After dropping to 1-3 on the season with losses against USF, LSU, and now a second in-state rival in the University of Miami, you would think a head coach would show signs of being concerned with where the team is at this point in a season, yet Billy Napier continues to show no signs of concern, instead opening his press conference after the Gators dropped the ball again with saying, “heck of a football game.”
But by the numbers, Gators fans wouldn’t agree with those sentiments from their head coach, who tended to contradict himself throughout his opening statements, going from talking about a positive to talking about what was negative, but still not showing signs of concern.
“I do think that our kids battled their tail off,” said Napier. But yet the Gators were held to just 32 total yards of offense on 22 plays in the first half; In total they accumulated just 141 total yards to Miami’s 349, and had just seven first downs to Miami’s 21. The Gators were 0-for-13 on third downs, Miami was 8-for-16.
“Not good enough on offense, we didn’t generate enough yards or puts in the first half; was a trial of errors. Not many plays where we executed at all,” said the Gators’ head coach and play-caller.
Florida falls to 1-3 on the season
The Gators got some drives going in the second half, which Napier noted.
“I do think the kids responded at half time,” he said. “The staff did a great job… We found some running game there early in the second half, able to kind of make it a football game there, 13-7.”
The Gators proceeded to get a takeaway and came up short on a fourth down on the 30-yard line before the Hurricanes began to run away with the game. So for the Gators, it was a game for the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, Florida dragged yet again. They showed signs of life coming out of the locker room with fire in the third, but couldn’t keep it going into the fourth, instead letting Miami run away with the game.
“I’m proud of the way the kids showed up and the effort in which they played with. The execution on offense obviously was not good enough. We struggled to get off the field on third down on defense,” said Napier.
He credited Florida punter Tommy Doman for having a good game. But is that really what you want to hear after you talk about your team battling their tails off? Doman had seven punts for 332 yards against Miami as the offense could not get much going throughout the game; instead, the Gators had to punt the ball away and bring out an exhausted offense.
“In general, had our shots, had our chances,” said Napier. “It’s a good football team,” he said of Miami.
“Not good enough,” Napier continued to state. He credited Miami for pressuring DJ Lagway, yet Lagway didn’t just struggle Saturday, but has struggled since the week two game against USF.
“We’re going to go back to the drawing board. The open date comes at a good time. We’re going to evaluate everything we’re doing on that side of the ball,” he said.
When asked how confident Napier is that the Gators will be able to turn things around coming out of the bye week, his response focused (rightfully so) on the offense.
“We’ve gotta generate some points, we’ve gotta get more first downs, we’ve gotta get some rhythm on offense, bottom line. We’re lacking consistency, we’re lacking detail, and we’re struggling to stack plays,” he said.
Can the Gators turn it around?
The question was posed again about the confidence, and he described the fight and makeup of the men in the locker room as what gives him “confidence” that the Gators can turn things around.
Things got tense when it was mentioned to Napier how much of a big deal rivalry games are for the Gators.
Things won’t get easier for the Gators, however, as they come out of the bye week to immediately face the No. 10 Texas Longhorns.
While Napier made points about the Florida offense needing to play better as a whole, if you’re watching his press conference, the concerning factor is his lack of concern for the first 1-3 start for the Gators since 1986. It’s something that any head coach should show concern about, and right now, Napier isn’t showing that.