Even DJ Lagway himself would tell you that Saturday’s performance against Long Island wasn’t his best. Still, CBS Sports dropping the sophomore gunslinger from No. 8 to No. 17 in its quarterback power rankings feels reactionary at best.
“Florida’s passing game sputtered out of the gate in an easy win over LIU, but Lagway looked healthy and eventually threw for three touchdowns to close the second quarter before he was wisely removed,” said college football writer David Cobb. “He’s in for a big sophomore campaign if he can stay off the injury report.”
There’s plenty of room for Lagway to climb his way back up the list, but let’s not forget that Lagway completed all but three of 15 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns at the end of the day. He spent the first couple of drives shaking off some rust, but he looked back to his old self by the end of the half.
If Lagway had stayed in after halftime and statpadded, would Cobb have ranked him higher?
Power rankings inherently lead to big reactions on a week-by-week basis, but for half of the top 10 to move 15-plus places in a week seems over the top. Not to mention, the offensive line plays a large role in Lagway’s ability to make plays from inside the pocket.
“Our whole group can attest to that, we feel like we didn’t play our brand of football, offensively,” Lagway said in his post-game press conference. “It’s week one, and there are things that you can clean up. That’s what we were excited to do, to clean up for next week.”
Lagway will likely play all four quarters against South Florida this week. Let’s see how far he’s able to climb.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football DJ Lagway drops Week 1 CBS Sports QB power rankings
