Things did not go the way the Gator Nation had hoped in college football’s Week 1 as the No. 19 Miami Hurricanes blew through the Swamp with a 41-17 victory that had Florida feeling rather embarrassed.
[autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] came into his third season with the Orange and Blue on probably the hottest seat in the nation and the lackluster effort demonstrated by his squad only further fanned those flames. Sports Illustrated’s Mike McDaniel composed his takeaways from Saturday’s action and agreed strongly that the Gators head coach is sitting on a chair made of lava.
“No. 19 Miami walked into The Swamp with transfer quarterback Cam Ward and looked every bit the part of an ACC title contender. Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, as the Hurricanes rolled over Florida 41–17,” McDaniel begins.
“But as impressive as the victory was for Miami—a team that appears to be the class of an underwhelming ACC—this game signals more about the state of Florida’s program than anything else,” he continues.
“Through two seasons (and one game) of the Billy Napier era, the tenure has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The Gators posted a 6–7 record in Napier’s first season, and followed that up that with a 5–7 record in 2023.”
What really seems to sting is the success seen by the regime that receded Napier, which came to a tumultuous end and kicked off three straight seasons without a winning record.
“Napier’s predecessor, [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag], took Florida to New Year’s Six bowl games in each of his first three seasons, but was fired at the first sign of trouble in Year 4 due to uneven recruiting, athletic department politics and an underwhelming on-field product in 2021,” McDaniel notes.
“Three years later, the Gators appear worse off for it. After an 0–1 start, Florida now must navigate one of the toughest schedules in college football to try to make a bowl game in Napier’s third season.”
But wait, it gets worse. Napier’s bloated contract might come back to bite the Gators in an age where money is everything in college football.
“As if things weren’t bleak enough in Gainesville, Napier’s buyout is $26 million, making for a tricky situation for a program that deserves better,” he concludes.
The Gators will get a chance to regroup against the Samford Bulldogs next weekend before opening the 2024 Southeastern Conference schedule the following Saturday against the Texas A&M Aggies.
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