Photos by Noah Lantor // Graphic by Jea Nace // Alligator Staff
Gators look to reverse a history of failure against Longhorns
FLORIDA HASN’T BEAT TEXAS IN THE PROGRAM’S FOUR MATCHUPS SINCE 1924
By Luke Adragna Alligator Staff Writing
It’s been nearly 100 years since the first matchup between Florida and Texas, and the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) will host the No. 9 Texas Longhorns (3-1) Oct. 4 for the first time since 1940.
There is plenty of anticipation for the game, but each team has experienced varying degrees of success despite entering the year with lofty expectations.
“This has been talked about for a long time, and Texas coming to play at Florida is a big deal,” Florida head coach Billy Napier said Oct. 1. “It’s great to be back at home after being on the road for a couple of weeks here, and excited about what could be a very special atmosphere with our fans.”
The Gators entered the year ranked No. 15. Since then, they have dropped three straight matchups, rank in the bottom of most offensive metrics in their conference and could be on the brink of a head coaching change.
Texas, on the other hand, started the year ranked No. 1 and had the highest odds of winning its conference championship. But the Longhorns haven’t appeared as much of a threat after losing to No. 3 Ohio State in Week 1 and struggling to beat the University of Texas at El Paso.
Nonetheless, there is one commonality between the two teams: They’re looking to prove their rest-of-season trajectory.
In Florida, the Gators are seeking to prove there’s still a pulse in the locker room.
Quarterback DJ Lagway will suit up for the first time against the Longhorns after he suffered a leg injury, forcing him to sit out in the 2024 matchup.
When the two teams met last year, Florida fell to the Longhorns 49-17 behind UF thirdstring quarterback Aidan Warner, who started in place of an injured Lagway and Graham Mertz. Warner completed fewer than half of his passes for 132 yards and two interceptions.
However, Lagway has largely struggled this year despite entering the season on the Heisman and Maxwell Award watch lists. Napier has admitted the quarterback’s struggles largely stem from his offseason injuries and failure to practice until just weeks before the season.
“We kind of changed the practice format to give him more opportunities because that’s ultimately what he needs,” Napier said Oct. 1. “He just needs to get calibrated, if that makes sense, so I’m hopeful that that plan worked.”
Through four games, Lagway has tossed 690 passing yards, five touchdowns and six in-
terceptions. He is averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt and has struggled to throw the deep ball despite finding success doing so his freshman season.
As an offensive unit, the Gators rank last in the SEC, averaging 22 points per game this season. If you remove their first matchup against FCS opponent Long Island, Florida is averaging just 11 points per game.
The Gators also rank second-to-last in the conference in total yards per game, averaging 328.3. Their 35.25 passing attempts per game are the fifth-most in the SEC, yet their 205.3 passing yards per game rank No. 14.
Their rushing attack hinted at success when the two teams met in 2024. Florida running backs Ja’Kobi Jackson and Jadan Baugh combined for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns. However, Jackson will miss the upcoming matchup due to an undisclosed injury, putting much of the load on Baugh and freshman running back Duke Clark.
“His mentality and just his ability, how mature he is now,” Jackson said of Clark ahead of fall camp. “From January to now, he’s still a freshman, but we wouldn’t think he’s a freshman.”
Texas is middle of the pack offensively in their conference, averaging the ninth most yards per game and tallying roughly the same amount of yards passing (944) as it does on the ground (811). The Longhorns’ defense, similar to the Gators, has kept the team afloat throughout its first four matchups.
Texas has surrendered just 848 yards total, which is the second fewest in the SEC. Its opponents are averaging just over a touchdown per game (7.8 points).
Most of that credit goes to their stout run defense with sophomore linebacker Colin Simmons, who led the team with nine sacks and earned freshman All-American honors in 2024.
Simmons has logged 1.5 sacks this season and six tackles this year, and sophomore defensive lineman Maraad Watson has added 1.5 sacks and 10 tackles. As a unit, the defense has given up just 243 rushing yards (60.8 yards per game).
However, much of the focus on Texas has been on quarterback Arch Manning. As one of the Heisman favorites entering 2025, he struggled against the Longhorns’ one formidable opponent in Ohio State. Manning has struggled to pick up the tempo of the offense and logged just 170 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the Texas’ Week 1 loss.
“I think it’s part of his development, and I think it’s important for us on the outside to be realistic about expectations with these young QBs,” Napier said of Manning’s struggles.
“He’s extremely talented and capable of being very efficient and explosive.”
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Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff
The Florida Gators sing the alma mater at the end of their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.
Napier
and Sarkisian shared a sideline nearly a decade ago. Now their teams are facing off.
THE FLORIDA AND TEXAS HEAD COACHES WORKED TOGETHER WITH THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE IN 2016
By Riley Orovitz Sports Writer
Billy Napier. Steve Sarkisian. Before they were the faces of two marquee SEC programs, they represented Alabama football together — a decade prior to this year’s Gator-Longhorn matchup.
Before stepping into Gainesville, Napier stopped at six different programs in varying roles. He began his coaching career with South Carolina State, then spent five seasons with Clemson. Next came short stints with Alabama in 2011, Colorado State in 2012 and Florida State in 2013.
Napier returned to Alabama in 2013, where he worked as an analyst for the Tide before being promoted to wide receivers coach less than a year later.
Napier entered the receiver room with fivetime NFL Pro-Bowler Amari Cooper at his disposal. In the coach’s first year in the position, Cooper totaled 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier watches his team during warmups before a game between the Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Alabama would go on to lose in the 2014 semifinals to the Ohio State Buckeyes. But 2015 was a different story.
Napier remained as the receivers coach, this time led by true freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The 21-year-old set a new
program freshman record for receiving yards, leading the team to a 12-1 record and a national title — the first, and only, of Napier’s coaching career.
Fresh off the pinnacle of college football, Napier entered 2016 in a similar position. Ridley returned, and wide receiver ArDarius Stewart entered the mix. But the junior wasn’t the only figure new to the South.
Sarkisian arrived in Tuscaloosa the same year, kicking off a season-long working relationship with Napier.
Sarkisian entered Alabama as the former head coach of the University of Southern California. USC placed him on an indefinite leave of absence due to intoxication at work before firing Sarkisian in 2015.
Nearly a full calendar year later, Alabama brought him on as an offensive analyst. While Sarkisian did not have an on-field role, he played a part in the team’s 2017 national championship appearance.
Reflecting on their time spent together at Alabama, Napier said he respected Sarkisian’s evolution as a coach in an SEC teleconference call Oct. 1.
“I’ve always gotten along with Sark,” Napier said. “I have a ton of respect for his knowledge. I think he’s a good person. I think he has really good intentions [and]
cares about people.”
Both Napier and Sarkisian’s presence was felt through the duration of Alabama’s 2016 season.
Sarkisian came onto the scene in Week 2, sparking an offensive explosion. Napier’s receiver core excelled over the course of the next seven weeks, during which his star wide receivers, Ridley and Stewart, posted 174 and 120 yards over Kentucky and Arkansas, respectively.
The Napier-and-Sarkisian duo with the Tide proved successful, propelling the latter to further football fame. Sarkisian made a name for himself as an analyst and would later be promoted to offensive coordinator. He served the position during the 2017 National Championship.
Napier gave Sarkisian his flowers during the Oct. 1 teleconference call. While the two only crossed paths for a season, the Florida coach said he has immense admiration for Sarkisian as a leader and his success on the Alabama staff.
“He’s always done a good job, and I have a ton of respect for him as a coach,” Napier said.
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rorovitz@alligator.org
Freshman Dallas Wilson set to make highly anticipated collegiate debut
THE FIVE-STAR RECRUIT’S FIRST GATOR GAME WILL BE AGAINST NO. 9 TEXAS
By Curan Ahern Sports Writer
The Gators offense needs a boost. This Saturday, it may get one — in the form of five-star recruit Dallas Wilson.
The freshman receiver dazzled fans his first time wearing a Gators jersey during UF’s spring scrimmage — logging 195 receiving yards on 10 receptions — but has missed the season’s first four games due to an injury. Now, he’s expected to make his collegiate debut Saturday against the No. 9 Texas Longhorns.
After requesting a release from his financial aid agreement with the Oregon Ducks and flipping his commitment to Florida, Wilson got a chance to showcase his speed and hands in Florida football’s Orange & Blue Game April 12. He set the program record for the most receptions and tied for the most receiving yards in the spring game.
Wilson’s breakout performance included 127 yards and two touchdowns in the second half alone, which even garnered praise from Florida head coach Billy Napier.
“He’s a big physical player … I’ve been impressed with his football intelligence,” Napier said. “He’s been able to retain information, and obviously, you don’t produce like that today unless you’ve been really working hard.”
However, Wilson hasn’t seen in-game action since. The freshman missed Florida’s first four games of the
season after suffering a left foot injury the first week of August, late in fall camp.
He’s spent time in both a hard cast and a boot since his injury, and the Gators have stumbled to a 1-3 record in his absence. Florida has lost to South Florida, Louisiana State and Miami in its last three games, with its only win coming against LIU in the season opener. Moreover, UF ranks last in the SEC in scoring offense, passing yards per completion (8.64), interceptions thrown (6) and tackles for loss per game allowed (4.3).
On the bright side, Wilson is no longer on the injury report after Florida’s bye week. He’s likely to make his highly anticipated debut as the Gators set their sights on Texas Saturday afternoon.
“Dallas Wilson would be the headliner,” Napier said. “For him to be able to practice last week was a big deal.”
The Longhorns will enter Gainesville Oct. 4 having won their last three games by outscoring opponents 12017. While Florida has struggled to gain offensive momentum, averaging only 22 points per game, Texas has averaged 31.75 per game and allowed less than eight.
With a top defense in the nation, allowing under 152 passing yards to opponents on average, Texas has the tools necessary to hinder Wilson’s pass-catching production in his debut.
Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/sports.
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Florida Gators wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6) during warmups before a football game between the South Florida Bulls and the Florida Gators on Sept. 6, 2025, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Damage control in The Swamp: Two SEC quarterbacks hope to reclaim preseason hype
Anticipated stars DJ Lagway
and
Arch Manning look to overcome rocky starts
By Ava DiCecca Sports Writer
The lead-up to the 2025-26 season was less about the sport and more about the story for Florida’s DJ Lagway and the Longhorns’ Arch Manning. The two dominated the conversation about who was the best quarterback in the SEC.
Lagway’s true freshman season in 2024 quickly thrust him into the spotlight, and many Florida fans viewed him as the program’s next chance at a title run. Meanwhile, for No. 9 Texas, all eyes were on the redshirt sophomore Manning going into this year — in no small part because of his last name.
Now, the most anticipated quarterbacks in the SEC are set to face off on Oct. 4 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The season has not been without trials for the pair, and after an offseason spent in distant comparison, they will finally take the same field as Texas (3-1) faces its first SEC opponent.
Besides Florida’s head coach, Billy Napier, Lagway has been the face of the Gators (1-3) struggling offense. In Florida’s last game at Miami, the Gators offense went 0-for-13 on third down, and Lagway was held to a jarring 61 passing yards.
The sophomore fared worse against LSU, throwing five interceptions.
“I played horrible football today,” Lagway said after the loss. “I’ve never had a performance like that in my life, so it’s kind of hard to process it, but at the end of the day, it’s all about how you bounce back.”
Lagway’s recent performance could be attributed to offseason injuries, with a shoulder injury keeping him out for most of the spring and a calf injury shortly before the start of the season leaving him sidelined for practices.
The severity and impact of Lagway’s injuries are unknown. But Ralph Russo, senior college football writer at The Athletic, said in an interview with The Alligator the quarterback “definitely looks like a guy who did not have a normal offseason.”
“You’re preparing to play, as opposed to preparing your body to be ready to play,” he said of Lagway’s unconventional spring and summer.
While Lagway and the Gators have trended downwards since their 55-0 season-opening victory over LIU, Texas and its quarterback seem to have recovered from their debut 14-7 loss against then-No.
3 Ohio State, where Manning was held to 17 completions on 30 passing attempts.
Manning continued to experience some ups and downs in the next two games,
performing better against San Jose but throwing an interception in each and only completing 44% of his passes against UTEP.
“He looks like he’s very much out-ofsorts mechanically, in ways that seem more obvious than Lagway,” Russo said.
However, Manning left some of his struggles in the past in the Longhorns’ 55-0 victory over Sam Houston. He went 18-of-21 passing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. The contest at Florida will be an opportunity to show his performance against Sam Houston was not due to the caliber of his opponent.
The two have maintained a similar forward-looking mindset and have taken ownership of their performances so far. Though Texas is faring better as a unit, both quarterbacks have expressed their teams’ performances rely on them.
“We’ve got to play better football, and it starts with me,” Lagway said following Florida’s loss to Miami.
Manning said the same following their season opener.
“I thought we beat ourselves a lot, and that starts with me,” he said. “I’ve got to play better for us to win.”
The mentality and rocky starts seem to be the end of the similarities between the pair’s situation.
While Florida’s season has been riddled with struggles and faces major scrutiny, Texas successfully disposed of some easier opponents to open their season and sit at a comfortable 3-1 while remaining in the AP Top 10.
“There’s just a stark difference,” Russo said. “They [Texas] are winning games. They got these three warm-up opponents from Ohio State to their first SEC game, so the conditions are just so much better for Arch to kind of work through his struggles, as opposed to Lagway … ‘Go play LSU and Miami. We don’t have time for you to figure it out.’”
Texas’ relentless defense will be another major test for the Gators’ struggling offense. Florida’s defense has impressed itself and kept the Gators alive in the past few games, so neither quarterback will have it easy Oct. 4.
With six ranked opponents left on its schedule, including the Longhorns, Florida will aim to start its comeback with both teams coming off bye weeks. The game could either show Florida fans that they counted out their team too early, or confirm Gainesville needs an offensive change.
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Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws the ball during a football game between the Louisiana State Tigers and the Florida Gators on Saturday, Sept. 13th, 2025, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
How the Manning family dynasty has fared against the Gators
Arch Manning becomes the third Manning to face UF in The Swamp
By Max Bernstein Sports Writer
The Manning family is no stranger to success. It’s a bloodline featuring Hall of Famers, MVPs and Super Bowl trophies. For third-generation Texas sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, success isn’t a goal — it’s the expectation.
Nearly halfway through his first season as a starter, Manning has had an up-and-down campaign. Entering 2025 as the Heisman favorite, Manning has completed just over 61% of his passes, throwing nine touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
Now, a new challenge faces the 21-yearold signal caller, one not foreign to those within his family: The Swamp.
Both of Arch’s uncles, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, faced the Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to varying degrees of success.
“They said it’s the real deal,” Arch said. “We’re excited to get down there.”
Before he turned out one of the greatest careers in NFL history, Peyton went 39-6 as a starter over four years at Tennessee. Three of those six losses were to Florida from 1995-97.
It seemed like the Volunteers’ year in 1996. The team was ranked No. 2 in the nation with an 11-game winning streak before No. 4 Florida visited Neyland Stadium. As rain fell on the over 107,000 fans in attendance, Heisman favorite Peyton was intercepted four times in the first half.
Despite a late comeback attempt, the Gators prevailed 35-29, knocking the Volunteers out of title contention and earning a crucial win en route to their first national championship.
“That was, without a doubt, my favorite game that I ever played in,” former Gator linebacker James Bates said about the victory. “It actually gives me chills.”
Bates intercepted Peyton in that game, but their journey didn’t start there. Bates had hosted Peyton when he visited UF years before as a recruit, when the hype around the second-generation prospect was palpable.
Though Peyton joined Tennessee, his encounters with the Bates family continued. In Knoxville, Jeremy Bates, James’ older brother, served as Peyton’s backup quarterback in 1995. Later on, his father, Jim Bates, faced Peyton numerous times at the NFL level, where he served as defensive coordinator for a handful of teams, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers.
As he progressed through the levels of football and faced three different members of the Bates family, Peyton inspired the same
reaction from the brothers and their father: All concluded Peyton was built differently.
“You hear about Peyton putting in his understanding of the game and his drive to understand it to its fullest,” James said. “You have to be that much more prepared, because you’re going against the true pro.”
While Peyton was unable to vanquish the Gators, his younger brother, Eli, had different results. Also a highly touted recruit, Eli attended Ole Miss, the alma mater of his father and Arch’s namesake, Archie Manning.
Archie, a College Football Hall of Famer, never faced the Gators during his collegiate career. He had a prestigious professional career, making two Pro Bowl appearances over 14 years.
Eli, however, faced the Gators twice, earning a 2-0 record against Florida.
In 2002, Eli outdueled Rex Grossman in a 17-14 home win over then-No. 6 Florida. Then, in 2003, he vanquished the Gators in The Swamp, leading a game-winning drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to claim a 20-17 victory.
Just like his older brother, Eli would go on to have a wildly successful career on the NFL level, winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
Next in the line of football royalty, Arch has flashed brilliance, but there have been moments of inconsistency. Criticism for the young quarterback has been aplenty, amplified by his last name.
“For a guy like Arch, it just seems like that pressure would be magnified so many times over because of the success of his family,” James said. “So then you’ve got all your haters, all the people that hate on Eli and hate on Peyton and hate on Archie. And now, if they’re not Longhorn fans, they put all that hate to him and he’s under the spotlight, but they’ve always seemed to thrive on that.”
Florida head coach Billy Napier, who comes from the Louisiana pipeline and has plenty of experience with the Manning family, sees a bright future for Texas’ quarterback, who he watched during his pre-collegiate career in Louisiana.
“He’s just being himself,” Napier said. “He’s authentic. And I think that’s important when you’re in that type of position, because you’ve got to know who you are. You got to be yourself.”
Arch featured briefly in Texas’ 49-17 home win over Florida Nov. 9, 2024, completing three of his six pass attempts for 19 yards.
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Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws the ball during a football game between the Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
