"I played horrible football": DJ Lagway owns up to nightmare showing in Florida’s loss to Brian Kelly's LSU

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway took full responsibility for the Gators' 20-10 loss to the No. 3 LSU Tigers on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Lagway messed up big time against LSU's swarming defense. He was sacked three times and intercepted five times — one of them being a pick-six from Dashawn Spears.

In a postgame interview, the sophomore quarterback pledged to bounce back stronger in Florida's next game against Miami (3-0) on Sept. 20.

“I got to get this taste out of my mouth," Lagway said. "I played horrible football (against LSU), and I got to do better."

The Willis, Texas, native completed 33 of 49 passes for 287 yards, but he couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities that hampered Florida's offensive progression in its SEC regular-season opener against LSU.

The sacks and interceptions halted the Gators' attempts to come back from a 10-point deficit in the second half, eventually succumbing to their second straight defeat after starting the season with a 55-0 win over LIU in a nonconference game.

Lagway said the horrible loss was hard to process, but he looks to immediately get it out of his system and start with a clean slate.

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Florida coach Billy Napier insists DJ Lagway will remain as the starting QB for the Gators

Florida coach Billy Napier witnessed his first-choice quarterback DJ Lagway unravel in the Gators' 10-point loss to No. 3 LSU.

Despite calls to replace the sophomore play-caller in the team's next game against Miami, the fourth-year Gators coach insisted Lagway is his top quarterback.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country," said Napier, who dropped to 20-21 during his tenure in Gainesville. "He made some good decisions, but he also made some bad decisions."

In its next game against the Hurricanes, the 46-year-old coach will attempt to win his first road game against a ranked team. He is 0-8 in road games in four seasons as Florida coach.

Napier needs an almost-perfect performance from Lagway against Miami. The quarterback has completed 71.0% of his passes and thrown for a total of 629 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions this season.

Florida's defense will have its hands full against Miami's offense, which has excelled in its first three games with quarterback Carson Beck at center.

Beck has completed 78.3% of his passes for 812 yards. The former Georgia QB threw for seven touchdowns and two interceptions for the Hurricanes, who have averaged 46.3 points per game this season.

Running back Mark Fletcher Jr leads the team in rushing with 272 yards and four touchdowns, while wide receivers Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels combine for 403 receiving yards and four TDs.

A Florida win over Miami would get them back in the college football playoff picture. But a loss would make it more difficult for the Gators to catch up heading to their brutal SEC regular season joust.