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In manhandling UCF, Florida shows a glimpse of the great Gators defenses of old
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GAINESVILLE — For the first time in 363 days, Florida defeated a power conference opponent in Gainesville, storming past in-state foe UCF 24-13 in a rocking, sold out Swamp.
The way the Gators won — with outstanding quarterback play and a tenacious defense — probably looked familiar to Florida fans who saw their beloved orange and blue win more games at home than all but 1 SEC program (Alabama) over the past 40 years.
A splendid defense hasn’t appeared in Gainesville much this decade, but it made a welcome cameo during a wild Week 6 that saw 5 top-11 programs lose.
Facing a UCF offense that entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in explosive rushing plays (46) and 10th nationally in explosive plays (67) overall, Florida allowed just 6 explosives to the Knights, 4 of which came on 2 UCF drives in the 4th quarter with the game no longer in doubt.
The Gators’ defense set the tone for Florida’s dominant win in the first half.
After UCF’s opening drive, which saw the Knights methodically drive 65 yards on 12 plays for a field goal, UF’s defense played some of its best football of the Napier era, forcing 3 consecutive stops, including stuffing a Knights run on 4th-and-1 inside UCF territory early in the second quarter. UCF registered just 1 first down in that stretch, and by the time the Knights finally put together another drive with multiple first downs, it was 21-3 Florida and The Swamp was a roaring cauldron of sound and energy.
The defense fed off The Swamp’s energy, sacking UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson, who won on this field in an Arkansas uniform just last November, 5 times and pressuring him on several other attempts. The Gators 37 lost yards on 5 sacks was the most for the Gators since a win over Charlotte in 2023, and the most for the Gators against a power conference opponent since racking up 49 in a 31-19 win over Tennessee in 2020.
It wasn’t just sacks.
Florida’s staff and coaches promised their defense would be better throughout the bye week. But under Billy Napier, Florida fans have heard promises before. On Saturday, it showed up on the field.
Florida defended the run like a roving brace of alligators defending their Swamp.
After surrendering over 500 yards rushing over 2 games against Texas A&M and Mississippi State, Florida limited the Knights to just 108 yards rushing, 1 of the 5 lowest rushing yard totals for a Gus Malzahn team in Malzahn’s time as a head coach at Auburn and UCF combined.
“We anticipated being better and didn’t put it together for a couple of games,” Napier told the media after the game. “To fix that, there was coaching, a lot of film study and quality control. But more than that, there was a ton of ownership by the players. They knew they could play better. The open date was a flip of the switch. Wednesday was one of the best practices I’ve been a part of anywhere. They went out and showed it on the field. With our schedule, there better be more of that. We all know that if we are going to be a contender at Florida again, we have to get back to championship level defense.”
For one night, at least, the Gators found that missing piece.
Buoyed by strong defense and great field position all night, Florida’s quarterback duo of Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway did the rest.
Mertz picked up where he left off in Florida’s rout of Mississippi State, completing 19-of-23 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. In Florida’s past 2 wins, Mertz has tossed just 6 incompletions, completing 38-of-44 passes for 380 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Lagway’s special play continued Saturday. Two weeks after becoming the first freshman quarterback since Jalen Hurts to lead 2 90-plus yard touchdown drives in a SEC road game, Lagway led Florida on 2 scoring drives in the first half.
Lagway’s first drive came on the heels of Florida’s first big stop of UCF on a 4th down.
Eager to capitalize on their momentum, the Gators dialed up a downfield shot and Lagway delivered, making a remarkable throw to find Chimere Dike to set up a short touchdown run by Ja’Kobi Jackson one play later.
Just a stupendous throw by DJ Lagway.
Special young man.
— Neil W. Blackmon (@nwblackmon) October 6, 2024
Three plays, 43 yards, touchdown Florida.
On Lagway’s second possession, Florida took over with just 48 seconds remaining in the first half. Running a 2-minute drill for the first time in his college career, Lagway led the Gators on a 6-play, 46 yard drive to add a field goal, pushing their lead to 24-3 at the half.
Florida’s defense and a rollicking, rowdy Swamp on Tom Petty night made the rest academic for the Gators.
Just like old times in The Swamp, if only for one night.
“There’s bigger challenges ahead,” Napier said after the victory, and he’s right.
An angry rival in Tennessee awaits next Saturday in Knoxville. A Kentucky program that has physically dominated Florida for 3 consecutive years looms just beyond that and the Cocktail Party looms in the not too far distance, kicking off one of the most formidable Novembers in college football.
Saturday was a day when the college football world was reminded that anything can and does happen. Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt toppled No. 1 Alabama. Arkansas beat No. 4 Tennessee. Texas A&M mauled No. 9 Mizzou, Washington throttled No. 10 Michigan, and Minnesota bullied No. 11 Southern Cal.
The message? Nothing is certain until the games are played.
At Florida, a ferocious defense and terrific quarterback play is a winning formula, one that offers a blueprint for the brutal road ahead.
“I know what our defense has on that side of the ball. Watching film with them, practicing against them. It was great to see them play the way I know they can play,” Mertz told the media after the win.
If they play like that moving forward, Florida will have a chance to use October and November to change the narrative on a tough September.
A chance, in other words, to grab some bigger wins.
Just like old times.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
