It doesn’t matter how much you hate Billy Napier; you still have to admit that last weekend, the Gators were able to go head-to-head with a giant like the Dawgs. And why? All because of DJ Lagway. This dude’s vision to change Florida football was the major boost using which Napier and Co. snagged that 48-20 win over Kentucky. In the first quarter, DJ Lagway was on point with his plays: 1 touchdown for 2 out 6 pass completions. It broke everyone’s heart when he was taken off on the cart after he managed to injure his hamstring. This single incident managed to change the entire course of the game.

And now, with the Dawgs grabbing the 34-20 win, we have some more bad news coming toward the Gators. Back on The Matt Barrie Show, Paul Finebaum made it very clear that Lagway is probably not coming back. “Now that Lagway is done probably for the season….. I don’t know if there is a guarantee he comes back,” Finebaum mentioned. See, the last string holding Napier’s career together and the Gators in the game was Lagway. Graham Mertz was the first one to hop off because of the season-ending ACL injury. Now, adding Lagway to the list means the entire QB room is done for.

See, if the Gators had managed to grab a win against the Bulldogs, then maybe the camp won’t have decided on firing Napier, but with this loss and the Texas game on the horizon, there is nothing the HC can do anymore. And before you say that Napier had no shot at winning against Kirby Smart, you need to rewatch the first half of the game.

A team like Georgia was struggling to keep up with a freshman QB and a defense that had barely done anything this entire season. Carson Beck was all over the place with multiple interceptions in the first half of the game and a full, abysmal pass game. He-k did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think that Smart would be trailing 6-13 behind the Gators in the first half?

With Lagway off, it cleared the room for Georgia to snag the win in the second half. Florida had to fall back on its 3rd back, QB Aiden Warner, who tried his best, but it was not enough. See, all of this does have one positive side. If Napier is fired, then the Gators can shoot for Lane Kiffin as the next HC (will he accept or not? That’s up in the air). Right now, what we do know is that Gators are off the playoff list and there is no way they can even make it to the Bowl games. Unless Napier gets Lagway back.

Billy Napier still has a lifeline left

Now, here is the twist. While Finebaum has said that there is no way Lagway can make it back, we did receive some fresh news a few minutes ago which points towards a different possibility. Pete Thamel took to X to note that Billy Napier has issued an official comment stating Lagway’s injury is “less significant”.

What this means is that he might make it for the Longhorns showdown. Gators still have a whole week left before Steve Sarkisian and Co. hammer the final nail in the coffin. However, if Lagway makes a return then we can possibly see the same first-half action we saw against Georgia.

Now, Quinn Ewers has been all over the place and everyone knows that. Against the Dawgs, Ewers was so terrible that he had to be sidelined and Arch Manning was brought in. Now will this shaky Gators roster last long on that turf against Sarkisian and his Texan monster? We don’t know. What we can say is that Napier will still get a second shot at keeping his HC cap if Lagway shows up and the Gators grab some points on the scoreboard.