And in the end, the house of cards that Billy Napier built collapsed. All the talk about “spot the ball” and all the talk about how this was the year the Gators were going to take a step forward with the “most talented roster” that has been in Gainesville in years fell apart before even starting the gauntlet of the SEC schedule.
Make no mistake about it, USF came into The Swamp and dared Florida to come up with an answer to beat them. 60 minutes later, it turns out the man who has seldom had answers for anyone once again didn’t have answers.
Florida had every chance to win this game against USF
You can point to some unfortunate penalties that took away touchdowns in the first half, you can point to a couple of moments here and there, but the reality is that Florida was a 17.5 point favorite, and it should have never come down to a couple of moments.
The revamped defense couldn’t get a push into the backfield, and the collection of speed at wide receiver was relegated to its typical dink-and-dunk offense.
USF played single high safety the entire game and dared Florida to beat them over the top.
Spoiler alert, they couldn’t.
Remember how good the vibes were last week when Florida committed zero penalties? How do 11 penalties for 103 yards sound for a squad that is supposed to be “process oriented?”
The hamster on the wheel has a process too, that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere.
Billy Napier is now 20-20 as head coach of the Florida Gators. No one else has gotten the kind of long leash Napier has gotten.
While it's best not to be rooted in gloom and doom, but there are times when we get accused of being too negative. There is a segment of the fan base that wants you to believe if you say anything negative about Florida, then you are a “fake fan.”
How are the “fake fans” supposed to feel when in the end they were right?