Three noteworthy observations for Florida Football after pulling away against FSU

Florida Football shut the casket and put the nail in FSU's 2024 season on Saturday night with a 31-11 victory that was more notable for what happened after the game than what happened during it.

But even with a sluggish performance on offense, the defense for the Gators was unrelenting and the following are three observations worth noting from the game.

The turnaround from the defensive line is astounding

Prior to the LSU game, Florida had 19 sacks on the season. It was a sacks-per-game rate that was marginally better than 2023, but after getting bulldozed by Miami, Texas A&M, and even Mississippi State, there were plenty of question marks surrounding the unit.

But seven sacks against LSU, four sacks against Ole Miss, and eight sacks against FSU later. Florida has catapulted to 38 sacks on the season and is top ten in the country in sacks per game.

Cam Jackson picked up two sacks, Tyreak Sapp had a sack, and even Jack Pyburn had his first official career sack.

What is notable for Florida along the defensive line, if you backtrack to prior to the season, we thought it would be guys like Justus Boone, LJ McCray, and Joey Slackman leading the way, so for those guys to have quiet seasons (whether due to injury or other) and Florida still finish with a solid unit by the end is a good sign.

DJ Lagway needs to find intermediate passing in the offseason

One of the very real flaws Anthony Richardson had during his time with Florida that followed him to the NFL was his lack of intermediate passing. DJ Lagway is going to need to find better consistency in that area if he is going to take a step forward in 2024.

Lagway finishes the regular season 21 of 49 passing on attempts between 10-19 yards, compared to 18 of 30 passing on attempts over 20 yards.

Part of it is Napier's base offense doesn't generate easy throws in this area, and Lagway didn't seem in synch with his receivers on Saturday.

Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike have been his two favorite targets this year but they are gone next year, so between players on the roster and whomever the Gators get in the transfer portal, hopefully Lagway can develop a connection in the offseason with a solid core of three to four guys.

Montrell Johnson has finished on a high note

Heading into the Miami game, one of the massive backdrops was whether or not Montrell Johnson was going to be healthy. He wound up playing and had a long run for a touchdown, but as his 2024 campaign progressed, he didn't feel like the correct running back for Florida's offense.

With question marks surrounding Florida's offensive line, it felt like the Gators needed someone like Jadan Baugh or Ja'Kobi Jackson to plow straight ahead instead of the patience Johnson was trying to showcase.

Johnson missed the games against Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas while only taking four snaps against LSU. But in the last two games, Napier opted to go back to his trusty senior and was rewarded.

Against Ole Miss, Johnson had 107 yards off 5.9 yards per attempt. Against FSU, it took just ten carries for Johnson to collect 99 yards, with his signature moment being the 65-yard run in the fourth quarter that put the game away for good.