The Gator Nation was treated to one of the finest performances by the Florida football team in some time — on homecoming, no less — sending the Kentucky Wildcats out of Gainesville with their tails between their legs and a 48-20 defeat.
If anyone needed the definitive win, it was [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], who had resided on the head coach hot seat before the season even began and has continued to feel the flames rising around him. However, despite his recent success and the improved product witnessed on the field, his imperiled future still remains uncertain.
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel had some final thoughts on Florida’s win over Kentucky after the end of Week 8 with a focus on the Gators skipper.
“Embattled Florida coach Billy Napier refuses to go quietly into the night. In the Gators’ first game since losing veteran quarterback Graham Mertz for the season with an ACL injury, they rode a pair of true freshmen to a 48-20 rout of Kentucky (3-4, 1-4 SEC),” Mandel begins.
“Five-star quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] completed seven passes, but five of them went for 40-plus yards, and running back [autotag]Jadan Baugh[/autotag], making his first career start, ran for 106 yards and a program record-tying five touchdowns,” he continues.
“After an off week, Florida (4-3, 2-2 SEC) begins its long-awaited gauntlet of Georgia, Texas and LSU back-to-back-to-back. So it’s good for Napier he won this one.”
Coming up for Florida
The Gators are off next week due to their bye week. The next matchup for Florida will be against Georgia on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.
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