A new late-season ranking from ESPN's Bill Connelly says that Florida's DJ Lagway is the 55th best quarterback among all Power Four teams. It's a hard number to swallow given preseason expectations, but it's also one that Gator fans aren't likely to argue.

Lagway's struggles following an undisclosed offseason injury have been well documented. Lagway getting benched in the second half against Kentucky last week speaks to how poorly the season has gone for a quarterback many thought would be one of the best in the country in 2025.

At No. 55 (out of 68), Lagway is the second lowest ranked quarterback in the SEC. He is only ahead of Missouri's Matt Zollers (58th), who has played less than two games and took over after starting QB Beau Pribula was hurt mid-game.

The ranking is subjective, to be sure. However, Connelly is well known in college football for his incredible analytics and statistical analysis. With a mixture of eye test and hard numbers, his observations are typically as close anyone's to the truth.

In this case, it's hard to argue with the raw numbers he laid out:

"You know it's a lost season when your passes don't really go anywhere (10.3 yards per completion, 116th nationally), but you're still near the bottom in interception rate (4.5%, 129th) and you're taking plenty of sacks (5.0% sack rate, 61st). Lagway was excellent in the upset of Texas, but his Total QBR has sunk back to 56.2 since then."

So far in 2025, Lagway is 171-of-265 passing for 1,762 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 12 interceptions are the most in the country. He also has 138 rush yards, not counting sacks.

Despite his struggles, interim Florida head coach Billy Gonzales is standing by Lagway. Gonzales didn't close the door on a quarterback change eventually happening, but Lagway went into Monday practices as the first-team QB.

Gonzales likened Lagway's benching over the weekend to an MLB ace getting pulled during a rough outing.

“I said, ‘You’ve got an amazing amount of talent. You’re a great quarterback,’” Gonzales recalled. “In Major League Baseball, if a pitcher is struggling, what do you do? You get the next guy in. It doesn’t mean that he’s not a great pitcher. It just means it wasn’t his day.”

Florida plays at Ole Miss this Saturday at 7 p.m.

HISTORIC LOW: Saturday's loss to Kentucky marked a 74-year low for the Florida football program. READ MORE

DEFIANT AFTER LOSS: Following the loss, Billy Gonzales and his players struck a defiant tone, vowing to do better going forward. READ MORE