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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A steady stream of guests visited the “Paul Finebaum The “show” takes place on Friday afternoon at the Plaza of the Americas.

Gators symbol Tim Tebow and fellow human being SEC Network analyst Roman Harper were the first guests who, together with Finebaum, gave a preview of the Florida-Texas A&M game on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

 

Game 3. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/EeDKbWNKtG

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) 13 September 2024

Yes, they talked mainly about Florida’s quarterback dilemma, which revolves around the return of the experienced Graham Mertz from a concussion he suffered two weeks ago against Miami and the breakthrough performance of a true freshman DJ Lagway in the win over Samford last week.

Tebow understands the excitement surrounding Lagway, who instantly became Gator Nation’s favorite player. Tebow certainly can relate, having experienced a similar surge in popularity 18 years ago. Still, Tebow cautioned against giving the offense to Lagway based on a single performance and leaving Mertz in the dust.

Harper, on the other hand, took the opposite approach. If he coached the Gators, Lagway would be his starter and would 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 this topic as the Gators head into a crucial game against the Aggies. With both scheduled to play on Saturday, the topic is far from over.

In this edition of The opening kickoffHere’s a closer look at the Florida-Texas A&M game:

 

THREE STORYLINES

• The matchup pits two programs trying to get it right. Gators head coach Billy Napier is 12-15 in his two or more seasons and Michael Elko is 1-1 to begin its tenure in College Station. Both rebounded from disappointing season-opening losses to beat FCS opponents in Week 2. Saturday’s winner 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 as a 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 win over Samford that sparked the quarterback debate. Mertz returned to practice this week and by all accounts looked good. But given the current state of the program, most experts felt it was time to hand the job over to Lagway and start building for the future. Of course, this is Napier’s final decision, and he is expected to start Mertz, who is looking to recover from his subpar performance and concussion during the loss to Miami.
• Gators Great Emmitt Smith acts as honorary Mr. Two Bits before kick-off to fire up the home fans. Meanwhile, Smith’s son, E.J. Smith, is a reserve running back for the Aggies with 24 yards on four carries. EJ began his career at Stanford and grew up in Texas, where his father is a celebrity and the all-time leading runner in NFL history. Regardless of the outcome, the Smith family will have an unforgettable Swamp Moment.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Transfer to Arizona State Elijah Badger had a big game for the Gators in the win over Samford, including a 77-yard reception. With Florida’s best playmaker Eugene Wilson III Badger is questionable due to a lower-body injury, but he could make a difference in the passing game.
• Gators start with the left tackle Austin Barber has achieved good marks in the first two games, although the snaps were shared with Manuel Devon. Barber has played through injuries and done everything the Gators have asked of him throughout his career. He sets the tone for the offensive line, and Florida could use another strong performance from the veteran.
• QB from Texas A&M Connor Weigman was not at his best in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame, completing 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards and two interceptions. He rebounded with a solid performance a week ago against McNeese, but similar to Graham Mertz Weigman is much better against Miami than he was against the Fighting Irish. The Gators can’t let Weigman relax too much.

THREE QUESTIONS FOR… GATORS TE HAYDEN HANSEN

Hansen is from Weatherford, Texas, and is eagerly awaiting the start of SEC play and a visit from his home-state Aggies.

Q: Is there any special motivation for you this week in view of your opponent?
A: Absolutely. I have a little grudge. They passed me over in my own state. They didn’t really reach out. I’d love to go out there and do my thing and show them what they missed.

Q: How important do you think this duel is at the start of the conference?

A: This is huge. Miami was huge, but after our performance against Miami, this is even bigger. We were expected to do what we did against Samford, and we did. Now A&M is coming into the swamp, and we have to win this game, and we should win this game. It’s going to come down to which team screws up the least, which just doesn’t beat themselves.

Q: How did QB Graham Mertz How is training going this week after the concussion?

A: He’s always been a focused guy, but this week he’s especially focused and he’s a fighter. I’m sure he hated sitting out (the Samford game). I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone come back from a concussion so sharp and focused, like they never left. Sometimes you have to knock the rust off a little bit, but I didn’t really see that from him.

 

THREE DIGITS

6 – Completions of over 35 yards for the UF’s 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 away games, a streak that began with a loss at Ole Miss on November 13, 2021.

SEC AVAILABILITY REPORT

FLORIDA – OUT: DL Jamari Lyons (ankle, out for the rest of the season), WR Ja’Quavion FraziarsDB Ja’Keem JacksonTE Keon ZippererS Asa TurnerWR Kahleil Jackson (knee, out for the rest of the season), TE Caleb RillosWR Brian Green, Jr.DB Ahman CovingtonDB Brayden Slade. QUESTIONABLE: WR Andy JeanDL TJ SearcyWR Eugene Wilson IIIDB Devin Moore. TEXAS A&M — OUT OF: RB Rueben Owens, DB Tyreek Chappell, DB Trey Jones III, OL Mark Nabou Jr. QUESTIONABLE: LB Scooby WilliamsQB Conner Weigman.

NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS

• The Gators will face Texas A&M for the seventh time in program history. The series is tied 3-3. Florida won the last meeting at Texas A&M in 2022, 41-24.
• Since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012, the schools have split four games.
• Former UF Defensive Assistants Jay Bateman And Sean Spencer Returning to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Bateman is in his first season as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator and Spencer is Texas A&M’s defensive line coach. Both have been with the Gators 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, Williams has five.
• A week ago, Florida ended a six-game losing streak and is seeking its first SEC home win since a 38-14 victory over Vanderbilt last season.
• The Gators had two 100-yard receivers in the win over Samford – Eugene Wilson III (141) and Elijah Badger (123) – the first time since the 2022 win at Vanderbilt.
• Gators WR Chimere Dikea transfer from Wisconsin, surpassed the 1,500-yard career receiving mark with his 44-yard catch against Samford.
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback at Texas A&M Connor Weigmanlike Gators real freshman QB DJ Lagwayis a native Texan and five-star signee. Weigman has thrown 18 touchdowns and four interceptions in his career. In last week’s win over McNeese, he completed 11 of 14 passes for 125 yards and two TDs.
• Aggies Offensive Assistant Gavin Spurrier returns to where his grandfather, former UF head coach and current ambassador Steve Spurrier, became famous as The Swamp. Gavin Spurrier went to Duke University and is in his freshman season at Texas A&M.
• Florida is 1-1 in SEC home openers under head coach Billy Napierlost to Kentucky in 2022 and defeated 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 either of these two crazy fan bases. This is one of those games where, if the transfer portal were open, half of the losing team’s roster could be in by Saturday night.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel in his column about the duel
• “You want to take care of his future and not throw him to the wolves.” – Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebowspoke on Friday afternoon on the “Paul Finebaum Show” about why he would not leave the offense entirely to the freshman QB DJ Lagway two games in the season
• “It was awful, if we’re being honest. It wasn’t what we wanted it to be. I think it started to go downhill last week when we really focused on some guys who haven’t played much football yet.” — Texas A&M coach Michael Elko about his team’s run defense in two games

THEY WROTE IT

WHY THE GATORS WILL WIN

They establish their running game early to challenge the quarterback team of Graham Mertz And DJ Lagway more effective in the two-quarterback system that Napier plans to use when Mertz returns. To do that, they need to win the battle up front, a focus of 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 overwhelm Florida’s defensive line and QB Connor Weigman has enough time to explore Miami’s Cam Ward in the season opener. That’s a worst-case scenario for the Gators considering Texas A&M’s yardage (239.5 yards per game in the first two games).