It seemed like there was a small sliver of hope still alive in the Florida football program after its home upset win over then ninth-ranked Texas.
The hope was fueled by a more efficient DJ Lagway, the won't "back down" atmosphere of the Swamp, and the debut of freshman sensation Dallas Wilson.
It wasn't much, but it was enough of a spark to let Florida fans entertain the idea of letting Napier have a few more weeks at the helm in "wait and see" mode.
But all that was lost Saturday night in yet another frustrating loss, this time to Texas A&M.
'Josh Pate's College Football Show' host Josh Pate dove into Napier, the Texas A&M loss, Florida's future, and more, and it certainly isn't an easy listen for Florida fans.
Texas win: complete fluke
With the suspect play from Texas this season, Florida fans certainly questioned the value of its win over the Longhorns last week. And while Texas itself did pick up a momentous victory over Oklahoma, Florida won't be beating the "fluke" allegations anytime soon. Pate has a similar belief, concluding that this past Saturday's loss was much more indicative of Florida's play than the previous week.
“This felt like a last-gasp sort of game for Florida. They had 157 yards in the first quarter of this game and they had 162 the rest of the way. So, they just ran out of gas,” Pate continued. “My great unknown coming out of the (Texas) game was, is that the new Florida, so did they hit another gear? Or was that just a one-off? They didn’t play terribly last night, but it looks like it was a one-off.”
“I did wonder what the effort would be,” Pate said. “They fumbled the ball four times night. They recovered two of them. It could have been worse. Second-half drives? Their second half drives went -3, -3, 14, 11, -1, 47, -3, 31, -2, 32.”
Pate highlighted the most frustrating element of the game: the lack of offense past the third quarter.
The Gators scored two early touchdowns in the first quarter, and it seemed the Aggies' defense had some trouble on its hands.
Lagway looked like his freshman year, uninjured self, and an abundance of targets were involved in the passing game.
Eventually, however, it became evident that Texas A&M Head Coach Mike Elko and his staff made crucial adjustments, essentially shutting down the Florida offense. In fact, the Gators offense only scored three points in the final three quarters.
Issues like those make you question the coaching staff, especially the one leading it. And though he didn't directly associate Napier's lack of creativity and adaptation with his seemingly eventual firing, Pate addressed Napier's job security, or lack thereof.
Napier: not around much longer
Pate, an avid Napier supporter, thinks Napier's time at Florida is coming to a rapid close, and a firing could come sooner than some may think.
“I don’t know that Billy is going to be around much longer,” he said. “Again, I love Billy Napier, so I don’t like talking about that.”
“I think Napier is likely out. That’s not my opinion. That’s talking to people around Florida today. I think Billy Napier is going to be out. It may be after this upcoming game and they’ve got a bye, but I do believe he’s going to be out and I do believe the Florida job is going to come open,” Pate explained. “I don’t like it, but I think it makes sense, though. You don’t have to sell me on the logic behind it. I get it. He’s had time. The result is not good enough for you. I get it. This one would be infinitely less egregious than James Franklin, to me. So, if that’s the way it goes, that’s the way it goes.”
Florida fans haven't gotten the results they've deserved for the past decade, but Napier has brought the program to new lows.
“It’s not good enough. And now Florida is 2-4, and there are more losses coming," Pate said.
“It is a bottom-line business, and the bottom line there is it has not been good enough, so I understand it. I do get it, and I think you’ll see action on that front in the not-too-distant future.”