No choke at Doak: Florida Gators blow out FSU 31-11

Saturday night in Tallahassee, Fla., the Florida Gators put a stamp on a major turnaround with a 31-11 win over archrival FSU in their regular-season finale.

After three straight losing seasons, Florida improved to 7-5. The Gators finished the regular season with three consecutive wins.

Meanwhile, the Seminoles went in the opposite direction. They’re now 2-10 in a shocking fall from grace after going 13-1 last season.

The win was Florida’s first at Doak Campbell Stadium since 2018. The Gators now lead the all-time series with FSU, 38-28-2. They improved to 15-14-1 in Tallahassee.

It wasn’t always pretty. The Florida offense sputtered at times. But the Gators defense shut down FSU, holding them to 239 yards while forcing five turnovers and recording eight sacks.

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway shook off a slow start to finish 14 of 22 for 133 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Running back Montrell Johnson led the Gators with 99 yards rushing. That included a 65-yard fourth-quarter score that broke it open.

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How to watch the Florida Gators vs the FSU Seminoles

Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium (Approximately 50,000 due to renovations), Tallahassee, Fla.
TV: ESPN2 — Channel (Cox): 27 [HD] — Channel (DirecTV): 200 [HD]
Stream: ESPN2, fuboTV
Radio: SiriusXM Channel: 160 / 192
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FOURTH QUARTER

-The Gators have iced it with a touchdown pass of 8 yards from quarterback DJ Lagway to tight end Tony Livingston. The 51-yard drive covered five plays. SCORE: Florida 31-11, 2:03

-FSU attempted an onside kick but the Gators recovered with 3:17 left.

-FSU gets its first touchdown of the night on a Lawrance Toafili 2-yard run. That ended an 11-play, 59-yard drive. The 2-point conversion is good. SCORE: Florida 24-11, 3:06

-The Florida offense stalled again and the Gators punted it back to FSU with 7:19 left. FSU has only 172 yards of offense.

-Florida just recorded two more sacks and now has seven in the game.

-Florida just broke it open on a 65-yard touchdown run from senior running back Montrell Johnson. He now has 99 yards rushing on 10 carries. SCORE: Florida 24-3, 12:38

THIRD QUARTER

-FSU drove to the Florida 7 and lost a fumble to end a 13-play, 68-yard drive. Third Seminoles fumble of the game.

-Florida can’t find the end zone and has to settle for a 30-yard Trey Smack field goal. SCORE: Florida 17-3, 6:27

-The Gators got a quick first down, but then ended up punting. And the ‘Noles muffed the punt. Florida ball at the FSU 12. Rocco Underwood with the recovery.

-FSU’s Ryan Fitzgerald just knocked in a 39-yard field goal to put the Seminoles on the board. The drive covered 42 yards on nine plays. SCORE: Florida 14-3, 9:47

-A rough start to the third quarter for the Gators, who go three-and-out. Quarterback DJ Lagway got sacked on third down.

SECOND QUARTER

-Gators quarterback DJ Lagway just hit receiver Marcus Burke for a 4-yard score to cap a nine-play, 80-yard drive. SCORE: Florida 14-0, 0:25

-Florida linebacker Jaden Robinson has two first-half sacks.

-Another FSU drive ends in a punt, the ‘Noles’ fourth of the game.

-FSU running back Lawrance Toafili just lost a fumble and Florida linebacker Shemar James recovered at the Gators’ 29.

-Another three-and-out for Florida. It hasn’t been pretty so far. The Gators have just 57 yards of offense and quarterback DJ Lagway is 1 of 6.

FIRST QUARTER

-The Gators just forced a quick three-and-out.

-It took the Gators only two plays to capitalize on the turnover. Ja’Kobi Jackson scored on a 1-yard rush, which followed a 13-yard run. SCORE: Florida 7-0, 2:28

-Florida’s Jack Pyburn just knocked the ball loose from FSU quarterback Luke Kromenhoek and the Gators have recovered at the FSU 14. Freshman D’Antre Robinson recovered the ball.

-Florida picked up its first first down on a 21-yard run from Jadan Baugh, but that’s it. Another drive ends in a punt and FSU has the ball at the ‘Noles 15.

-FSU’s second drive ends with one first down and another punt. Florida has the ball on the Gators’ 23.

-The Gators only picked up 9 yards on Drive No. 1 and were forced to punt. Jeremy Crawshaw’s punt went 51 yards. FSU takes over at its own 25.

-FSU picked up two first downs on its first series; the drive ended with consecutive sacks. The Seminoles were forced to punt.