All week, the eyes of the college football world have been staring at Gainesville. With rumors circulating that Florida head coach Billy Napier would be potentially fired as soon as Sunday, it was imperative that the Gators won Saturday.
What ultimately happened at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was a win, but one that was defined by weak playcalling and avoidable penalties, both of which have plagued UF throughout Napier’s tenure.
The Gators (3-4, 2-2 SEC) nearly surrendered a two-possession lead in the final seven minutes in its 23-21 win against Mississippi State (4-2, 0-3 SEC). Florida was ultimately saved by a clutch interception from sophomore defensive lineman Michai Boireau with just 26 seconds left on the clock.
The loss didn’t quiet any swirling rumors around the nation or the fans in The Swamp, who showered the fourth-year head coach with “Fire Billy” chants at multiple occasions throughout the contest.
“I think about our players,” Napier said. “That’s what I think about… in a game where there is a ton of adversity, they keep fighting and they find a way to win. That’s pretty special. That’s what I love about the game.”
On multiple occasions, Napier’s playcalling was befuddling. Some lowlights included a quarterback draw attempt on a 3rd and 7 in the red zone and a halfback draw that resulted in a one-yard loss on 2nd and 23.
Late in the first half, Florida took over the ball at its own 23-yard line with 1:36 left on the clock. The Gators moved with little urgency, opting for conservative, short-yardage runs and throws that only moved UF up 30 yards in the span of a minute. Then, DJ Lagway tossed an interception to give Mississippi State the ball back before half.
However, Napier’s magnum opus of mistakes came with just under two minutes left in the game. On a 3rd and 1 from UF’s own 34-yard line, he opted for a passing play, which resulted in Lagway being sacked and Mississippi State taking over possession with 1:38 left in the contest.
“We got it to 3rd and 1, and DJ did what he was supposed to do,” Napier said. “He’s supposed to take the sack and make them use the final timeout.”
Overall, the Gators committed seven penalties, moving them back 60 yards. That includes back-to-back penalties that turned what would have been a 34 yard field goal into a 54 yard mark by senior kicker Trey Smack. It also takes into account an illegal substitution penalty for having 12 men on the field when Florida lined up for a two-point conversion attempt, which forced UF to settle for kicking an extra point.
Most notably, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Eugene Wilson III was called for a holding penalty on what would have been a 60-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Jadan Baugh.
“We had a few penalties, the touchdown called back and a couple others that will be debatable,” Napier said.
Overshadowed by the win, two areas stood out for the Gators: the running attack and defensive front.
Baugh was a workhorse, carrying the ball 23 times for 150 rushing yards and a touchdown while surpassing his previous career high of 107 yards. It marked the third time this season and the second time in UF’s last three games that he’s logged 100 or more yards in a game.
Alongside Baugh, redshirt freshman running back KD Daniels found the end zone for the first time this season on a one-yard run out of the wildcat formation.
“When me and KD came in, we talked about us two being the starting backs,” Baugh said. “Seeing him score a touchdown today, it warms my heart.”
On the defensive end, Florida’s front put pressure on Mississippi State graduate student quarterback Blake Shapen on multiple occasions, recording four sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Leading the way, junior edge rusher Kamran James had one and a half sacks and made two and a half tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Brien Taylor Jr., who had half a sack, forced a fumble in the red zone in the second quarter, which was recovered by freshman edge rusher Jayden Woods.
Then, Boireau made the biggest play of his career, intercepting Shapen in the dying moments of the contest to clinch the Florida victory.
While the game goes in the win column for the Gators, it by no means saved Napier’s job. However, the head coach continued to emphasize his day-by-day mentality.
“I'm going to enjoy this one tonight and that's what I'm going to do,” Napier said. “I’ll wake up tomorrow and worry about what's next."
Florida heads into a bye week before it faces the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville Nov. 1.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his sixth semester at The Alligator and now serves as The Alligator's Football Reporter and is a junior sports journalism student. He previously served as The Alligator's Sports Editor, and served as reporter for women's tennis, volleyball and lacrosse. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. He wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and also loves niche professional athletes (shoutout Tomas Fleischmann).
