Florida was on the verge of a dreadful homecoming collapse when Michai Boireau, a 6’5, 349 pound defensive tackle, intercepted Blake Shapen’s pass with 21 seconds left. The Gators hung on to beat Mississippi State 23-21, improving to 3-4 (2-2 SEC) on the 2025 season.

Gator Country provides five early takeaways from Florida’s week eight victory.

How it happened

Florida won the game, but they shouldn’t have been in a position to lose in the first place. There was two plays that stood out to me, neither of which had much, or anything to do with the play on the field, but rather poor play calls and organizational failures.

The Gators took a 19-7 lead with 13:41 to play after KD Daniels’ one yard rushing touchdown. Florida attempted to go for two, as you should in that scenario, but were flagged for 12 men on the field. It’s not the first time Florida has been flagged for too many men on the field in a critical situation under Napier. The Gators ended up kicking the extra point, which nearly costed them the game in regulation.

Florida had a chance to essentially put the game away with a singular first down. The Gators got the ball back leading by six points with just over two minutes to play. After back to back strong runs from sophomore running back Jadan Baugh, Florida inexcusably called a passing play on 3rd and one, resulting in a seven yard sack. The Gators were forced to punt the ball back to Mississippi State, giving the Bulldogs a chance to steal a victory.

It would be one thing if Florida’s running game wasn’t working, but Baugh was having a career day. The standout sophomore had a career high 150 rushing yards on 6.5 yards per carry. 22 of his 23 attempts went for at least one yard. In that scenario, you have to trust your 231 pound running back can find one yard, like he had all game. Instead, Florida called a ‘movement’ pass with Lagway, who Napier admitted last week is limited in the pocket with his lower body injury.

It ended up not costing Florida because Jeff Lebby made a mistake of his own by calling a passing play while already inside field goal range, but the decision making at the end of the game from Florida’s staff was mind boggling.

Run the Baugh

Mississippi State had no answer for sophomore running back Jadan Baugh. Florida came out with a pass heavy offense, but ended up leaning the 231 pound bruiser throughout the game. Baugh ran 23 times for a career high 150 rushing yards on 6.5 yards per carry. Baugh scored one touchdown and had a 60 yard touchdown run called back due to holding. To make his performance even more impressive, Baugh’s longest run of the day was only 19 yards. He was a consistent force in the victory.

Week eight’s contest marked Baugh’s fourth career game with 100+ yards and his third on the season.

Young and inexperienced in the secondary

From the first snap, Florida’s secondary was patchwork. Starting safety Jordan Castell and starting cornerback Cormani McClain didn’t play in the game due to injury. Cornerback Dijon Johnson is already out for the season. During the game, Florida lost starting nickel Sharif Denson and starting cornerback Devin Moore due to injury. This forced Florida to play with an incredibly young and inexperienced secondary.

Lagonza Hayward, Alfonzo Allen Jr., Jamroc Grimsley, J’Vari Flowers, and Ben Hanks III took significant snaps in the contest. That group had combined for 46 snaps this season prior to kickoff.

As you might expect, there was quite a few highs and lows in the secondary. Walk-on safety Alfonzo Allen Jr was a bright spot in his 2025 debut, recording a team high 15 tackles in the start. Freshman safety Lagonza Hayward had some moments, displaying his physicality and athleticism in run defense.

Florida played most of the game with three true freshman and a walk on in the secondary, but Mississippi State couldn’t take advantage of it until late in the game. The Gators recorded five pass break ups; J’Vari Flowers led the way with two.

Trey Smack

Florida doesn’t win this game without the effort from senior kicker Trey Smack. The Maryland native drilled all three of his field goals, two of which were from 50+ yards. After back to back penalties made the field goal a lot harder than it had to be, Smack buried a clutch 53 yard field goal to put Florida up nine with 6:49 to play. That ended up being the difference in the game.

Smack now has eight field goals of 50+ yards in his Gators’ career and holds four of the top 10 longest field goals in Florida football history.

Smack has not missed a field goal since missing three in week one vs. LIU. He’s now 12-15 (80%) on the season including 3-4 from 50+ yards. Smack will be a strong candidate for SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

It should still be over

Mississippi State hasn’t won a conference game in two years. This win shouldn’t move the needle for anybody. With a bye week on deck, now is the time to make head coaching change.