Jadan Baugh’s Historic Night vs. FSU Leads Gators to Rival Win
Inside a chilly Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stood red-hot running back Jadan Baugh, who capped off his 2025 season with a historic night as Florida defeated its in-state rival Florida State 40-21 on Saturday. Baugh came into the game needing 96 yards to eclipse 1,000 yards on the season and got that plus much more.
Baugh set the tone early with a 21-yard rush on the first play and took off from there, making it clear he might have a special night. As the first half went on, so did Baugh’s workload, where he finished the half with 18 carries for 101 yards. During Florida’s third scoring drive, Baugh hit the magic No. 1,000 on a short four-yard rush. The historic run made him the 10th Florida running back of all time to do so and just the second since Kelvin Taylor Jr. did it back in 2015.
“But let’s call it what it is. I told the staff, he’s getting 1000 yards regardless, somehow, some way,” Interim coach Billy Gonzales said. “He did an incredible job. Incredible job. So I love him. I’ve told you guys before, I love him as a person, I love him as an athlete. I love him as a man and just an exceptional football player.”
His night did not end there, as he rushed 20 more times for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Baugh finished the night with 38 carries for 266 yards and two touchdowns, with Florida tallying 45 rushes overall to just 15 passes.
Baugh went on to say postgame that he really has not put too much thought into his career night, but will probably understand the significance of it in the coming days.
“I don’t think I wrapped my head around it yet,” Baugh said. “Tomorrow, yeah, it will be very eye-opening. So like I said, I have not wrapped my head around it yet.”
Even with nothing to gain from this game, the Gators looked more ready to go out of the gates in this one. The Gators’ defense forced a quick FSU three-and-out, capped off by a Myles Graham sack and respond with an eight play, 50-yard drive that ended in a Trey Smack 22-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
It looked like Florida State was on the verge of responding with a score of its own. After FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos found tight end Duce Robinson for a 43-yard reception to put Florida State in striking distance, the Gators’ defense bowed up and denied the Seminoles on fourth-and-one.
After the fourth down stop, Florida’s defense went right back to work, marching the ball down the field in 11 plays and capping it off with a J.Michael Sturdivant five-yard touchdown pass. Sturdivant hauled in a 34-yard reception to set up the Gators at the five-yard line prior to the touchdown catch.
Needing a response, Florida State got one with a quick nine play, 75-yard drive that finished with Castellanos finding receiver Micahi Denzy for a 13-yard touchdown pass to make 10-7. Florida answered right back with a 13-play drive of its own, where they leaned on bruising running back Jadan Baugh nine times on the drive to set up another Lagway touchdown pass to tight end Tony Livingston, nine yards out to extend the lead to 17-7.
Florida carried that momentum on defense with a safety, Bryce Thornton’s strip sack and Caleb Banks’ recovery on defense to give the ball right back to the offense with a chance to make this a three score game. However, on the second play of the drive, Lagway’s quick pass to the outside was intercepted by Edwin Joseph and returned back to the UF 21-yard line.
Florida State took advantage of the turnover with a Castellanos four-yard rushing touchdown to cut the lead back to a one-score game at 17-14.
After the Seminoles looked to have secured the momentum to begin the third quarter. The Gators’ defense reeled it back over on their side with another fourth down stop, allowing Baugh and the offense to go back to work. Starting the drive at the FSU 40, Baugh’s big day continued with back-to-back runs of 20 and 14 yards to set up Lagway’s third touchdown pass of the game to tight end Hayden Hansen.
Now up 24-14, the Gators’ pass rush started to really come alive – sacking Castellanos on second down and nearly getting there on third down, but enough pressure to force an incompletion.
“Super impressed,” Gonzales said. “Like I said, I think the defensive unit played lights out today.”
Florida began to put the clamps on the Seminoles with another nine play drive where Baugh ran it seven times and finished the drive with a 22-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead out to 31-14.
After FSU began the fourth quarter with a missed field goal, Florida responded with a Trey Smack 54-yard field goal that pushed the lead out to 34-14. Florida State answered with an 11-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead down to 34-21 with just over three minutes left in the game. However, Florida recovered the attempted onside kick and put the game on ice from there. For good measure, Florida added another Baugh rushing touchdown to make it a 40-21 with under a minute left in the game.
“It was the first time, in my opinion, we played a complete game, offensive, defensive and special team-wise,” Gonzales said. “I can’t be more proud of these guys.”
The win on Saturday marks the first time Florida has beaten Florida State in back-to-back years since they won three in a row from 2018-2021. Florida finishes the year with a 4-8 overall record, but snaps a four-game losing streak and gives Gonzales his first-career win as an acting head coach.
Category: ACC, College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC
