BATON ROUGE, La. — UF quarterback DJ Lagway watched helplessly as LSU cornerback Deshawn Spears raced past him down the sideline and into the end zone for a pick-six.
The worst night of Lagway’s brief collegiate career had hit a low point during a 20-10 loss Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
Once considered a Heisman candidate, Lagway threw a career-high five interceptions — each displaying a shocking inability to see the field — to accentuate his sophomore slump and potentially begin Florida’s free fall under coach Billy Napier with a visit to No. 5 Miami coming up Saturday.
Coming off an 18-16 loss to USF they could ill afford, the Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) arrived at Tiger Stadium seeking their first win in Baton Rouge since 2016 and first victory under Napier against a ranked opponent away from the Swamp.
Bad blood began to boil early on a sweltering 90-degree day in Tiger Stadium. Twice the teams squared off and were separated during pregame warm-ups 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
Florida put up a fight as 6.5-point underdogs but could not overcome Lagway’s shaky decision-making and head-scratching risk-taking. With Tamarcus Cooley’s interception in the end zone with 6:26 remaining to end the Gators’ slim opens for a comeback, Lagway became the first Florida quarterback with four interceptions since Rex Grossman during a 2002 loss to LSU in the Swamp under Ron Zook.
After an LSU three-and-out, Lagway tossed interception No. 5 along the sideline to cornerback DJ Pickett to become the first Florida quarterback with that many picks since Shane Matthews during a 30-7 loss in 1992 at Mississippi State.
Aidan Mizell #11 of the Florida Gators catches a pass for a touchdown over Tamarcus Cooley #0 of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
As they did against USF, the Gators also committed momentum-killing penalties that forced them to play behind the chains. The offensive line drew five flags, including two holding calls on guard Knijeah Harris. The first one wiped out an 87-yard touchdown from Lagway to tailback Jadan Baugh, who slipped behind the LSU defense — the third touchdown a penalty negated in two games.
UF finished with seven penalties for 57 yards a week after the Gators had 11 for 103.
With a sellout crowd of 102,158 looking on, the hometown Tigers had their own early struggles.
LSU opened with three consecutive three-and-outs and lost All-SEC linebacker Whit Weeks on the Tigers’ opening defensive series when officials flagged him for targeting Vernell Brown III. The penalty moved ball to LSU 29-yard line, leading to a 45-yard field goal by Trey Smack and a 3-0 lead.
LSU veteran quarterback Garrett Nussmeier came alive on the Tigers’ fifth possession after starting the game 1 of 5 for 7 yards.
Nussmeier and the Tigers found an advantage in the middle of the field and capitalized. He completed a 15-yard pass to Zavion Thomas on third-and-5 and a 23-yarder to Aaron Anders on third-and-8 to the UF 31.
Four plays later, Nussmeier found Thomas again, this time in the end zone for a 23-yard score and a 10-3 lead. The Gators generated no pressure on the play and ended the night without a sack after downing Nussmeier seven times during UF’s 27-16 home win in November.
Lagway answered with three third-down completions, including a perfectly thrown 10-yard fade to Aidan Mizell on third-and-9 to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:25 remaining in the first half. The play proved the sole highlight of the 20-year-old’s miserable night.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
