For the first time in 2025, the Florida Gators football team lived up to its great expectations.

Saturday's 29-21 victory over No. 9 Texas was needed desperately — for the fans' belief, for the Gators' confidence, for coach Billy Napier's job security. And frankly, despite the three consecutive losses that put this season in jeopardy, this was no upset.

The Gators defense, which has kept Florida competitive on the scoreboard even as the offense floundered, harassed Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning into hurried throws and ill-timed interceptions and then punished him when he tried to run.

His opposite, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, played his most efficient game since last season. Limping with his lower-leg injury, Lagway beat blitzes with quick decisions and hit long balls when the Longhorns defense crowded the line of scrimmage. The offense produced five drives of 60-plus yards.

And a freshman receiver making his college debut showed everyone watching that he was worth the wait. Hello, Dallas Wilson.

"I would say for me, that's the football team I thought we had in the very beginning," Napier said, "and we finally kind of put it together there and played all three phases very complementary, all parts of the team really good."

There is joy in Gainesville — for now.

A Star Is Born

Dallas Wilson's Florida debut was almost a disaster.

He caught a short pass on the Gators' first offensive play, then was promptly hit helmet first in the midsection. The ball and Wilson went flying. Fumble. When Wilson landed, the football landed next to him. A gift recovery.

He was virtually unstoppable from that point.

With the score 10-7 in the second quarter, Wilson beat his defender on a slant for a 13-yard score — the first Florida freshman receiver to catch a  touchdown in his first game.

Wilson's second touchdown was a showcase of the 5-star recruit who caught 10 balls for 195 yards in the Gators' spring game.

Florida led 22-14 late in the third quarter. On 2nd-and-1, facing press coverage, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound Wilson knocked his first defender to his knees with a straight arm. He caught Lagway's throw at the Texas 35. 

A second defender caught Wilson at the 20 and tried to spin him out of bounds, but Wilson pirouetted, somehow keeping his next four steps in play. A third defender flew into Wilson's left forearm at the 2-yard line. No matter.

Wilson walked into the end zone. Still standing. Three Texas players in his wake.

“That was a crazy play,” said Wilson, who finished with six catches for 111 yards.

"How about that freshman receiver Dallas Wilson going off and setting about every record that there is for a rookie?" said Napier, who grew out his beard during the extra week. "I'm going to tell you, his energy, I think, was a spark this week. In practice he was just doing what he did out there today and really elevated the energy, went to a different level."

The Mannings vs. Florida

Arch Manning picked up Saturday where Uncle Peyton left off in 1997, falling behind by two scores, thwarting his team’s comeback with ill-timed interceptions, and losing to the Gators.

The Texas quarterback became the third Manning to face the Gators as a collegian.

Peyton Manning, twice a Super Bowl winner and one of the greatest quarterbacks ever in the National Football League, lost five games total in his career at Tennessee. Three of those defeats were to coach Steve Spurrier and Florida.

Younger brother Eli Manning, also a two-time Super Bowl champion, beat the Gators twice in two tries.

Nephew Arch had a much harder time.

The first half was a defensive clinic for the Gators, limiting the Longhorns to 87 total yards and five first downs.

For the game, Manning would be sacked six times and his 15 rushes essentially were emergency escapes, but he and the Longhorns looked dangerous in the fourth quarter when the Gators became conservative with their play calls. 

But interceptions — one an overthrow under pressure, the second an unanswered prayer — killed Texas momentum until the final minutes.

“I thought he competed his heart out,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Our entire team did. Most people thought we were probably dead and gone. We fought all the way back and had a chance there at the end.”

Lagway Is Good on One Leg

After DJ Lagway helped engineer last year's season-ending winning streak, perhaps no college quarterback (besides Manning) entered 2025 with such high hopes.

And after four games this year, no quarterback left a fan base with so much doubt.

Were the various injuries hurting Lagway? The lack of preseason training?

It's fair to say the extra week of preparation helped Saturday.

Lagway looked decisive. He handled blitzes and converted on third downs. All while playing hurt.

On Florida's second drive, Lagway scrambled to his right to throw the ball away and jumped as if he had stepped on a hot coal. The Gators kicked a field goal for a 10-0 lead. Lagway limped off the field and headed for the examination tent.

In the second half, Lagway wore what looked like a leg-length compression sleeve. Whatever the problem is, there was no effect on his accuracy and ability to run the offense. He directed three more scoring drives and completed 21 of 28 passes for 298 yards.

“It's us against the world,” Lagway said. “That's our mentality.”

"DJ battled through the injury today," Napier said. "He had a little bit of a leg injury that we'll know more about, but in general, I thought he was kind of back in that mode that he was in at the end of the year last year where he was playing immobile and for the most part was a great leader, great teammate, and very effective today."

Where Do the Gators Go from Here?

There will be little rest for Lagway's leg and little time for the Gators' victory celebration.

The schedule offers no relief for Napier and Florida, now 2-3:

• Six SEC games, including next week at No. 6 Texas A&M, plus No. 12 Georgia, No. 4 Ole Miss, and No. 15 Tennessee; and
• the season finale with FSU, currently ranked 18th.

But beating Texas sure felt good.

"Man, you've got to give these kids some credit," Napier said. " That's a football team. It's been a challenge. ... We've handled adversity. Now can we handle a little bit of success? I think that'll be really important."