Florida Football: Five plays that doomed the 2023 season for the Gators
![Florida Gators quarterback Max Brown (17) gets stopped by Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Jared Verse (5) and Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Braden Fiske (55) during first half action as Florida takes on Florida State at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F6feaabc4ebf8e76103656d0a1857ac16a593dd0d299dc956055b6ffdac0705ed.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback Max Brown (17) gets stopped by Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Jared Verse (5) and Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Braden Fiske (55) during first half action as Florida takes on Florida State at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida Football Doomed Plays
- Double Reverse Flea Flicker
Unlike the last two plays, there is no guarantee Florida football would have beat FSU had it just run a normal play. But given everything that transpired afterward, the choice to run a double reverse flea flicker near the end of the first half sure felt like it changed all the momentum.
Florida was coming off a safety and had a 12-0 lead, and Etienne returned the ensuing kickoff to the FSU 46 with 5:02 left in the half. A solid clock-chewing drive here could have, at worst, taken the Gators into halftime with a 15-0 lead.
Instead, Napier opted to dial up a crazy trick play that was blown up and resulted in an intentional grounding penalty.
Some would say if the play had worked we would hail Napier as a genius. The problem is that the play had a very low probability of ever working.
Florida’s offensive line hadn’t demonstrated all season it would hold up long enough for a play of that length to work. And they definitely hadn’t shown it would hold up against the FSU pass rush.
From that moment, FSU would go on to outscore Florida football 24-3 and win the game 24-15.
Next. Napier needs more than just better talent in 2024. dark