Three truths for Florida Football after beating Tulane in Gasparilla Bowl

It was not a game that most Florida Football fans would hang up in a museum, but the Gators did what they had to do to pull away from Tulane and emerge with a 33-8 victory to finish the season 8-5.

As we had stated prior to the game, historical data indicates that a bowl victory isn't a great indication of how the 2025 season is going to go. However, three things happened that are representative of how the season went as a whole.

DJ Lagway has a blind spot

The final stat line for Lagway wasn't anything that will raise too many eyebrows. He went 22/35 for 305 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

There were some high-level throws he made, and he only took one sack, but both interceptions were the byproduct of a developing weak spot for Lagway.

Coming into the game, Lagway was 14 of 25 (56%) passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions when teams dropped eight into coverage. That's one interception for every 12.5 attempts.

That's compared to 79 of 132 (59%) with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions in all other scenarios. That's one interception for every 26.2 attempts.

He struggles to spot dopping linebackers and/or linemen, and both interceptions on Friday came when Tulane dropped someone into a throwing window that Lagway never saw.

The running back room is deep

Montrell Johnson wasn't listed on the injury report before the game, but he wound up not playing in the game.

This gave Florida a chance to continue to showcase Jadan Baugh and Ja'Kobi Jackson, both of whom averaged over 3.5 yards after contact per attempt.

But it also gave Florida a chance to give KD Daniels a run, the freshman who has been largely injured this season. Daniels is a player we were high on when the Gators signed him, and he wound up with five carries for 30 yards, the bulk of which came on his 25-yard touchdown off a broken play.

Add in Treyaun Webb, who was expected to be the backup this season before he got hurt, along with a couple more backs the Gators got on signing day, and the running back room is probably the best position group in Gainesville.

Jordan Castell looked aggressive

One of Florida's weak points this season was safety. After a freshman All-American campaign, Jordan Castell just never took a step forward he in 2024. He looked tentative at times and played safety as someone acting as a stop-gap rather than an active participant looking to break up plays.

He actually came downhill to make a couple of stops, and he had a pass breakup while holding down the back end with just one reception against it.

Safety is a position Florida is looking to address in the transfer portal, but the hope is that if Castell can carry over this performance into 2025, the Gators might be in good shape.