"He looks worse than Arch Manning": DJ Lagway flamed by fans for horrible performance in Florida's 18-16 upset loss to South Florida

DJ Lagway had a disappointing outing on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the Florida Gators lost 16-18 at home against the unranked USF Bulls.

Lagway had a tough time finding momentum on the offense for Billy Napier's team. The quarterback completed 23 of the 33 passes he attempted for 222 passing yards. He had just one passing touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave his team a one-point lead. However, Nico Gramatica's 20-yard field goal sealed the victory for the Bulls.

Fans shared their thoughts on Lagway's performance on social media. Some compared him to Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who failed to live up to expectations in their season-opening loss to Ohio State.

Others criticized the quarterback's inability to help the Gators secure the win at home.

Lagway joined the Gators as a part of the recruiting class of 2024. During his true freshman campaign, he served as backup to Graham Mertz. The quarterback played 12 games, recording 1,915 yards and 12 TDs passing with nine interceptions.

After Mertz declared for this year's NFL draft, Billy Napier named DJ Lagway as the Gators' starting quarterback for the 2025 season. During their season-opening victory against the LIU Sharks, the quarterback completed 15 of the 18 passes he attempted for 120 yards, along with three touchdown passes.

DJ Lagway shares his thoughts on the disappointing loss to the USF Bulls at The Swamp

In the post-game press conference, the second-year quarterback opened up about the lackluster performance from his team on the field on Saturday.

He addressed the mistakes they made on the field that cost them the game.

"It's so out of character for us," Lagway said. "(Timestamp-21:50). "You know, you know Coach Napier, he's built a foundation from day one here. You know, he knows and we know what's the expectations here and we didn't live up to that today."

The quarterback also opened up about how he still has a lot to prove after spending most of the offseason battling injuries.

"I feel like I still didn't play very well," Lagway said. (Timestamp-22:38). "You know, we didn't get the W, so I didn't play well. You know, I put the offensive responsibilities on myself. You know, got to make the plays when I need to make the plays and my guys are counting on me. So, I put all that on me. And at the end of the day, I know what I'm capable of."

The Gators hit the road to take on the LSU Tigers on Sept. 13. Can Billy Napier redeem himself with a victory next week or end up potentially being fired before the end of the 2025 season?

About the author

Priyam is a College Sports content executive at Sportskeeda with a master's in Advertising and Marketing Management and over two years of experience as a writer. When it comes to reporting, Priyam believes doing a technical deep dive is one of his biggest strengths and he loves to dissect plays on the field and factor out the strengths/weaknesses of players.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Priyam sees Nick Saban as the greatest coach of all time. He is also rooting for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milore after following his progress over the years. The Michigan Wolverines football team is another of his favorite programs and it will be interesting to see how both these teams perform in new coaching eras.

When he’s not reporting, Priyam is usually at the gym or indulging in music. He has been a guitarist and a drummer for the past 17 years and finds his time of peace when playing music.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash