud of how we fought,
but we got to start better. I feel like that game’s on us because we did not start out. We did not start
out fast. And then we got in a hole that was hard to get out of. So, we have to do better.”
On what changed on defense after Texas A&M’s first two drives of the game…
“It wasn’t a change in scheme; it wasn’t a change in anything. We just had to look at ourselves and
ask ourselves what we wanted to be. That wasn’t us, and we felt like we were letting the offense
down and that that was a problem. We had been asking for the offense to play like that, the whole
year, and they came through and we let them down. So, that’s an issue for us. So, we had to go into
halftime and fix that. We just had to adjust.”
On the problems that QB Marcel Reed’s mobility caused…
“We did not do a good job containing him. He’s obviously very dangerous with his legs, and we got
to stay on our rush lanes and contain him in the pocket. He converted on third down, he got up field
on us and that’s a big issue for us. We talked about that during the week and we just didn’t execute.
We didn’t execute our plan; we didn’t do our job. Everybody didn’t do their one-eleventh and that’s
where it showed.”
On what they tell their teammates as two leaders with half of the season left…
“I feel the exact same way [as DJ Lagway]. I feel like we work too hard for these outcomes. I feel like
we came too far for these outcomes. I feel like we’ve led together the whole offseason. We worked
together. I told him after the game, I’m backing him no matter what. So, we’re just going to keep
fighting.”
On losing three road games to top-five teams…
“Like you said, we’re close, but close ain’t good enough. We’re right there, every single game, but
it’s not good enough. We just got to play complimentary football, man, and finish. We got to finish
strong, and just because they’re top-five teams don’t mean nothing. We want to play every team
the same. We want to come out and play our game of football and we haven’t been doing that, so
that’s a big issue that we need to fix.”