TAMPA -- Grades are in for Florida football following its 33-8 win over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl:
The Florida Gators struggled in the first half, scoring just six points on a pair of Trey Smack field goals. Penalties by Knijeah Harris (personal foul, late hit) and Austin Barber (holding) set back a promising drive in the second quarter, and a DJ Lagway interception on 3rd-and-goal at the 4-yard line thwarted another first-half scoring chance. Penalties were costly again in the second half as a Hayden Hansen holding penalty negated a Jadan Baugh TD run in the first quarter. UF's freshman quarterback, Lagway, at times struggled against Tulane's zone coverage but still finished 22-of-35 passing for 305 yards with a TD and two interceptions. UF scored three TDs in the second half on a 7-yard TD pass from Lagway to tight end Tony Livingston, a 27-yard TD run by freshman KD Daniels off a Lagway fumble on 4th-and-1 and a nine-yard TD run by walk-on running back Anthony Rubio.
UF's defense held Tulane to 194 yards and recorded three takeaways, all on interceptions. Trikweze Bridges picked off Tulane quarterback Ty Thompson's first pass attempt, while defensive back Alonzo Allen and linebacker Myles Graham recorded picks in the second half. Kam James stepped up with TJ Searcy and Jack Pyburn out at edge rusher with three tackles for loss and a sack.
Florida kicker Trey Smack went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, connecting on kicks from 34, 44, 24 and 30 yards. But Florida also surrendered an early 23-yard punt return and had problems lining up enough players on a punt, forcing the Gators to burn a timeout.
Florida football coach Billy Napier burned all three of his timeouts by the 5:19 mark in the first half, as game management issues persist for the third-year UF coach. Napier also had some questionable play calls in the red zone on offense, but still piloted UF to its bowl win since 2019.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1