The Florida Gators defeated their rival Florida State 31:11 to end the regular season. Billy Napier beats Florida State for the first time after losing by single digits in each of his first two seasons.

With that in mind, it’s time for the final stock report of the regular season. Let’s see whose stocks are on an upward trend heading into bowl season and whose stocks are falling.

Florida Gators defense

We continue to find ways to be impressed by how far the Gators’ defense has come since the first few weeks of the season.

Overall, the defense had eight sacks, 14 tackles for loss and five fumbles. Aside from two drives, one of which the Seminoles still failed and the other resulted in a garbage-time touchdown, the Gators’ defense ran around FSU’s offense.

Their performance in a bowl game could potentially be a real treat.

DJ Lagway

At the start of the game, Lagway was heading toward the “stock decline” half of this report. He started 1-for-6 on his pass attempts. But he collected himself. At one point he finished 8 of 9 and 13 of 16 after the rocky start.

The interception wasn’t his. That was wide receiver Marcus Burke – whom he eventually found in the end zone for one of his two touchdowns.

Lagway had some difficult throws. He shot past his receivers a few times. But he remained composed – aside from rightfully letting Burke know what he thought of the choice – and that helped him settle in and finish the evening solidly.

Montreal Johnson Jr.

Johnson averaged his best yards per carry this season (9.9). He rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, with the score coming after a 65-yard run. This touchdown dispelled any remaining fears that Florida might lose this game.

A solid final rivalry week to cap off the final regular season game of his college career.

The Gators’ third-down performance

Seeing that they have already achieved 5 out of 13 (38%) in the statistics is bad enough. Somehow that doesn’t even tell the whole story about how poor the Gators’ third down performance was. At one point they were 2 for 8. The Gators could have increased their score significantly if they had kept the drive alive a few more times.

Marcus Burke

Did he redeem himself a little bit because he caught a touchdown? Yes, by default. But he had Lagway to thank for that touchdown catch.

The mistake that led to the interception was a tough scene. That could have been expensive against a stronger opponent. Additionally, he only had 18 receiving yards on three catches. Inventory reduced.