Lagway throws for 305 yards to help Florida trounce Tulane 33-8 in the Gasparilla Bowl

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — DJ Lagway and Florida put together a strong finish to a difficult season.

They closed it out in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Lagway shook off a mistake-filled first half to throw for 305 yards and a touchdown in Florida's sloppy 33-8 victory over Tulane on Friday.

Trey Smack kicked a Gasparilla Bowl-record four field goals for the Gators (8-5), who also got a late TD run from walk-on running back Anthony Rubio, son of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, in their fourth consecutive victory.

“Great to finish the right way,” Florida coach Billy Napier said.

Tulane (9-5), which played without starting quarterback Darian Mensah, was outgained 529 yards to 194 and didn't score until Ty Thompson threw a TD pass in the final minute.

A true freshman who sparked Florida's turnaround from a 3-3 start to the season, Lagway finished 22-of-35 passing with two interceptions that contributed to the Gators only leading 6-0 at halftime. Late in the game, Lagway mishandled a snap on fourth-and-1 only to have running back KD Daniels scoop up the ball and run 25 yards for a touchdown.

Rubio, a 5-foot-9 redshirt freshman from Miami who had not appeared in a college game, entered in the fourth quarter. With 449-pound defensive lineman Desmond Watson lined up in the backfield in front of him, he ran for 8 yards on his first carry and eventually finished a nine-play drive with a 9-yard run that increased Florida's lead to 33-0.

Watson, a 6-foot-5 senior who wears No. 21, gained 1 yard for a first down on the only carry of his career.

“You saw the sideline light up when he ran on the field,” Napier said, adding the plan to use Watson in a goal-line or short-yardage situation was hatched one day on the practice field.

Initially, he was to be used exclusively as a blocker or a decoy in the passing game. Watson was elated when a play was added to give him an opportunity to run the ball.

“I can do it all,” the nose tackle said, smiling.

The Gators won five of seven after their disappointing start, with most of the surge coming after athletic director Scott Strickin guaranteed Napier would return in 2025. Lagway became the starting quarterback after Graham Mertz was lost to a season-ending knee injury in October.

Tulane, which lost its last three games, played without Mensah, who entered the transfer portal and decided to continue his career at Duke after leading the Green Wave to an appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game, where they lost to Army.

A loss in the regular-season finale to Memphis knocked Tulane out of the Top 25.

“I hate the way it ended,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said.

Thompson, who transferred to Tulane from Oregon in 2024, made his first college start — and possibly played his final game for the Green Wave. He also has entered the transfer portal, with the intent of finding a team that wants him to start full-time, though he hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning to the Green Wave.

Tulane avoided a shutout when Thompson tossed a 16-yard TD pass to Mario Williams. The Green Wave quarterback finished 11 of 29 for 125 yards and three interceptions.

Lagway showed flashes of why Florida feels good about its future with him running the offense, but also made some poor decisions with the ball. His end-zone interception cost the Gators at least three points, and he also was unable to get the ball into the end zone after a 38-yard completion to Chimere Dike gave Florida a first down at the Tulane 3 early in the third quarter. Thompson's audition for a shot at the Green Wave's starting job did not go well. The junior generally is a better runner than passer, however he wasn't effective doing either against the Gators.

Florida opens next season at home against LIU, while Tulane hosts Northwestern. Both teams begin Aug. 30.

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Tulane safety Kevin Adams III interrcepts a pass by Florida quarterback DJ Lagway during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tulane offensive lineman Josh Remetich (68) is carted off the field after getting injured during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game against Florida Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida running back Jadan Baugh (13) runs past Tulane nose tackle Adonis Friloux (95) during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida tight end Tony Livingston celebrates after his touchdown during the second half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) stiff arms Tulane linebacker Tyler Grubbs (13) during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws a pass against Tulane during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hours clicking toward a midnight government shutdown deadline, the Senate was preparing to give final passage late Friday to a new plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson's new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34, and the Senate was working late into the night toward votes.

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said afterward, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

It was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays, from afar.

President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to quickly sign the measure into law.

Trump's last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.

The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.

But it's far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.

“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.

Still, the Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill's passage. Almost three dozen conservative Republicans voted against it.

“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the vote.

Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the incoming administration's new Department of Government Efficiency.

The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump's not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.

More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn't want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation's borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. "Without this, we should never make a deal."

Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown which would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.

Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”

As the day dragged on with no deal in sight, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”

At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans for a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.

It wasn't just the shutdown, but the speaker's job on the line. The speaker's election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.

Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., talks with reporters after attending a meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as the House works on a spending bill to avert a shutdown of the Federal Government, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)