Two 19-year-old freshmen played a key role in helping Florida and coach Billy Napier secure an important victory in a series that had begun to slip away from them.
Jadan Baugh ran for five touchdowns, matching a school record held by Tim Tebow and Trey Burton. The Gators dominated Kentucky 48-20 on Saturday night, marking their first win in this annual series since 2020.
“That’s pretty good company there,” Napier said.
In his first career start, filling in for injured senior Montrell Johnson, Baugh rushed for 106 yards against one of the toughest defenses in the Southeastern Conference. His 1-yard run late in the third quarter gave Florida a 14-point lead, which was more than enough against the struggling Wildcats (3-4, 1-4 SEC).
This strong performance was crucial because Florida (4-3, 2-2) had to rely on another freshman, quarterback DJ Lagway, due to injuries. Lagway made his first start in place of Graham Mertz, who ended his college career after tearing a knee ligament last week at Tennessee.
Lagway completed 7 of 14 passes for an impressive 259 yards, with five of those completions gaining over 40 yards each. He now has nine completions of 40 yards or more this season, which is nine more than Mertz had.
“He gets better every day,” said Napier. “He learns something every day.”
Lagway and Baugh became the first true freshmen in the program’s history to start at quarterback and running back. They took over for veteran players who had a combined 67 starts, and the Gators looked more explosive as a result.
“It’s amazing, I ain’t gonna lie,” said cornerback Devin Moore. Elijah Badger caught three passes for 148 yards, Chimere Dike had two receptions for 67 yards, and Eugene Wilson III added a 40-yard catch.
The Gators needed all of these plays to counter Barion Brown, Kentucky’s speedy junior, who had a 45-yard touchdown catch on a flea flicker and a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
This was Brown’s fifth kickoff return for a touchdown in his career, making him the active leader in major college football. It happened just two plays after he dropped a deep pass, which resulted in an interception.
Brock Vandagriff also threw a pick that deflected off the hands of two Kentucky receivers. It was a tough night for the Wildcats, who allowed a season-high 476 yards and were just 1 for 5 on fourth down.
“Pretty tough loss,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. “They were physically very much pushing us around and moving us up front. I felt like we were playing catch-up the entire day. A pretty good butt-whipping there.”
Florida ended the game with 197 rushing yards against the nation’s 10th-ranked rushing defense. The Gators used unbalanced lines at times to keep the Wildcats guessing, and Baugh did the rest.
