Montrell Johnson Jr. ran for 99 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to help the Florida Gators secure a 31-11 victory over the host Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Gators (7-5) ran for 235 yards overall and won their third game in a row. Florida also beat the Seminoles (2-10) for the first time since 2021 as Florida State finished with its worst record since finishing 1-10 in 1974.
The Gators now wait to see where they will play their bowl game.
The Seminoles’ defense kept the score close for most of the first half and did a solid job on Gators starting quarterback DJ Lagway, who has been an integral part of Florida’s resurgence in recent weeks.
Florida State sacked Lagway three times and held him to 133 yards passing on 14-of-22 attempts. But Lagway finished with two touchdowns and one interception.
Lagway helped the Gators begin to separate just before halftime when he found Marcus Burke in the corner of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left in the second quarter.
Leading 17-3, the Gators sealed the win with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter when Johnson broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown run.
Florida’s defense consistently put pressure on Florida State quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, sacking him eight times. Cam Jackson and Jaden Robinson each had two sacks to lead the effort.
Florida’s Jack Pyburn had a key strip sack, which led to D’Antre Robinson’s fumble recovery with 2:54 left in the first quarter. The turnover led to Florida’s first score — Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Jackson totaled 51 yards on 10 carries while Jadan Baugh had 81 yards on 11 carries.
Florida’s defense finished with 14 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. Florida State scored its lone touchdown with 3:18 left in the game on a 2-yard run by Lawrance Toafili.
The teams got into a scuffle at midfield after the game’s final play and coaches and officials separated the players after a couple of minutes.
–Field Level Media
