GAINESVILLE, Fla. — DJ Lagway threw for a season-high 289 yards and two touchdowns, both to a true freshman making his college debut, and Florida upset No. 9 Texas 29-21 on Saturday to end a three-game skid.
Arch Manning and the Longhorns (3-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had a chance in the final minute, thanks partly to a defensive penalty, but he threw incomplete deep and was sacked twice.
Florida (2-3, 1-1) enjoyed its first victory since beating Long Island in the season opener.
“Our fans showed up today,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “They showed up and showed out, and we are thankful for that. It was a good SEC game out there today, and I think it came down to the things that it typically does. We rushed the ball for 159 yards.”
Lagway looked better than he had in four previous starts this season, and Dallas Wilson had a lot to do with it. The Tampa native showed speed, hands and arguably the most physicality of any Florida receiver in years.
“It’s us against the world,” Lagway said. “That’s our mentality.”
Wilson’s 55-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter was one of the most impressive plays in The Swamp since Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin dominated opponents regularly.
Wilson tossed aside cornerback Kobe Black at the line of scrimmage, spun out of the grasp of safety Jelani McDonald, tiptoed the sideline, ran through McDonald’s second attempt at a tackle and then powered through safety Michael Taaffe at the goal line.
Wilson finished with six catches for 111 yards. It was the best debut for a freshman receiver at Florida in program history. Wilson was the star of Florida’s spring game in April but injured his left foot early in fall camp and spent weeks in a walking boot.
He finally returned to practice during Florida’s off week, and together with Lagway, provided the jolt the Gators needed to end a three-game slide in which they scored 16, 10 and 7 points.
“DJ was a 180 quarterback rating,” Napier said. “He played really clean, for the most part.”
Texas struggled to find consistency in front of a hostile crowd of 90,714. Manning was hurried and harassed all afternoon. He threw for 263 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
“I thought he competed his heart out,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Our entire team did. Most people thought we were probably dead and gone. We fought all the way back and had a chance there at the end.”
Manning was sacked seven times behind a line that got bullied without blitzes in Texas’ first visit to Gainesville since 1940.
“This is where you find out about the culture that you have,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to get tighter than we’ve ever been. We’re going to have to quiet the noise because there will be plenty of noise coming out of this game.”
Texas will surely tumble out of the top 10 in the next AP Top 25 poll.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.