The Florida Gators dropped to 3-5 (2-3 SEC) on the 2025 season after a nail-biting 24-20 loss to No.5 Georgia in week ten. Gator Country provides five early takeaways from the contest.
Losing teams don’t convert in critical situations
There’s a lot to unpack from this game. It came down to the final five minutes and Florida had one too many miscues to pull off the upset. There’s so many plays you can break down or point to, that’s how close this game was. But the reality is losing teams make losing plays. Florida failed to concert in critical situations: Lagway’s misfire to Tank Hawkins and J.Michael Sturdivant, the two failed fourth down conversions, Brien Taylor Jr.’s offsides penalty on third down with under two minutes to play, TJ Abrams’ third down drop in the fourth quarter. The list goes on and on.
Florida has been in a number of games against really good teams this season, yet hold a 3-5 (2-3 SEC) record. The Gators are talented enough to hang with the best teams in the country, but they continue to lose games in the fourth quarter. That hasn’t changed.
DJ Lagway struggles
DJ Lagway said it himself postgame: “It was not good enough.”
The sophomore quarterback completed 15-24 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown. It was just the second game this season (excluding LIU) that Lagway threw for less than 200 yards.
There were highs and lows, but the lows were in critical, must convert situations. Late in the game with Florida trailing 24-20, Lagway bounced a pass short of senior receiver J.Michael Sturdivant, who was streaking down the left side of the field wide open. If Lagway sees him earlier or makes an accurate pass, Florida is likely in the lead with roughly three minutes to play.
Lagway is seemingly still struggling with his footwork and timing on progressions.
Florida’s staff did open up the running game for Lagway, and it had success at times. The 6’3, 247 pound quarterback logged a career long 26 yard run in the contest. There were also a handful of plays where Lagway looked rather sluggish moving outside of the pocket or attempting read options.
Lagway’s 40 yard touchdown pass to Eugene Wilson III was a strike, and there were a number of accurate, nicely thrown balls throughout the game. But overall the production is simply not where it needs to be from your starting quarterback.
Third downs continue to haunt Florida
Florida entered the contest as one of the worst teams in the country on third downs, ranking 127th in the FBS in third down conversion rate. It was no different in week ten. The Gators converted just two third downs on 11 attempts.
Defensively, the Gators entered the contest ranking 69th in third downs. Georgia concerted seven of 15 third downs. It’s really hard to knock off a top five team if you can’t convert and can’t get off the field on third downs.
Defense settled in after scripted drives
Florida struggled to stop Georgia’s scripted drives, allowing an opening drive touchdown to start each half defensively. However, the Gators settled in both times and performed good enough to win, a theme I’ve talked about seemingly every week. The Gators held Georgia to 138 rushing yards on 3.5 yards per carry, 62 of which were in the fourth quarter. Florida pressured Stockton at times, recording two sacks and five QB hurries. They also logged four pass break ups and an interception.
Florida’s defense was on the field for over 20 minutes in the first half, which may have caught up to them in the fourth quarter as we’ve seen before. It wasn’t a perfect game defensively, but they hung in there against a really talented offense with playmakers all over the field.
Georgia has scored 20 or more points on every team they’ve faced this season. The Bulldogs’ 361 yards of offense is their third lowest total in 2025.
Eugene Wilson III makes an impact
Redshirt sophomore Eugene Wilson III entered the contest with 118 yards in seven games. Five of those seven games resulted in 10 receiving yards or less for the speedy wide receiver. Wilson III more than doubled his season total vs. Georgia, hauling in nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Wilson III’s 118 yards set a career high against FBS competition.
Wilson III was the impact player Gator Nation knew he could be: winning off the line of scrimmage with elite acceleration, creating yards after contact, and finding open space with detailed route running.
In two games against Georgia in his career, Wilson III has combined for 20 catches, 196 yards, and two touchdowns. The Tampa native certainly benefited from Vernell Brown III’s absence and Dallas Wilson’s midgame injury, but I would expect Wilson III to have a larger role moving forward under interim head coach Billy Gonzales.