Just five weeks after sitting atop the college football world, No. 9 Texas crashed hard in The Swamp.

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway threw for a season-high 298 yards and two touchdowns, both to true freshman wideout Dallas Wilson, making his college debut, as the Florida Gators stunned Texas 29-21 Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak and handing Arch Manning his most frustrating start yet.

“This was a good SEC game out there today,” said Florida head coach Billy Napier. “Our fans showed up and showed out.”

Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC) had a chance in the final minute, aided by a Gators penalty, but Manning’s final attempts ended with back-to-back sacks and an overthrown deep ball—effectively sealing the Longhorns’ fate in their first trip to Gainesville since 1940.

Five weeks ago the Texas #Longhorns were No. 1 in the country. Tomorrow? They might not even be ranked.
The fall from ‘Back’ to bottom is quicker than a Bevo bathroom break…

— Timm ‘IndyCarTim’ Hamm (@IndyCarTim) October 5, 2025

Dallas Wilson, the former spring game standout who spent fall camp in a walking boot, erupted with 6 catches for 111 yards, including one of the most electrifying touchdowns The Swamp has seen since the Tebow-Harvin era. Late in the third quarter, Wilson shed three would-be tacklers on a 55-yard score, tossing aside cornerback Kobe Black, breaking through safety Jelani McDonald twice, then bulldozing Michael Taaffe at the goal line. It was the best debut by a freshman receiver in Florida history.

After four rocky starts, Lagway played his cleanest game yet.

“DJ had a 180 quarterback rating,” Napier said. “He played really clean, for the most part.”

Lagway connected with Wilson early and often, and leaned on a 159-yard rushing effort by Florida’s ground game to control the tempo in front of a raucous crowd of 90,714. The Gators (2-3, 1-1 SEC) had been averaging just 11 points per game during their three-game slide. Saturday, with Wilson back and Lagway in rhythm, the offense finally found life.

For Arch Manning, it was a day to forget.

The highly touted sophomore was sacked 7 times, picked off twice, and finished with 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Florida’s front seven bullied Texas’ offensive line without even needing to blitz, exposing a major flaw in Texas’ protection schemes. Now at 3-2, with an 0-1 start to their second SEC campaign, the Longhorns are likely to plummet out of the Top 10 and face serious questions about their offensive identity.

Florida gets a chance to reset after the emotional win, while Texas will try to salvage momentum in a brutal SEC gauntlet ahead. But on Saturday in Gainesville, the script flipped: the unranked Gators flexed, and the ‘Back’ Longhorns got sent packing.