Defense Takes Lack of Gators' Offensive Production in Stride After Loss

In a night where the eyes were on the lack of offense, the Florida Gators defense puts on another show, though they weren't totally satisfied either

The Gators' defenders weren't satisfied with their performance | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida Gators' defense posted another strong performance on Saturday against LSU despite the loss in Death Valley. It logged an interception and surrendered only 13 of the 20 points on the night. 

“Obviously, I think we did a lot of good on defense, 10 first downs, I think, and really held them to 316 yards. We got a takeaway late,” Gators head coach Billy Napier said. 

This display from the defense brought further emphasis to an ugly stat. Through the first three weeks of the 2025 campaign, they’ve given up just two total touchdowns, and yet Florida still finds itself with two losses. 

Florida’s offense began the season with a 55-point routing of Long Island but has since struggled to put points on the board over the previous two weeks. In both losses, it has combined for 26 points and six interceptions, which makes it nearly impossible to win any game. 

In a game that could have easily been won by the Gators, star quarterback DJ Lagway turned the ball over five times against the Tigers. That led to the offense only scrounging up 10 points in 60 minutes. 

However, sophomore linebacker Myles Graham wouldn’t put all the blame on the offense. He insisted that both sides of the ball could have been better on the night. 

“Yeah, I feel like we played well,” Graham said after the game. “It's closer to the standard, but it's still not perfect. And it wasn't good enough for the win, so it's not good enough. It's not just on the offense, it's on us too.”

Although the defense could have been better in certain situations during the game, the offense didn’t do them any favors with the turnovers, one of which was a pick-six. Lagway’s decision-making let him down in the third, forcing a pass to a wide receiver that resulted in a touchdown for the LSU defense. 

Even with this, the defense provided the offense with every opportunity to get back into it. The defense forced seven punts in total, and the offense put points on the board on the alternating possession just once. 

Three of the punts came in the first quarter, but the offense only supplied a 3-0 lead. In the third frame, the defense forced two more punts and did not allow any points. Despite this, the Gators left the quarter with a larger deficit than they had entered with. 

Florida cornerback Dijon Johnson also grabbed an interception at the start of the fourth quarter, but nine plays later, Lagway returned the favor with his fourth interception. 

It felt like the entire night when things went right for the defense, the offense managed to mitigate all the good that was done. 

“I think offensively, just not able to generate enough. Felt like when we had momentum, we had a critical penalty or we turned the ball over,” Napier said. 

Nonetheless, with the defense's performances through the first three weeks, the Gators should be able to keep themselves in any game the rest of the way. It is now up to the offense to match the efforts if they want to begin logging wins in 2025.