McGuire’s Musings: Please don’t talk about the College Football Playoff race yet

McGuire’s Musings: Too early for playoff debate, Billy Napier’s big debut at Florida, bad coaching awareness in Week 1, the new cutest animal sidekick in college football, and more

What a start for Billy Napier at Florida

Sep 3, 2022; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talks with running back Nay’Quan Wright (5) and running back Lorenzo Lingard (21) during the second quarter at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

I loved the hiring of Billy Napier at Florida in the last round of the coaching carousel. And I actually liked his chances to start his tenure in Gainesville with a big win against the defending PAC-12 champion Utah Utes. Utah is about as well-coached and well-rounded a program as you will find, and Florida had to be prepared for an absolute battle. They did just that, coming out on top of Utah thanks to an interception in the end zone in the final 30 seconds of the game to seal the win.

During the evening on Saturday, I proposed the idea that Penn State stands a good chance of being ranked in the top 25 by the time the Week 2 home opener against Ohio comes around. But Florida’s big win over the Utes could throw a wrinkle in that idea. The Gators are a lock for a top 25 ranking in Week 2 and will easily jump ahead of Penn State in the process from the others receiving votes category.

So, can Florida capitalize on the early season momentum a win like this brings? Or will the Gators still prove they are in a rebuilding situation once they move into SEC play and have to prove this game was not a fluke?

Why take the timeout?

East Carolina was down against NC State because its kicker missed a potential game-tying PAT on their previous possession. With no timeouts to use and in need of a scramble to get a field goal unit on the field, East Carolina was in full-on scramble mode to try and make amends for the missed PAT.

So, naturally, NC State head coach Dave Doern called a timeout and allowed East Carolina to take its time to get the field goal unit set. Under any worthy circumstances, Doeren and NC State would have been burned by the college football gods for allowing this to happen. But the gods must have been plugged into another game, because East Carolina missed the game-winning field goal attempt anyway.

That doesn’t mean Doern was right for calling the timeout. He was flat-out wrong. He just got away with it, and so did NC State.

NEXT: So, about that UNC-Appalachian State game…

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