The 2025 season went from bad to worse Saturday night in Lexington for the coachless Florida Gators.
A 38-7 loss to Kentucky dropped the Gators to 3-6 on the year. They are 2-4 in SEC play. And now they’re potentially pivoting to a new quarterback.
A true sophomore who was once viewed as a generational prospect, quarterback DJ Lagway entered the season viewed by many as a top player at the position. He was benched at halftime of Saturday’s game at Kentucky for true freshman Tramell Jones Jr.
Lagway’s last 2 official pass attempts in the game were picked off. The first — with 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter — was returned 55 yards to the Gators’ 19-yard line. Kentucky fumbled 2 plays later and gave it back to Florida. Three plays after that, Lagway was picked off again.
Kentucky’s Cutter Boley threw an interception of his own on the ensuing play, as Kentucky squandered another opportunity. Still, Kentucky went to the half up 24-7.
The Wildcats outscored the Gators 14-0 in the second half. Jones finished 9-for-17 passing for 60 yards. Lagway completed 11 of his 19 passes for 83 yards, a touchdown, and 3 total interceptions. It was his third game this season with multiple interceptions.
Florida has dominated the overall series, but Kentucky coach Mark Stoops now has 4 wins over the Gators in the last 5 years.
Saturday’s 31-point victory was the largest Kentucky win over a Florida team since 1950.
The 3-6 record through 9 games is Florida’s worst start to a season since 2017. A loss on the road to Ole Miss next Saturday would give Florida its worst 10-game start to a season since 1979. That team went winless in 11 games.
Kentucky hosts Tennessee Tech next weekend.
Kentucky 38, Florida 7
Here’s the Florida-Kentucky box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
DJ Lagway vs Cutter Boley
A statistical breakdown of how Florida quarterback DJ Lagway performed against Kentucky’s Cutter Boley:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
