Florida football grades after beating Tulane in Gasparilla Bowl

Florida football offense: C

The Florida Gators struggled in the first half, scoring just six points on a pair of Trey Smack field goals. Penalties by Knijeah Harris (personal foul, late hit) and Austin Barber (team) set back a promising drive in the second quarter, and a DJ Lagway interception on 3rd-and-goal at the 4-yard line prevented another first-half score. chance. Penalties were costly again in the second half as a Hayden Hansen penalty negated a Jadan Baugh TD run in the first quarter. UF’s freshman quarterback, Lagway, struggled at times against Tulane’s zone coverage, but still completed 22-of-35 passes for 305 yards with a TD and two interceptions. UF scored three TDs in the second half on a 7-yard TD pass from Lagway to tight end Tony Livingston, a 27-yard TD run by freshman KD Daniels after a Lagway fumble on 4th-and-1 and a 9-yard TD run by walk-on running back Anthony Rubio.

Florida Football Defense: A

UF’s defense held Tulane to 194 yards and recorded three takeaways, all on interceptions. Trikweze Bridges picked off Tulane quarterback Ty Thompson’s first pass attempt, while defensive end Alonzo Allen and linebacker Myles Graham recorded picks in the second half. Kam James stepped up with TJ Searcy and Jack Pyburn out at edge rusher with three tackles for loss and a sack.

Florida football special teams: B

Florida kicker Trey Smack went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, connecting on kicks from 34, 44, 24 and 30 yards. But Florida also surrendered an early 23-yard punt return and had trouble lining up enough players on a punt, forcing Gators to burn a timeout.