Florida football report card: DJ Lagway more than makes the grade

Florida's football team defeated Samford on Saturday night, 45-7. It was the Gators ' first victory in 329 days — since a 41-39 victory at South Carolina on Oct. 14, 2023.

Here are the grades from a game that featured freshman quarterback DJ Lagway's dazzling debut as a starter:

Offense: B-plus

Yeah, DJ Lagway was dazzling and 632 yards total offense was impressive. But the Gators squandered too many potential scoring drives. They could afford that against Samford this week. They can’t afford it against Texas A&M next week.

Defense: B

Samford QB Quincy Crittendon was a poor man’s Cam Ward with his moxie and elusiveness. The Gators had trouble containing him, but it was definitely an upgrade from Game 1 despite missing three starters. But again, nobody’s going to mistake Samford for Miami.

Special Teams: B-plus

Is it time to officially declare the Special Teams Follies over? No big plays, though Chimere Dike looks like a dangerous punt returner. But the kicking and punting was solid as usual, highlighted by Jeremy Crawshaw’s 61-yard punt. And there were no major gaffes.

Coaching: B

There were the usual handful of head-scratching calls, and the defense had too much trouble early with Samford. The offense had too many red zone failures. But the Gators got better as the game went along. After the week the coaching staff had, that should restore a smidgen of faith that Napier might know what he’s doing.

Overall: B

It was sort of a no-win affair. No matter how well UF played, beating Samford would not impress anyone. But the Gators won by enough to stem the bleeding of fan faith. Now they have to start restoring it against non-Samford teams.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football report card: DJ Lagway more than makes the grade