Baylor is expected to be without DJ Lagway again this weekend, with Pete Thamel reporting that the Florida quarterback transfer is “doubtful” for Saturday’s home game against Louisiana Tech.
That would make it two straight missed games for Lagway, who injured his ankle in Baylor’s 17-16 loss to Auburn in Atlanta. Nate Bennett is lined up to start once more after stepping in last week and helping the Bears roll past Prairie View A&M, 44-3.
Bennett’s first start of the season came with plenty of production. The junior backup threw for 314 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Prairie View A&M managed just 110 total yards.
Lagway arrived in the Big 12 after leaving the SEC for Baylor, and he opened the year with real buzz around him as a possible Heisman contender. Over his first two seasons at Florida, he threw for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns.
The setback is a rough one for Lagway after he put together a 333-yard debut in Atlanta earlier this month. He kept playing after suffering the injury against Auburn, and Baylor’s medical staff now has to decide how quickly it wants to push him back. Dave Aranda called it an “ankle sprain,” according to SicEm365.
For Baylor, the absence of Lagway doesn’t have to send the season off course. Bennett has already shown he can run the offense, and the Bears may benefit from getting him more live reps in case they need him again later.
Baylor opens as a 17.5-point favorite against Louisiana Tech, which is coming off a 45-15 loss to LSU. The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Blake Baker.
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Floridas SEC Opener Just Got Complicated For Two Key Newcomers
Floridas SEC opener against Auburn already had the feel of an early measuring-stick game, and now the availability of two key newcomers has become part of the buildup. Wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo are both listed as questionable after sustaining lower leg injuries in their season debut, leaving the Gators to sort through a few important lineup decisions before the conference schedule gets rolling.
Jon Sumrall has made it clear the priority is not rushing either player back too soon, even with the stakes rising in league play. Florida will have to balance immediate need against the longer view here, and Auburn is dealing with its own injury questions as well, with one player out and two more listed as questionable for the game. [Read more 🡒]
Former Florida QB Recruit Is Forcing Fans To Revisit His Journey
Marcus Stokes is back in the conversation for all the wrong and right reasons, and Florida fans have a reason to revisit a recruitment saga that once looked like it could have shaped the program's future. The former four-star quarterback and Elite 11 finalist lost his scholarship offer from Florida after a video surfaced showing him using a racial slur in song lyrics, then rebuilt his career the hard way at Division II West Florida, where he developed into a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist before moving on again.
Now at Memphis, Stokes has emerged as the starting quarterback and opened the season with a strong stretch through the Tigers first three games, completing 44 of 66 passes for 795 yards and five touchdowns. For Florida, the storyline is less about what might have been and more about how a once-canceled recruiting name has found a path back into major-college football, leaving Gators followers to reckon with the long, uneven road that brought him here. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Resource Gap Just Became A Real SEC Concern
Floridas place in the SEC resource race is starting to look a lot more like a measurable problem than a vague talking point. A survey by The Athletic of more than 70 insiders estimated the Gators 2026 football roster funding at between $31 million and $41 million, a figure that puts them seventh in the league and 15th nationally. For a program trying to keep pace in the modern SEC, that kind of gap matters because the money behind the roster is now part of the competitive baseline, alongside coaching and development.
Jon Sumrall and athletic director Scott Stricklin have both acknowledged that reality, stressing that elite coaching only goes so far without the resources to match it. The estimate folds in athletic department revenue, booster support and other funding sources, but not player endorsements, which makes it a useful snapshot of where Florida stands even if the full picture continues to shift. The broader concern is less about one years number than what it says about how hard the Gators will have to work to stay in the leagues top tier. [Read more 🡒]