Gators Started Fast But Couldn't Make It Last

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — They all sting when you grind each week and pour the sweat required at practice to win on Saturdays.

The home loss to USF, the road losses at No. 3 LSU and No. 4 Miami, were all gut punches to a squad many considered the best Florida team in Billy Napier's four seasons leading the program.

And then there is what happened on Saturday night at Texas A&M in front of more than 105,000 fans at Kyle Field. The Gators, coming off a hopeful home win over No. 9 Texas seven days earlier, had an opportunity to climb back to .500 at midseason and carry a rare dose of momentum into next week's homecoming game against Mississippi State.

Instead, they departed a dejected bunch after a 34-17 loss to the fifth-ranked Aggies that extended Florida's misery away from the friendly confines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during Napier's tenure. The Gators' latest loss not only stung, it seemingly left them dazed and covered in welts.

In a season in which offensive struggles have garnered the majority of the headlines, the defense took some of the blame against the Aggies, surrendering 417 yards and failing to stand its ground as the offense got off to a hot start.

"We weren't ready to play," sophomore linebacker Myles Graham said. "That wasn't our brand of football. We feel like that wasn't who we are."

The Gators (2-4, 1-2) looked ready at the start, driving 75 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on quarterback DJ Lagway's 1-yard scoring toss to tight end Amir Jackson. But two plays later, the game was tied after Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed connected with Mario Craver for a 67-yard completion – the longest play allowed by the Gators this season – and then scampered from the pocket for an 8-yard touchdown run.

The Aggies scored on their first three possessions as Reed threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jamarion Morrow on their second drive and tailback La'Veon Moss raced 22 yards on their third series. Lagway's 6-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Wilson tied the game, 14-14, but Moss found daylight moments later to give the Aggies the lead for good.

Florida dropped to 0-14 away from "The Swamp" against ranked opponents under Napier, despite numerous chances to convert in critical situations on Saturday. In the end, the missed opportunities cost the Gators any chance at back-to-back upsets against the Lone Star State's signature programs.

Florida converted 1 of 11 on third down, was flagged six times and did not record a sack. Meanwhile, a costly turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-6 from Texas A&M's 49 led to a 12-play, 50-yard scoring drive that iced the game for the Aggies.

"I think that the analytics would say at that point you go for it, but in general, yes, that's one you think about," Napier said. "I think we gotta execute the third-down play a little bit better. In general, we gotta execute on first and second to stay out of some of these third and longs. But yeah, you always look back at those when they don't work. Sometimes they do and you're happy with them, but when they don't, you second-guess yourself."

In a return to his home state, Lagway completed 21 of 37 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. However, after starting 10 of 12 for 128 yards, the Aggies began to turn up the pressure and slow down the Gators' aerial attack. Meanwhile, Reed finished 16 of 26 for 234 yards, with one touchdown and one interception to lead the Aggies to their sixth consecutive win and second victory in two seasons over the Gators.

Lagway grew up in Willis, Texas, located 65 miles from the Texas A&M campus. The Aggies were the first SEC school to offer Lagway a scholarship, and he attended several games at Kyle Field growing up. A large group of family and friends greeted him outside the stadium afterward, but the homecoming was not the one he had envisioned.

"This is gut-wrenching," Lagway said. "You can't imagine how I feel. This isn't how I expected this night to go."

Lagway's night went much the way Florida's season has. The Gators, facing their fourth consecutive opponent ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 – a first in program history, and the first time any school has faced such a wrecking ball since Illinois and Northwestern in 1968 – will be challenged to finish with a winning record.

The Gators' struggles have turned up the heat on Napier, who dropped to 21-23 overall. Nothing can change the narrative at this point other than victories, a reality that dictated the tone in the postgame press conference.

"We dug a little bit of a hole and we had trouble getting out of it," Napier said. "There was a great atmosphere in there tonight. Our kids battled their ass off, but in general, the parts of football that you have to do to win, we did not do, and they did."

The Gators started fast on offense, but the defense struggled. When the defense settled in, the offense disappeared, finishing the first half with 19 yards on their final 19 plays.

On a night that started with hope, the Gators returned home still in search of a way out of the darkness.

"We gotta finish strong, man, and just because they're top-5 teams don't mean nothing,'' Graham said. "We want to play every team the same. We want to come out and play our brand of football. We haven't been doing that. So that's a big issue that we need to fix."

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