Rivalries are fun, and FSU football has gotten the better of the Florida Gators over the past two years leading into the 2024 season. The expectation was that FSU would likely beat the Gators for the third consecutive year, but FSU's season spiraled out of control after starting the season 0-3.
Florida turned in a better record than expected, in part to freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. Lagway appeared on a recent podcast with Robert Griffin III and got set up to give FSU football some bulletin board material:
Lag on the FSU crowd: “It was already silent when we got there.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/y9lF7kcENL
— Florida Gators 🐊🔥 (@gatorsszn) March 4, 2025
That was cute, but it had little to do with Lagway. He was only 14 of 22 for 133 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He rushed four times for -8 yards.
The FSU offense turned the ball over FIVE times, and it was the worst FSU team in most of our lifetimes, and the score was still only 17-3 in the third quarter.
I understand Lagway has a lot of talent and is a former five-star recruit. However, I think folks have exaggerated how good his freshman season was.
For context, Former FSU quarterback James Blackman wasn't an early enrollee and had a better freshman season statistically than Lagway.
Lagway should continue to develop and will have talent around him, but he only completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 12 games.
Blackman completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,230 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Nobody was calling him the savior of FSU football.
FSU added 31 new players this spring and hired two new coordinators. I'm sure Florida added some pieces, but it won't be the same 2024 FSU team Florida played in November. It's not even close, so I'd be careful with what I'm saying between now and then.
A lot can happen between August and November when they meet for the regular season finale.