Florida football: Anthony Richardson and Billy Napier know they have to be better
When you are the head coach or the quarterback for Florida football, life comes at you fast. One week you are basking in the glow of an upset victory over Utah, the next you are left to wonder how you held Kentucky to under 300 yards of total offense and still lost.
Unlike previous Florida football coaching staffs, Saturday’s loss wasn’t met with smiles as they shook hands or excuses for why the Gators should have won. Both Billy Napier and Anthony Richardson faced the music and acknowledged things have to improve.
Florida football: Reality check for the Gators
Following the win over Utah, it was easy for Gator fans to start dreaming of what this season might be. Kentucky and Tennessee were tough opponents but opponents Florida should beat. LSU looked awful against FSU and still almost won. Texas A&M didn’t look amazing in week one and those observations were confirmed in its Saturday afternoon defeat to Appalachian State.
Going through Florida’s schedule before kickoff, it was easy to dream that other than Georgia, there wasn’t an opponent Florida football should lose to.
Napier tried to warn us though after beating Utah.
"“When we evaluate the game Saturday, we were very fortunate to win the game…The film is sloppy, just so we’re all on the same page. I know we’re ready to put the crown on the Gators, but (we have) a lot of work to do to play at our expectation and our standard.”"
It’s hard to take criticism after a win though. And Kentucky didn’t look like it was going to be a more difficult test than Utah. The Wildcats were down three running backs, had next-to-no offensive line, and their wide receivers were all brand new.
And the defense, after being torched in the second half by Utah, stepped up and did their part.
What happened to the offense though is hard to explain. Without trying to sound over the top, how did we go from Richardson looking like he had The Swamp in the palm of his hand to looking like a three-star backup that was forced into action before he was ready all in one week?
Florida should have been looking for Ricky Pearsall on more zone busters or lean more on the run given the success they were having.
This is where Richardson and Napier are built differently than previous Gator teams that lost. Last year when Florida lost to Kentucky, then coach Dan Mullen offered up this excuse:
"“(We had) 382 yards. I guess that’s sputtering. We had 382 and they had 211.”"
Was he technically wrong? No. But Florida would lose games like that under Mullen because they refused to acknowledge the penalties and special teams’ mistakes that negated the victory in yardage.
Scott Frost at Nebraska often offered up similar excuses and he too is out of a job.
Richardson could cling to a low hit he took in the first quarter that seemed to leave him limping a little. Napier could blame the media for feeding his team rat poison.
Instead Napier accepted Florida wasn’t good enough Saturday.
"“We didn’t earn the right to win. We made too many mistakes. I think the film will say that.”"
Same goes for Richardson.
"” I didn’t help my O-line; I didn’t help my running backs. I failed the team”"
The good news Florida is that it has a chance to let out Saturday’s frustration against what should be an overmatched USF squad. Florida football is currently favored by 24.5.
For the Gators to show growth, they need to put Saturday behind them because in two weeks they make a trip to Knoxville against a Tennessee squad that will believe they too can knock off Florida.
It’s nice to know though that the coaching staff and the players are willing to accept their defeats. And if they learn enough from them, they won’t continue to repeat the mistakes that doomed them on Saturday.
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