Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws a move through the first half towards the Sanford Bulldogs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, September 7, 2024, in Gainesville, Florida. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] Texas A&M and the College of Florida will meet within the Southeastern Convention on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, Florida for the seventh time within the historical past of the 2 colleges.
There are some similarities between the 2 groups, who final met in 2022 when Florida State traveled to Faculty Station and outscored the Aggies 21-0 within the second half to win 41-24.
Each groups are tied at 1-1 after dropping their first video games towards ranked groups. Nevertheless, each bounced again with enormous wins on Saturday towards weaker FCS competitors. The Aggies defeated McNeese 52-10 and the Gators defeated Samford 45-7.
Nevertheless, they achieved their blowout victory in numerous methods. Texas A&M rushed for simply 333 yards on 38 carries, whereas Florida true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway rushed for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
After starter Graham Mertz (concussion) was knocked out of the Gators’ 41-17 loss to Miami in Week 1, Lagerway had a powerful efficiency in his faculty debut. Coach Billy Napier posed an apparent query: Who will get the nod towards the Aggies?
“That is the place the gamesmanship is,” Napier stated Monday, unwilling to disclose his hand. “I do not wish to put the playbook on the road. In the end, (DJ) is considered one of our higher gamers. We’ll give him a possibility to influence the sport and contribute to the staff. That is our intention.”
Lagerway, a local of Willis, Texas, broke the freshman passing yardage file in a sport set in 2003 by Chris Leak. Lagerway accomplished 18 of 25 passes, averaging 18.2 yards per carry.
“Each of those gamers could make our staff higher,” Napier stated.
First-year Texas A&M coach Mike Elko served as defensive coordinator below Jimbo Fisher from 2018-21 earlier than taking up as Duke’s head coach in 2022. Coached there for 2 seasons.
“You provide you with a plan on what to do with two children,” Elko stated of the Mertz/Lagerway conundrum. “You need to be ready, like each of them are going to play the entire sport…however I additionally do not assume you’ll be able to provide you with two completely different sport plans as a result of I believe the youngsters are going to be paralyzed by the quantity of video games.”
The groups have met six instances in a sequence that started in 1962 and included the 1977 Solar Bowl.
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