October 4, 2025 | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL | Attendance: 90,714 | TV: ESPN
Four weeks before this game, Dallas Wilson was in a walking boot. On October 4, 2025, he walked off the field in Gainesville holding every single-game receiving record in Florida Gators history — in his first college appearance. That was the story of the day as the Florida Gators knocked off No. 9 Texas 29-21 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, handing Steve Sarkisian his first loss in 18 games as a top-10 team against an unranked opponent.
The Longhorns came in as 5.5-point favorites, ranked ninth nationally, and entering Gainesville for the first time since 1940. They left with their second loss of the 2025 season and a 3-2 record to start SEC play.
Table of Contents
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Time | Score (TEX–FLA) | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 7:58 | 0–7 | Jadan Baugh 5-yd run (Smack kick) |
| 1st | 1:00 | 0–10 | Trey Smack 34-yd FG |
| 2nd | 9:55 | 7–10 | Quintrevion Wisner 6-yd pass from Manning (Shipley kick) |
| 2nd | 4:55 | 7–17 | Dallas Wilson 13-yd pass from Lagway (Smack kick) |
| 2nd | 3:52 | 7–19 | Safety — Taylor Spierto blocked punt out of end zone |
| 3rd | 5:37 | 7–22 | Trey Smack 38-yd FG |
| 3rd | 2:43 | 14–22 | Ryan Wingo 38-yd pass from Manning (Shipley kick) |
| 3rd | 0:38 | 14–29 | Dallas Wilson 55-yd pass from Lagway (Smack kick) |
| 4th | 3:20 | 21–29 | Quintrevion Wisner 1-yd run (Shipley kick) |
Dallas Wilson, First Game of His Career
The Tampa native had 10 catches for 195 yards in Florida’s spring game back in April. Then he hurt his foot in preseason camp and missed the entire first month of the season. When he finally got back to practice during the Gators’ bye week, Florida was 1-3 and had scored a combined 33 points across its last three games.
What happened on Saturday afternoon was not what anyone outside the Florida locker room saw coming.
Wilson’s first career catch ended in a fumble he recovered himself. Two hours later, he finished with 6 receptions, 111 yards, and 2 touchdowns — all single-game records for a freshman receiver at Florida.
The 55-yard score in the third quarter was the best individual play seen at The Swamp in years. Wilson caught a pass at the Texas 37, beat cornerback Kobe Black off the line, spun out of safety Jelani McDonald’s first tackle attempt, stayed inbounds along the sideline, broke through McDonald’s second attempt, and then ran through safety Michael Taaffe at the goal line.
“He’s a specimen,” DJ Lagway said postgame.
Wilson also had a leaping, toe-drag catch near the sideline for 18 yards that set up his 13-yard scoring grab two plays later in the second quarter. Both touchdowns came on throws from Lagway, and both came at moments when Florida needed a score.
Florida Offense — Full Stats
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJ Lagway | 21/28 | 298 | 10.6 | 2 | 1 | 94.0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jadan Baugh | 27 | 107 | 4.0 | 1 | 16 |
| Duke Clark | 9 | 38 | 4.2 | 0 | 11 |
| Vernell Brown III | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Team | 37 | 159 | 4.3 | 1 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Wilson | 6 | 111 | 18.5 | 2 | 55 |
| Vernell Brown III | 3 | 72 | 24.0 | 0 | 60 |
| J. Michael Sturdivant | 2 | 42 | 21.0 | 0 | 23 |
| Hayden Hansen | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Aidan Mizell | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 | 9 |
| Jadan Baugh | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 0 | 10 |
| Tony Livingston | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Team | 21 | 298 | 14.2 | 2 | 60 |
Lagway had gone into this game with five touchdowns and six interceptions on the season, including a five-pick night at LSU. On Saturday, completing 75% of his passes against a Texas defense ranked fourth nationally in total yards allowed (211.0 per game), he looked like a completely different quarterback. Running back Jadan Baugh carried a career-high 27 times for 107 yards — important context given that backup Ja’Kobi Jackson was out with an injury, and Duke Clark stepped in as the second option. Florida gained 159 rushing yards against a unit that had allowed just 59.8 per game through four weeks.
“That’s the football team I thought we had in the very beginning,” head coach Billy Napier said.
Arch Manning and the Texas Offense
Texas came in averaging 438 yards and 31.8 points per game. Against Florida’s defense, the Longhorns managed 341 total yards, 52 on the ground, and turned the ball over twice. Arch Manning was sacked six times. Florida had three sacks in the four games leading up to this one.
Manning completed 16 of 29 passes for 263 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also ran 15 times for 37 yards, meaning a significant chunk of his rushing production came from scrambles while under pressure. A second-quarter double-pass play — a lateral to Ryan Wingo who then badly overthrew an open Jack Endries in the middle of the field — summed up Texas’s afternoon.
“I thought he competed his heart out,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to get tighter than we’ve ever been.”
Texas Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch Manning | 16/29 | 263 | 9.1 | 2 | 2 | 70.5 |
| Matthew Caldwell | 1/1 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
| Ryan Wingo | 0/1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Texas Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch Manning | 15 | 37 | 2.5 | 0 | 36 |
| Quintrevion Wisner | 8 | 11 | 1.4 | 1 | 6 |
| Ryan Niblett | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 3 |
| Christian Clark | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 26 | 52 | 2.0 | 1 | 36 |
Texas Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeAndre Moore Jr. | 3 | 75 | 25.0 | 0 | 42 |
| Ryan Wingo | 4 | 73 | 18.3 | 1 | 38 |
| Parker Livingstone | 2 | 47 | 23.5 | 0 | 33 |
| Emmett Mosley V | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 0 | 22 |
| Daylan McCutcheon | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Quintrevion Wisner | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 1 | 11 |
| Christian Clark | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Jack Endries | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team | 17 | 289 | 17.0 | 2 | 42 |
Florida Defense Takes Over
Six sacks from six different players. That was the signature of Florida’s defensive performance — spread across the front seven and secondary, not one dominant rusher doing the work alone.
Florida sacks:
- Brien Taylor Jr. — 1.5
- Devin Moore — 1.0
- George Gumbs Jr. — 1.0 (including the final play of the game)
- Michai Boireau — 1.0
- Kamran James — 0.5
- Jaden Robinson — 0.5
- Jayden Woods — 0.5
Cornerback Devin Moore added an interception alongside his sack. Safety Jordan Castell also picked off Manning. The Gators converted 7 of 14 third-down opportunities after going 0-for-13 at Miami the week prior.
“When a D-line takes over the game like they did today, it makes our job as DBs easier,” Moore said.
Florida Defense
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyreak Sapp | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Bryce Thornton | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Myles Graham | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin Moore | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Sharif Denson | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaden Robinson | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Cormani McClain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brien Taylor Jr. | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Jayden Woods | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Aaron Chiles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michai Boireau | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Kamran James | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Jordan Castell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Gumbs Jr. | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Knijeah Harris | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeramiah McCloud | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 50 | 24 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 3 |
Texas Defense
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Hill Jr. | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graceson Littleton | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jelani McDonald | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Taaffe | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ty’Anthony Smith | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Hero Kanu | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaylon Guilbeau | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liona Lefau | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Simmons | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Kade Phillips | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maraad Watson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Filsaime | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Brevard | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trey Moore | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Zina Umeozulu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lance Jackson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Niblett | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emmett Mosley V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Shaw | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Burke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex January | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 87 | 27 | 0 | 3.0 | 2 |
Full Team Stats
| Category | Texas | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 21 | 29 |
| Total Yards | 341 | 457 |
| Passing Yards | 289 | 298 |
| Rushing Yards | 52 | 159 |
| Comp/Att | 17/32 | 21/28 |
| Yards Per Pass | 9.0 | 10.6 |
| Yards Per Rush | 2.0 | 4.3 |
| 1st Downs | 16 | 22 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 3/11 (27%) | 7/14 (50%) |
| 4th Down Efficiency | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 1 |
| INTs Thrown | 2 | 1 |
| Sacks Allowed | 6 | 0 |
| Penalties | 10 for 70 yds | 7 for 50 yds |
| Time of Possession | 25:53 | 34:07 |
Full Box Score — Special Teams
Kicking
| Team | Player | FG | PCT | LG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Trey Smack | 2/2 | 100% | 38 | 3/3 | 9 |
| Texas | Mason Shipley | 0/0 | — | — | 3/3 | 3 |
Punting
| Team | Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Tommy Doman | 5 | 195 | 39.0 | 0 | 2 | 51 |
| Texas | Jack Bouwmeester | 5 | 236 | 47.2 | 3 | 0 | 62 |
Kick Returns
| Team | Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Vernell Brown III | 4 | 52 | 13.0 | 21 | 0 |
Punt Returns
| Team | Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Ryan Niblett | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Florida | Vernell Brown III | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Florida | Taylor Spierto | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Interceptions
| Team | Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Jordan Castell | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Florida | Devin Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | Michael Taaffe | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fumbles
| Team | Player | FUM | LOST | REC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Hayden Hansen | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Florida | Dallas Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 |
There is a version of this Florida program that was two years from genuinely competing for SEC titles. On October 4, 2025, inside a stadium that had been quiet all season, that version showed up — the defense suffocating a top-10 offense, the running game grinding, a freshman receiver making plays that veterans in the program had never pulled off. Billy Napier had spent three months of the 2025 season trying to prove his rebuild had a pulse. Against the Texas Longhorns, the Gators finally answered that question with football instead of words.
Stats sourced from ESPN, Associated Press, and FloridaGators.com.
