Florida Gators DESPERATELY need to build momentum against Samford

tonight on the in all kinds of weather forecast freshman and former five-star quarterback DJ lagway will get his first start in the swamp we preview the sford game tonight and what the gator got to do to bounce back from the Miami loss this is the in allins weather forcast and welcome in to another episode of in all kinds weather forecast I am your host Chris y alongside my co-host Neil Schulman here in the heart of Gator Nation where I can assure you basements do not exist tonight we are excited to talk about the Sanford game and the first start of freshman quarterback DJ lagway a start many didn't anticipate to happen so quickly I think but it certainly is a good opportunity to hopefully see a glimpse in the future of Gator football but speaking of Futures Neil let's talk about sponsor 401K generation the wealth management company that helps you invest today for your future tomorrow their team of advisers is committed to providing guidance and education for your 401k plan and its participants and they offer a range of enrollment Solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of your company's 401k plan whether it's saving for your college your child's College investment advice or even your retirement 401K generation's team of advisers makes getting to know you their top priority their advisers will will tailor a path to assist you in navigating life's Financial milestones and reaching your financial goals 401K generation building stronger Futures one generation at a time for more information contact them at 866998 5879 or visit their website at 401k generation.com and we are very excited of course to have 41k generation as our sponsor and excited to talk about hopefully one of the Gator wins this season against the Sanford Bulldogs the Gators come into this game reeling from the Miami Hurricanes Fallout and the loss of that and everything that has transpired throughout the week coming into the game the Gators there is not a line on this game as Vegas doesn't have any lines to for it but they are a 97.8% chance according to ESPN fpi to win the game this is of course the second time they will have met in Four Seasons it is the fourth alltime meeting between Florida and sford and the Gators of course met in 2021 winning a barn burner 70- 52 where emry Jones set a School record in passing because that is the effort that was needed toward the end of the Dan Mullen era hopefully that will not be the needed in this matchup they are of course coached by Chris Hatcher who has a career record of 178 wins to 101 in the socon conference and of course Billy Napier looking to try to get back closer to 500 as he has had one heck of a week Neil so let's start there The Fallout of Billy apier over his comments over the last week before we that happened of course after we recorded the Miami show uh and he in his press conference on Monday basically said that the fans uh should stop hiding behind their keyboards in basements in North Central Florida where of course rural Central Florida was it sorry rural Central Florida but whether it's rural urban Beach wherever you are in the state of Florida there are no basements here so he certainly got a lot of flack not just from Gator Nation but all of the national media so just would like to ask you I mean Neil when you make a comment like that I've seen this movie before it typically results in that coach leaving the school I mean it's not anywhere close to the Jim mne there have been death threats against my family types of comments but he didn't lie you you can't do that you you can't and and to be completely Fair Billy Napier did clarify which to me means apologize without actually apologizing but I mean regardless to me that's all immaterial it's it's the same stuff that I I ran through in that in that Miami postgame show all the stats I talked about not just 11 and 15 record but one and eight against Rivals he's lost his last three games in the swamp which is more losses in his last three games that he's coached in this venue then Urban Meyer lost in half a decade that's the stuff that I care about that's the stuff that I think is what's irked the booster base I don't think that they like the comment that he made I think it's a sign of him potenti cracking I don't think that's going to hold anywhere near as much weight with them as all those statistics I ran through and just the general frustration of watching Miami beat you down on your home field after you as Billy Napier and Mario Christal were hired barely a week apart and The rosters that each of those respective men now puts on the field is as clear of an indication of what they can do with their respective programs as are ever going to get so it's not good it doesn't sound good it doesn't make Gator fans feel good specifically after watching that performance but I mean the the real issues should be the real issues and should remain on the forefronts of Gator fans mind this product just sucks plain and simple and that should be the focus yeah it's unacceptable we've talked about it at nauseum the last episode we've talked about how we need to get back to the standard uh what is expected at the University of Florida and that's winning championships and certainly you know I think this is a opportunity at least to give Gator fans potentially a glimpse into the future with five-star freshman quarterback DJ lagway getting his first start he did some things against Miami that certainly you know I think got the fan base excited he had the nice long scramble on Third and long that almost resulted in a touchdown he's gonna I I have no doubt he'll carve up sford sford was is now 0 and one they dropped their first game 38 to 29 against West Georgia so Florida will take care of business this Saturday I have no doubt of that and if and if they do somehow by the grace of God lose his game or are in a dog fight in the fourth quarter Billy Napier might as well pack his office the next day but DJ lagway will get this start I think Gator fans are excited to see this but Neil I do want to talk about the fact that I think this is potentially the recipe for a quarterback controversy very eerily similar to that of Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson two seasons ago where let's say and look I I think we believe this is going to happen DJ lagway balls out against a much more inferior opponent the following week grah Merz is healthy good to go he's cleared concussion protocol he plays and starts against Texas A&M and the first half looks somewhat maybe similar to the Miami game where Florida struggling they can't put the points up on the board and then the fan base is calling for the Freshman quarterback after his performance the weekend before and the fact that look he is the future of the program so what do you make of that potential situation coming out of the game and I'll even take it a step further should Billy Napier consider riding DJ lagway given the Dire Straits that he is in now in his coaching tenure yeah I think I think the second part of that question is probably easier to answer first first if you're bilon apier I I said this in a kind of smart aliy way on on an interview I did with infinity sports radio with my friend Mark Ryan our friend Mark Ryan but I said shout Mark Ryan yeah love love Mark Ryan now in Detroit he's thriving living the life there that's great for him happy for him but if you're really aier I'm not worried about down the road I'm not worried about Kentucky or let alone Georgia or Texas or LSU I'm not worried about Central Florida Mississippi State or Texas amm I'm worried about beating Sanford because and don't laugh at that because last year Florida played a much closer game against a horrible Charlotte team than they ever should have and two years ago in his third ever game Florida almost lost to a South Florida team that was a perfect 0 and 11 against FBS teams that year so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here there is there there is a precedent that Billy Napier's Gator program has set at playing way down to the level of competition not to mention of course the loss to Vanderbilt two years ago now Sanford is way worse than Vanderbilt who in turn is way worse than Florida so the talent disparity I would say is not just a great talent disparity like you say between Florida and Vanderbilt it is a stratospheric one it is an Intergalactic gap between Florida and Samford so that shouldn't happen here but if you're Billy you got to have something and you got to have anything you can get your hands on to go right to go well to make people feel even the slightest bit less awful about the direction of the program now as far as DJ lagway well Billy you kind of need to win back some fans right now and I'm not talking about the fans in their rural Central Florida basements I'm talking about the ones with money the ones who can the ones who do pay your salary really and the ones who can just as easily have you fired by saying here here's $25.6 million get out so you've got to do something to appease them at this point and it feels like DJ lagway is the way to go in that sense now the quarterback controversy is different than the one that I think really different than any of the ones we saw previously in the last decade or so um I mean it's different then you can go all the way back to the the so-called threebow situation with Jordan Reed Trey Burton and John brenley is probably the closest thing to a comparison the first time I've ever heard called that that's hilarious yeah I've never that three that before that's pretty good I like that that's first time maybe since I've been here but that's that's a good one yeah thanks um well yeah because you have three guys to do the skills of one guy but point being and Merz are as we all know very very different in sty as a quarterback and the the appeal for lagway for me right now is if the offensive line isn't going to do its job the right side specifically if if they're just not gonna do their job you may as well have someone that can run away from it because if you use a guy who's intelligent who's gritty and he throws accurate passes but can't run away from it he's going to be in trouble like physical injury trouble like we saw happen in that Miami game so I you know and again the other side of that of course could be you could you could shoot DJ lag's confidence and just ruin him by throwing him in the fire before he's ready so I get that side of it too it will be a controversy but I would tend to ride with with LA uh yeah with lague over Merz assuming the offensive line doesn't magically get fixed in the next two weeks simply because he added that element to the offense I think important to note there there was an update to the depth chart in addition to the fact that DJ lagway is the starter this week and that is Britney crall Dixon was I mean it is an or but is now listed as an or with Cam weights as before last week cam weights was the outright starter at the right tackle position Damen George still listed as the starter at Right Guard with an or for cam weight so kind of interesting how they're sort of working cam weights and cam weights when he was recruited to Florida was not recruited to play tackle he was recruited to play interior offensive line at the position so it's kind of another situation where squ Peg round hole like Damen George playing out of position at the right tackle spot and now they're going to bring in the transfer brenon crenchaw Dixon who they intended to play at that position but I agree I mean he definitely adds an element to the offense that certainly isn't there when gr Merz is at the helm and that's not to say the offense can't work it worked last year with gr Merz he threw nearly 3,000 yards he had 20 touchdown passes to three interceptions but the reality is right now Billy Napier's back is up against the wall and he's got in my mind a 1% chance of that to last year pass this season at Florida I mean I think there's a better statistical odds that sford wins the game Saturday than Billy Napier stays at Florida I'll go as far and say that so I think at this stage I see a quarterback controversy potentially Brewing that is similar to what happened with Anthony Richardson and emry Jones two years ago and we all know how that ended it really led to the ultimate demise of Dan Mullen in addition to the fact that the man didn't want to recruit and the one failure that he did successfully recruit who was better he didn't start him and he was notoriously known for not starting his better athletes over the senior lated ones whereas Napier has shown an affinity to play freshman early and if you look at the depth chart even more so look at the fact that TJ Abrams and tank Hawkins now are making the two and three deep at the receiver spot they didn't make that last week so that's an update to the roster that wasn't there before Amir Jackson is listed as the backup behind Arles Bingham at that other tight end spot in addition to Hayden Hansen at the other tight end because we play the the 12 personnel which that's how they list the dep chart out but I think that Napier Napier's got to have a hill Mar here an Ace in the Hole if you will and DJ lag is that and I love Graham Merz if it works out that he comes I'm going to root for him to come out against Texas A&M ball out win that game for us because ultimately we're going to root for the Gators we're not rooting for l so Billy Napier gets fired faster or we get to DJ lagway faster that's not what this is about we're basically just saying and come in realizing the realities of the situation in which we're in right now I mean it's always about supporting the players like I I mean Chris and I are in the same page here we want Napier fired we want Scott Strickland fired we want a lot of other people in those buildings fired we support the players as all right I'll say we're going to the game Saturday we we're driving hours game several hours to go down to that game the only the one and only condition I ever put on the phrase in all kinds of weather is as long as the players try which sounds like a very Elementary School participation trophy thing to say but there there were some plays that we saw on that game film against Miami where guys were were loafing where they were just the interception comes to mind um Jake Slaughter hustling trying his best to make all right he didn't make the tackle on the guy but at least he's giving effort you've got screw it we'll call him out it's game tape we're talking football we got cam weights just jogging like he doesn't have a care in the world Damien George same thing just like yeah whatever interception n he can score a touchdown I don't care I I'm not very happy with those guys right now the tape is what's telling me they don't with that they don't care everyone else on that rock until I see a reason to believe otherwise is putting in their Blood Sweat and Tears they are getting they know they are all getting up at 5:30 in the morning to do these these lifts um to do the stadium set they've done them all offseason I respect that that takes a lot of commitment and physical uncomfortability within their body and mental probably I'm sure too at times so they've got my unconditional support the coaching staff the administration no no no support whatsoever but there is a distinction between those two let's not lump them in together absolutely did I on that and and in regard to kind of the coaching staff the administration the the administration were mad at because they have now for years not provided the re adequate resources or been truly serious about being an elite winning football program that results in winning championships and what the coaching staff were mad at the fact that Billy Napier didn't make the necessary moves over the last few seasons to win more games to look at changing his offense to hire an actual offensive coordinator he finally came around and fix the special team seemingly in one game we'll see if it lasts for the rest of the season but those are the reasons why we are out on them because they've had their chances to fix it they haven't and now it's time for new leadership to hire a new coach bottom line all right sford Billy or DJ lagway let's analyze this game just a little bit what are we looking for at a DJ lague what are we looking for out of this team specifically in this game that could instill just a fraction of confidence going into the SEC opener the following Saturday I mean for me I'm looking for DJ lagway to prove what I think currently exists in his head which is the ability to realize that you can't have a Heisman type play every single play I think there there was an expression um from a I don't know if it was um I don't know if it was greasy or someone uh Steve Levy it might have been who said in for the 2019 Florida Kentucky football game there before the terrible thing happened to Felipe Franks they were talking about his development in his offseason before the 2019 season and the quote that Steve Levy said that he got was you don't have to be Superman sometimes just be Clark Kent just run for three yards when it's there step out of bounds don't lower your shoulder and try to take on a 300lb defensive lineman just do what's there don't try too hard and risk an injury to yourself because I think at this point Gator fans realize well we've been talking about two quarterbacks all offseason there's not really a whole lot behind them so if lague gets hurt and merch is hurt that then there's a big problem but anyway lague has to understand that he can't have a 100 yard touchdown runs or throws every single Play Take what the defense gives you don't try to outdo anybody don't try to throw the ball 100,000 miles an hour don't try to throw the ball through someone don't try to I if if you don't have the angle maybe just step out of bounds don't try to lower your shoulder and run through someone there just do what's there don't try too hard Don't force a ball into triple coverage don't throw late down the middle thinking that oh you'll just throw it over everyone's head or you'll just throw it through the defense and even though you committed the cardinal sin of throwing late down the middle they'll somehow miss it and it'll go right to TJ Abrams or tank Hawkins and it'll work out okay no because even if it does against sford I guarantee it won't against SEC defenses the likes of which you just talked about so I'd like to see that lague is capable of doing that in a football game at the college level we've seen him do these things at the high school level but as we know it's a big step up from Willis High School in Texas to the University of Florida yeah no I I love that and I I think is just as a team I want to see these guys bounce back and encouraging each other on the field too like the at what's the attitude look like after a week of just a miserable week there's no doubt about it and hopefully they've had a good week of practice hopefully that they're getting back in the right mindset I do think the younger players are very excited to see DJ lagway start this game and that I think it's going to bring an energy that wasn't going to be there if they had played Graham Merz now that's not meaning Graham Merz can't lead the team that's just saying I think there's there's a a younger faction of the team that is excited to see him start this game and I think they're going to play really well around him so I'm expecting a big game from guys that we haven't seen before I I wouldn't be shocked if we see a guy like Aden Isel have kind of a breakout performance this week maybe uh even a Marcus Burke or one of those freshman rde receivers that I mentioned before TJ Abrams or or tank Hawkins somebody that's a little bit younger that hasn't necessarily put up the big stats yet I think is going to have a big game this Saturday because they're excited to play around the younger quarterback and and get help the fans get excited about the future like I mentioned before defensively though I I want to see a shut out I would love to see a shut out this is a team we should shut out we almost shut out MCN State last year we should have shut them out if it weren't for a turnover late in that game I want to see a shut out in this game I I I would love to see the gator put up at least a 50 burger and put and and keep his goose egg on the board for Sanford you had a awful performance against Miami you've got to get something to get your confidence back before Texas A&M comes to town and look I think looking ahead to that matchup there's going to be opportunities for Florida Conor Wegman is definitely not cam Ward not even close he's half the athlete that he is he certainly has good arm strength but he's not he's not going to be that guy that's gonna get out of the pocket and make plays with his legs and extend plays so get ready get your defense ready for that mindset that matchup where you're going to be able to get to the quarterback and have an impact on the game so I'm looking for the defense to rack up sacks get some turnovers give the offense some short Fields get lots of repetitions in this game for practice because you've got to get ready for the gauntlet ahead which is now you're an SEC play you've got Texas A&M then you go on the road and play Mississippi State and then you get into October and it just gets harder and harder and harder from there so you've got to regain some semblance of confidence in this matchup all right Neil I think it's time for final verdict so let's let's get your quick keys to the game percentage chance to win and a final score I mean I don't want to overlook this game just because I mean well I mean forgetting what happened the last time Stanford was here because that's that's a very different team Liam Welch has gone Montreal Washington is gone pretty much everyone is gone I think except for I think maybe their Nickelback and one of their backup like third string wide receivers everyone else on that team has gone so let's not act like that's going but again the USF game two years ago and the Charlotte game last year terrify me especially after a showing like you had last week against Miami this team just has to show up and show that they're truly regretting what happened last week because you know we heard the sound bites after the game Justice Boon goes on the mic and says yeah this game will not Define us and and me listening to that I just go okay cool great whatever show me show it to me let's see what I mean one of one of the many things I say all the time Chris I need evidence I need some data to show it to me so I have reason to believe I'm not going to buy into the Blind Faith nonsense anymore I need to see results to believe so let's see a team that's angry let's see a team forget winning the game I think that I think if flid does show up if they check that one single box they'll win the game comfortably but if you wanted a key that's it but beyond that if we're talking about something that's going to inspire confidence in us let's see a team that's pissed let's see a team that is harassing their quarterback of Quincy critton let's see a team that really creates some push in the trenches on both sides of the trenches really let's see a team that gives DJ lagway time to throw that that clears lanes for by the way shout out again Montreal Johnson coming back off an injury to just outrun Miami's defense like that um give him some room to run make this an easy game for him don't don't leave it up to chance that he keeps having to face contact behind or close to the line of scrimmage open up some some runways for him let him go and do his thing so take care of business show up treat this game seriously don't overlook them and I think the rest will take care of itself all right my key to the game is fast start and remain consistent through halftime at least get a big lead by halftime I want to see at least five touchdowns 30 some points by halftime this is a team you should get up on early are you talking about a key to win the game or just the key to inspire confidence for A&M I guess I guess that's a key yeah that that's I guess that's sort of what I was asking I I I want to just see us get up on these guys and have a huge first half with the starters by the second half you you're you're truly playing the guys you just recruited in the last recruiting class you know this is the this is their one game where they you know they I guess they burn toward the red shirt whatever it may be but that that that's what I'm looking for is a is a really fast start and that puts up points on the board quickly lights up the scoreboard and I think that's what's going to inspire confidence a key of the game is you know I don't know don't get in a shootout don't get in a shootout like we did four three you know four years ago in 2021 I don't know I mean a shootout is probably not good for this team everybody just play defense just period yeah play defense tackle don't try to jump routes if you don't have the opportunity just do your fundamental things stay within yourself and don't let anyone get behind you for an open touch and dominate the line of scrimmage I mean this is the team we should dominate the line of scrimmage with and you know you once again get some confidence back get some confidence back after a a demoralizing loss where we were just beat to hell at the line of scrimmage all right percentage chance to win and your final score I'll go 94 I think there is a small chance that Florida just comes out and plays dead but I mean just think about what I'm saying too 94% chance to win is a pretty good likelihood that Florida's going to win the game so I'm not calling for an upset I'm not putting Florida on upset alert but there is a nonzero chance again after the Charlotte game last year and the south Florida game two years ago I will also point out that at least those were FBS teams pretty terrible FBS teams but they were FBS teams and Florida did demolish the FCS teams they played the last two years in Eastern Washington and MCN point being I'm not overlooking anybody at this point so 94% chance a a very strong likelihood the Gators win um score I'll say say 48-4 I think Sanford scores on our backups at the end um much I mean much like MCN did because Eddie battle fumbled in his own territory and gave them a short field so I think this game plays out as maybe like it's it's 28 nothing at halftime and then Florida scores on the first drive of the third quarter and it's 35 nothing and then Billy says all right we're we're calling the dogs off and then the backups play from there so 4814 is my score prediction all right I'm gonna I'm gonna I said earlier in the podcast that I thought that sord had a better chance at beating Florida then Billy Napier will stay at Florida and I said it was 1% for Napier I'm gonna say saford has a 2% chance to win so therefore the Gators I'm saying have a 98% chance to win this game lower than what my inseason prediction was I'm pretty sure I had at like 99.9 was a lot more confident going preseason prediction you mean preseason you're right your in season prediction is 98 you're yeah okay yes correct and my final score prediction is 45 to7 I just don't see any evidence that Billy na is going to give me what I want maybe he'll give me that 35 nothing score at halftime that I'm looking for but like I agree we're going to call the dogs off we're not going to score as many points as we could have that's why I don't think we're going to get the 50 burger that I want and I also see foresee them getting hitting a big play with with Quincy KRON and and they they'll score one touchdown so that would make it 457 so that's what I'm going with 457 the gator get a win a win we should have a score that will look somewhat respectable but probably there'll be a lot left to be desired just knowing how things have played out in bilon neighbor's tenure thus far it won't be what um Alabama or Mississippi or Texas Etc ET Etc did the last weekend 76 nothing for Old Miss 63 nothing for Alabama can't remember what Texas did but it was something very similar 52 nothing I saw I that was the final but it was it was a beating it was a good beating and that was against Colorado State yeah right exactly not Sanford must be nice must be nice one day one day we'll get back there yep I agree and that's why we're here at the in All Kinds by the forecast to bring you the good bad and ugly so please so you can follow along through all of that make sure you are subscrib down below hit that subscribe button like this show leave us a comment down below give us your predictions for this game a score and what you think will happen with DJ lagway in his first start and if you're on listening on all of our audio platforms please rate and review the show it helps Gator us bring Gator Nation more great content one more thing before we sign off let's let's get a little PLL or a little opinion going from y'all plus or minus 299 a half yards DJ lagway is responsible for no I take the over through through the air sorry that that he throws for not not on the ground oh you're asking if he throws for over 300 yards or not yeah I'm gonna say no and the only reason I'm going to say no is because I think we get up and we call the dogss off we run the ball a lot too with Montreal Johnson and the other running backs yeah so I should I should have say stated that differently plus or minus 299 and a half passing yards not on the yeah I'm I'm taking the under yeah I'll I'll take the under two but for the same reason you did I think I think I think if sford is scoring points like they did in 2021 which will create a whole different set of problems but if they do or if Billy AER just wants to be ruthless against Samford for whatever reason I think he could name the number of yards he has if he wanted to yeah we'll see all right guys thanks for tuning in another episode of the all kinds weather forecast Dustin and I will be dropping an episode to release his model so please be on the lookout for that that'll probably drop later this week and make sure you tune in early next week as we recap this Sanford game thank you all once again for tuning in to the all kinds of weather forecast go Gators and beat Sanford [Music]