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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A steady stream of guests visited the "Paul Finebaum Show" set Friday afternoon at the Plaza of the Americas.
Gators icon Tim Tebow and fellow SEC Network analyst Roman Harper were the first guests to join Finebaum to preview Saturday's Florida-Texas A&M game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Game 3. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/EeDKbWNKtG
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 13, 2024
Yes, they talked mainly about Florida's quarterback conundrum that revolves around the return of veteran Graham Mertz from a concussion suffered two weeks ago against Miami and the breakout performance of true freshman DJ Lagway in last week's win over Samford.
Tebow understands the fanfare over Lagway, who instantly became Gator Nation's favorite player. Tebow can undoubtedly relate and faced a similar soar in popularity 18 years ago. Still, Tebow voiced caution about turning over the offense to Lagway based on one performance and leaving Mertz in the dust.
Meanwhile, Harper took the opposite approach. If he coached the Gators, Lagway would be his starter and lead the program into the future, starting against the Aggies. Finebaum leaned toward Tebow's assessment.
At the end of the segment, Finebaum asked the modest crowd gathered in the rain which way it would go. Lagway won that poll.
Everyone has an opinion on the topic as the Gators enter a crucial matchup against the Aggies. With both expected to play Saturday, the topic's shelf life is far from expired.
In this edition of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Texas A&M matchup:
THREE STORYLINES
- The matchup pits two programs trying to get right. Gators head coach Billy Napier is 12-15 in his two-plus seasons, and Mike Elko is 1-1 early in his tenure in College Station. Both bounced back from disappointing losses in the season opener to beat FCS opponents in Week 2. The winner on Saturday takes a step in the right direction. The loser takes a step back.
- One of the most popular questions in college football this week was this: If you were Napier, would you start true freshman DJ Lagway or veteran Graham Mertz on Saturday against the Aggies? Lagway replaced the concussed Mertz and threw for 456 yards and three scores in a victory over Samford, igniting the quarterback debate. Mertz returned to practice this week and, by all accounts, looked sharp. But considering where the program is, most pundits opined that it's time to turn the job over to Lagway and start building for the future. Of course, it's Napier's final call, and he is expected to start Mertz, who will be looking to bounce back from a subpar performance and concussion during the Miami loss.
- Gators Great Emmitt Smith is serving as Honorary Mr. Two Bits before kickoff to fire up the home crowd. Meanwhile, Smith's son, E.J. Smith, is a reserve running back for the Aggies with 24 yards and four carries. E.J. started his career at Stanford and grew up in Texas, where his father is a celebrity and all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Regardless of the outcome, the Smith family will have a Swamp Moment to remember.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Arizona State transfer Elijhah Badger had a big game for the Gators in the win over Samford, including a 77-yard reception. With Florida's top playmaker Eugene Wilson III listed as questionable with a lower-body injury, Badger could be a difference-maker in the passing game.
- Gators starting left tackle Austin Barber has graded well through the first two games despite splitting snaps with Devon Manuel. Barber has played through injuries and done whatever the Gators have asked throughout his career. He sets the tone for the offensive line, and Florida could use another strong performance from the veteran.
- Texas A&M QB Connor Weigman was not at his best in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame, going 12-for-30 for 100 yards and two picks. He rebounded with a solid performance a week ago against McNeese, but much like Graham Mertz against Miami, Weigman is much better than he showed against the Fighting Irish. The Gators can't let Weigman get comfortable.
THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS TE HAYDEN HANSEN
A native of Weatherford, Texas, Hansen is eager for the start of SEC play and a visit from his homestate Aggies.
Q:Considering the opponent, is there any extra motivation for you this week?
A:For sure. I've got a little chip on my shoulder. They passed on me in my own state. They didn't really reach out too much. I'd like to go out there and do my thing, show them what they missed out on.
Q:How critical do you see this matchup to open conference play?
A:This is huge. Miami was huge, but after the performance we had against Miami, this is even bigger. We were expected to do what we did against Samford, and we did it. Now A&M is coming into The Swamp, and we need to win this game, and we should win this game. It's going to come down to whichever team messes up the less, whoever just doesn't beat themselves.
Q:How did QB Graham Mertz look in practice this week after the concussion?
A:He's always been kind of a locked-in guy, but he's extra locked in this week, and he is a competitor. I'm sure he hated sitting out [the Samford game]. I don't think I've ever seen someone come back from a concussion just so sharp and on point, like he never left. Sometimes, you've got to knock the rust off a bit, but I didn't really see that with him.
THREE DIGITS
6–Completions of 35-plus yards for UF true freshman QB DJ Lagway against Samford in his first career start.
30–Career rushing touchdowns for Gators RB Montrell Johnson Jr., seven more than any other active SEC player.
10 –Consecutive losses for Texas A&M in true road games, a streak that started with a loss at Ole Miss on Nov. 13, 2021.
SEC AVAILABILITY REPORT
FLORIDA — OUT:DL Jamari Lyons (ankle, out for season), WR Ja'Quavion Fraziars, DB Ja'Keem Jackson, TE Keon Zipperer, S Asa Turner, WR Kahleil Jackson (knee, out for season), TE Caleb Rillos, WR Brian Green Jr., DB Ahman Covington, DB Brayden Slade. QUESTIONABLE: WR Andy Jean, DL T.J. Searcy, WR Eugene Wilson III, DB Devin Moore. TEXAS A&M — OUT: RB Rueben Owens, DB Tyreek Chappell, DB Trey Jones III, OL Mark Nabou Jr. QUESTIONABLE: LB Scooby Williams, QB Conner Weigman.
NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
- The Gators face Texas A&M for the seventh time in program history. The series is tied 3-3. Florida won the last meeting, 41-24, at Texas A&M in 2022.
- The schools have split four games since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012.
- Former UF defensive assistants Jay Bateman and Sean Spencer return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Bateman is in his first season as Aggies defensive coordinator, and Spencer is Texas A&M's defensive line coach. Both were with the Gators for the past two seasons.
- Former Gators DB Jaydon Hill and LB Scooby Williams transferred to Texas A&M after last season. Hill has three tackles in the first two games, and Williams has five.
- A week ago, Florida snapped a six-game losing streak and seeks its first SEC home win since a 38-14 victory over Vanderbilt last season.
- The Gators had two 100-yard receivers in the victory over Samford – Eugene Wilson III (141) and Elijhah Badger (123) — marking the first time since the 2022 victory at Vanderbilt.
- Gators WR Chimere Dike, a transfer from Wisconsin, surpassed 1,500 career receiving yards on his 44-yard catch against Samford.
- Texas A&M redshirt sophom*ore QB Connor Weigman, like Gators true freshman QB DJ Lagway, is a Texas native and five-star signee. Weigman has thrown 18 career touchdowns and four interceptions. He went 11-for-14 for 125 yards and two TDs in last week's win over McNeese.
- Aggies offensive graduate assistant Gavin Spurrier returns to where his grandfather, former UF head coach and current ambassador Steve Spurrier, made famous as The Swamp. Gavin Spurrier went to school at Duke and is in his first season at Texas A&M.
- Florida is 1-1 in SEC home openers under head coach Billy Napier, losing to Kentucky in 2022 and defeating Tennessee last season.
THEY SAID IT
- "Texas A&M's game on Saturday against Florida in Gainesville feels like it could be the entire season for one of these two nut-job fan bases. This is one of those games where if the transfer portal was open, half of the roster of the losing team may be in it by Saturday night." — Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel in his column discussing the matchup
- "You want to take care of your future and not throw him to the wolves." — Former Gators QB Tim Tebow, speaking on the "Paul Finebaum Show" Friday afternoon, on why he would not turn the offense over entirely to freshman QB DJ Lagway two games into the season
- "It's been terrible, if we're being honest. It's not been what we want it to be. I think last week it didn't start going south until we really started getting into some guys who haven't played a lot of football." — Texas A&M coach Mike Elko on his team's run defense through two games
THEY WROTE IT
- A strong SEC opener vs. Texas A&M could give Gators breathing room, but how likely is it? That is the question in this analysis from Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
- DJ Lagway, Graham Mertz aren't Billy Napier's first quarterback duo, writes Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times.
- A look at Florida's history with the dual quarterback strategy from Aidan Gallardo of Gators Wire on the USA Today network.
WHY GATORS WILL WIN
They establish their running game early to make the quarterback tandem of Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway more effective in the two-quarterback system Napier plans to use in Mertz's return. To do that, they must win the battle up front, a point of emphasis in practice this week. In their first two games, the Aggies have allowed 5.3 yards per carry.
WHY TEXAS A&M WILL WIN
The Aggies manhandle Florida's defensive line, and QB Connor Weigman has ample time to throw the way Miami's Cam Ward did in the season opener. That's a worst-case scenario for the Gators, considering Texas A&M's ability to run the ball (239.5 yards per game in the first two games).
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