Florida, Texas A&M set to resume game at 5:17 p.m. following weather delay
Florida and Texas A&M are tentatively scheduled to restart at 5:17 p.m. ET following a weather delay for lightning on Saturday afternoon.
The game stopped between the first and second quarters after lightning struck in the vicinity of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
At the time of the stoppage, Florida was in the middle of a drive with freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, his first appearance of the game. Fans were juiced when Lagway entered the game, replacing starting quarterback Graham Mertz at least temporarily in the game.
The bad news?
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Florida trailed 10-0 at the time after two methodical Texas A&M drives against the team’s defense. The Aggies sported a 174-8 advantage in total yardage through the opening quarter.
To that end, the Gators will need Lagway to be as electric as he’s capable of being. That is, if he’s the guy that coach Billy Napier intends to go with for the rest of the game. That is far from a guarantee.
Napier was coy with his quarterback decision going into the game, following a concussion for Mertz that sidelined him for the previous week’s contest. But with Mertz cleared, the Gators went right back to him.
His start, though, didn’t go well. On his opening drive, Mertz fired high for a receiver on third down, stalling out the drive.
Lagway came in for the second series, which was in progress when the game went to the second quarter and then entered the weather delay. Lagway did not throw a pass, simply handing off for a loss on his first snap.
On the other side, Texas A&M is playing without starting quarterback Conner Weigman, who is battling a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. Texas A&M turned to redshirt freshman Marcel Reed as a result. Reed wasted little time making himself comfortable.
In the first quarter, Reed went 8-of-10 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown. He also ran twice for 30 yards, exploiting a Florida defense that has been susceptible to mobile quarterbacks early on this season.
Reed put together multiple scoring drives to give his team a 10-0 lead.