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Five losses for Florida from 2022 and 2023 that were red flags for Billy Napier

We all know his greatest hits, but there have been some other under the radar losses that haven't been talked about as much

By Benjamin Henderson

Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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Coming off back-to-back losses, one common retort from Florida Football fans is that the Gators could have beaten Georgia if DJ Lagway had not gotten hurt and that Florida never had a chance against Texas because of injuries across the board.

There is a hint of truth to that, but clinging to that narrative ignores that Florida had a healthy roster against Miami and Texas A&M and ran out of The Swamp.

We all know Napier's greatest hits from the past two seasons: Double number three, field goal sequence against Arkansas, 4th and 17, double reverse, etc. However, the other problem with that narrative is that it ignores these five losses from the previous two seasons that go beyond even those famous gaffes.

31-24 defeat to Vanderbilt

If one goes back through Napier's 2022 campaign, there were some ups and downs early on. The loss to Kentucky following the dramatic win over Utah was a let down, but everything else was playing out mostly as expected.

After comfortable wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina, Florida was 6-4 and there was a real pathway for the Gators to go 8-4 in Napier's first year, a record most fans would have been okay with.

Then Florida took a trip to Nashville in November and lost to a Vanderbilt squad who had lost 55-0 earlier in the season to Georgia.

We had even written prior to that game that it felt like a trap game and said at the time:

"For Napier, this is his first true test of how to handle a trap game. Vanderbilt isn't good, but they beat Kentucky last week. The same Kentucky team Florida couldn't solve. A true sign of program growth for Florida is if they come out and put the game out of reach by halftime. The Gators are favored by 14, and anything less than covering that spread will feel like a disappointment."

Well, spoiler alert, Florida didn't cover the spread.

Rather than take a step forward and prove his process was working, Napier laid a massive egg on Broadway Street that was the first of many red flags.

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