Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws a cross throughout the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 in opposition to the Samford Bulldogs. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] Texas A&M and Florida will meet for simply the seventh time within the colleges’ historical past Saturday afternoon after they open Southeastern Convention play in Gainesville, Fla.
Just a few similarities exist between the groups, who final performed when Florida went to Faculty Station in 2022 and claimed a 41-24 victory by outscoring the Aggies 21-0 within the second half.
Each squads sit at 1-1 after dropping their openers in opposition to ranked groups. Nevertheless, each rebounded Saturday with resounding wins over weaker FCS competitors. The Aggies routed McNeese 52-10, and the Gators did the identical vs. Samford, 45-7.
They went about their blowout wins in numerous methods, although. Whereas Texas A&M grinded out 333 dashing yards on simply 38 carries, Florida true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
With starter Graham Mertz (concussion) knocked out of the Gators’ 41-17 loss to Miami in Week 1, Lagway excelled in his first school begin, resulting in an apparent query for coach Billy Napier: Who will get the nod in opposition to the Aggies?
“That is the place the gamesmanship is,” mentioned Napier on Monday, unwilling to tip his hand. “I do not need to put the playbook on the streets right here. In the end, (DJ’s) certainly one of our higher gamers. We’ll give him a possibility to affect the sport and contribute to the staff. That is our intention.”
Lagway, a product of Willis, Texas, shattered Chris Leak’s 2003 report for single-game passing yards by a freshman. Lagway accomplished 18 of 25 passes and averaged 18.2 yards per try.
“Each these gamers could make our staff higher,” Napier mentioned.
Texas A&M first-year coach Mike Elko was the defensive coordinator beneath Jimbo Fisher from 2018-21 earlier than taking the Duke head teaching job in 2022 and training there for 2 seasons.
“You form of provide you with a plan on the way you suppose you need to deal with each youngsters,” Elko mentioned of the Mertz/Lagway conundrum. “It’s important to put together like each of them are going to play the entire recreation. … However I additionally suppose you may’t provide you with two totally different recreation plans as a result of I feel the youngsters will get paralyzed by quantity.”
In a collection that began in 1962 and contains the 1977 Solar Bowl, the groups have break up their six conferences.
–Area Stage Media