Florida vs. LIU score, takeaways: Defense leads shutout as No. 15 Gators dominate behind DJ Lagway

By OnlyGators.com Staff
August 30, 2025
Florida vs. LIU score, takeaways: Defense leads shutout as No. 15 Gators dominate behind DJ Lagway
Football
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Image Credit: UAA

It was never a contest Saturday night inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — not that it was expected to be — as the No. 15 Florida Gators did what they were supposed to do in eviscerating the Long Island Sharks to open the 2025 season. Florida’s 55-0 win over LIU marked the largest margin of victory under head coach Billy Napier, greatest scoring margin since 2019 (56-0 vs. Vanderbilt), first shutout since 2021 (42-0 vs. Vanderbilt) and first Week 1 shutout since 2014 (65-0 vs. Eastern Michigan).

Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway will make most headlines having completed 15 of 18 passes for three touchdowns, but his 120 yards passing and relative inconsistency while playing in the first half proved that the budding superstar still has plenty to accomplish woking his way back from injury.

It was the Gators defense that truly stood out despite the overmatched competition. The unit operated with the same ferocity it showed to conclude the 2024 season as the group that made the greatest difference in UF winning four straight games to close the campaign.

Let’s dig deeper into what went down Saturday night as Florida improved to 1-0 with every game set to be much tougher from here on out.

Quarterback conundrum

It was hardly surprising to see Lagway struggle despite LIU being the weakest team he has ever faced. Having not thrown the ball until late April and being unable to truly work for a significant portion of fall camp, the sophomore sensation has not been able to practice the ideal amount for a second-year player to make a true jump as a full-time starter. Mental reps, tape watching and footwork drills can only accomplish so much, and the offseason between freshman and sophomore year is usually when players — especially quarterbacks — grow the most.

Lagway started 0 of 3 on third down, took a sack on the first play from scrimmage and only had one explosive play – a 41-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Vernell Brown III that required a circus one-handed catch to be hauled in. “He’s a baller,” Lagway said.

There was an early two-possession stretch in which Florida gained just 22 yards on 12 plays. Saturday marked the third time in six games Lagway started and finished that he compiled less than 200 yards passing; though he only played a half, it was against an opponent that he should have been able to rain down passes against.

“It definitely got more comfortable for me as the game went on,” Lagway said. “I know I gotta play better than that. I know I will play better than that.”

This may not be indicative of anything long term, but given the Gators only have one more week before they play three straight top 10 opponents, significant improvement will need to come in seven days to believe Lagway is capable of stepping up against much tougher competition at such an early point in the season. Despite three touchdowns, his performance gets a “C+” in Week 1.

“Obviously, he can play better a little bit. Forced a few things. In general, what you would think,” Napier said. “That was his first scrimmage. He’s been practicing for about two weeks. He’ll get his rhythm. He’ll continue to get better. You saw him get better as he got comfortable and settled in.”

More surprising was the elevation of freshman Tramell Jones Jr. to the QB2 position behind Lagway. While Napier kept his backup decision close to the vest all offseason, ESPN broadcasters spoke at the start of the second half as if everyone inside the facility knew Jones had easily won the job through practice. In doing so, he beat out redshirt senior transfer Harrison Bailey, who many believed was brought into the program as a safety measure given Lagway’s injury history and Jones’ inexperience.

Jones was arguably more impressive than Lagway given he had never taken college snaps before and himself was coming off a serious knee injury suffered 12 months ago. After some first-possession jitters, he engineered a six-play, 64-yard scoring drive with his first career touchdown to junior tight end Tony Livingston. Jones ultimately completed 12 of 18 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, the last of which came to redshirt senior WR Taylor Spierto on an 11-yard strike with 25 seconds remaining.

Napier said Jones stormed his way into the QB2 job over the last few weeks in practice due to his throwing talent, velocity and overall play. “You can see he’s got some savvy — made a few plays with his feet. In general, he’s impressed us,” Napier said. “He earned that job. This was an opportunity to give him a lot of work, and we felt strongly about that.”

Destructive defense

While impossible to truly determine how well the defense will play over the next 11 games given the Sharks offered an undersized offense without explosive talent, what was obvious Saturday is that the Gators played with the same intensity and effort they had over the latter half of the 2024 campaign they led a resurgence for the entire program.

No one individually was more impressive than junior defensive back Bryce Thornton, who was all over the ball Saturday night. He opened the game by scoring on the third play from scrimmage — a 37-yard fumble return touchdown forced by junior linebacker Jaden Robinson — and then grabbed a loose ball on a botched option pitch in the second quarter. The scoop-and-score TD was the first for Florida since 2020, two years before Napier took over the program.

UF held LIU to two first downs and less than 90 yards of offense. The Sharks got the ball out fast, so there were not many opportunities for sacks, but the Gators registered seven tackles for loss and held the visitors to 2 yards per play. Again, Florida completely outmatched LIU physically, but it was still important to see the defense remain tough through all four quarters.

What went right

  • Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh was once again exceptional, exploding for 104 yards rushing and a touchdown on just nine carriers. He was responsible for two-thirds of the touches and yardage (four rushes, 44 yards) on the six-play, 66-yard drive that resulted in UF’s first offensive points of the season.

    “Jadan is special. Obviously a lot of creativity. Thought he made something maybe wasn’t there sometimes, made some plays,” Napier said. “I’ve been impressed with Jadan because he played as a rookie, experienced some success, but there’s been no complacency there. That’s a tribute to his character. He’s really a good leader as well. … That running back room continues to be a strength for us.”
  • Aside from his highlight 41 yard reception, Brown met the hype in his first outing. Just the third true freshman wideout to start for the Gators in a season opener (Antonio Callaway, Percy Harvin), he caught three balls for 79 yards and excelled as the full-time returner proving that he has enough shiftiness and explosiveness to make fans believe he may break one (or more) off this season.

    “He’s got a certain maturity level. You could see tonight: It’s not too big for him. … He’s a playmaker, and he’s been doing that [in practice]. Very consistent, very dependable in what you’re going to get,” Napier said. “He’s an even better person, teammate. He’s going to be a great leader. He’s a guy who really cares about the University of Florida. I think that makes it special for him. You can see he’s comfortable for him. That’s the first of many [great games] for him.”
  • Florida did not commit a penalty Saturday night. Zip. Zero. That’s only the second time in program history the Gators have accomplished the feat, obviously the first time under Napier as UF has largely been a penalty-ridden team that has lacked discipline in key moments over the prior three seasons. Even with the game pressure low, that’s an impressive achievement.

What went wrong

  • Senior kicker Trey Smack only missed three field goals during the 2024 season. He missed three on Saturday night alone from 39, 40 and 57 yards. Smack did make a career-long 56-yarder in the contest and went 2 of 5 overall, but it was undoubtedly an inauspicious start for the veteran special teamer who proved to be a tremendous weapon for the Gators. (In fact, Florida even attempting five field goals against an FCS opponent that could barely manage first downs was concerning in its own right.) “Trey will bounce back. He’s an elite competitor, and some of those were deep,” Napier said. “We’ve got a ton of confidence in Trey. That’s why we put him out there and kept putting him out there.”
  • While it’s tough to quantify, play from the Gators offensive line left a lot to be desired given its a veteran unit that was boasted about all offseason as a strength for the team. Lagway and Jones did not have as much time as they should have to process in the pocket, and there’s no doubt that the effort should have been better across the board considering the position has tons of experience and three assistant coaches trying to get the most out of the players.
  • Similarly difficult to evaluate was Napier’s play calling, but through most of the first quarter, it appeared as if not much had changed with short-range passes and screens that easily got blown up. There will be a greater opportunity to praise or criticize the coach’s continued insistence serving as de facto offensive coordinator next week.

Need to know

  • Up 38-0 at the break, Florida posted its largest halftime lead under Napier at 38 points.
  • Livingston now has three straight games with a touchdown dating back to the 2024 season, the first time a Gators tight end has been that successful scoring since Kyle Pitts.
  • Redshirt senior WR J. Michael Sturdivant only had two receptions for 7 yards but found the end zone in his first game wearing orange & blue.
  • Redshirt freshman TJ Abrams was the second-leading receiver with 53 yards, including a 2-yard pass in which he amassed 30 yards after contact.
  • Brown, Sturdivant and redshirt sophomore Eugene Wilson III were the starting wide receivers in the contest. Wilson had the oddest stat line of the night, finishing with five receptions, -4 yards and a touchdown. (You know why.)
  • Redshirt junior TE Hayden Hansen had the other TD for the Gators, totalling three receptions for 27 yards.
  • Florida had a 27-2 edge on first downs and outgained LIU 451-86 overall (251-49 passing, 200-37 rushing).
  • The Gators started 0 of 3 on third down before going 7 of 10 to close out the game.
  • UF converted 7 of 8 red zone trips into scores with the lone failure being a missed field goal.

Odds & ends

Florida is now 1-0 all-time against NIU, 2-0 against NEC teams (first meeting since 1950) and 25-1 against FCS opponents … the Gators improved to 89-30 all-time in season openers (72-8 in Gainesville) … UF’s five-game winning streak is the third-longest active nationally and the longest for the program since 2020 (six) … Florida’s defense has forced turnovers in 13 of its last 14 games — including an active streak of 11 straight — with multiple takeaways in 12 of those contests … the Gators are now 15-6 at home under Napier … Florida under Napier is now 14-0 when allowing 20 points or fewer, 17-2 when leading after the third quarter, 16-5 when leading at halftime, 17-6 when scoring first and 16-5 when rushing for at least 150 yards … UF is 42-13 against unranked opponents since 2018 … the Gators have scored in 462 consecutive games, an NCAA record

What it means / what’s next?

Nothing. Florida took care of its kids in The Swamp. As Napier said, Saturday night basically served as a scrimmage — the first legitimate action Lagway saw in eight months. While the Gators played error-free ball without a turnover or penalty in the game, a lot of fixable issues were put on tape that will be combed over in the Heavener Football Complex. The lone area for obvious improvement is the offensive line, which should have performed far better given its experience, size and overall talent edge in this game. Lagway knows he cannot continue getting off to slow starts as he so often did during his freshman campaign.

Florida will remain home in Week 2 when it hosts a South Florida team that ran up and down the field on No. 25 Boise State, pulling off a shocking 34-7 upset on Thursday night. The Broncos outgained the Bulls and registered 10 more first downs (25-15), but three turnovers gave USF the opportunities it needed to put the game away in devastating fashion.

Whether it proves to be as tough a test for UF next week remains to be seen. The Gators are 3-0 all-time against the Bulls, but their last win in Napier’s first season came by just three points (31-28). The competition will get much tougher with three consecutive top 10 opponents, so Florida must not only take South Florida seriously but use it as a legitimate stepping stone to up its overall game significantly before the level of opponent steps up in a major way.

“We’ll face the best teams in the country, some of the best offenses in the country,” Napier said. “The real challenge is ahead.”

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