The heat is on in Gainesville, and it is not the remnants of a scorching summer in the Sunshine State.
Florida football is in the midst of one of its worst stretches in the modern era, having finished under the .500 mark the past two seasons split between the Dan Mullen and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] eras. While the latter was handed a program nearly in shambles when he arrived, the expectations of the Gator Nation have been weighing heavily on him and his staff.
The Orange and Blue enter Week 3 having been embarrassed by the Utah Utes in the season opener and showing some improvement against an over-matched McNeese State in Week 2. According to USA TODAY Sports’ Jace Evans, the temperature is sure to rise underneath Napier and Co. after what he believes will be an inevitable defeat.
“The heat is about to get turned up on Florida coach Billy Napier. Big time,” Evans notes. “No. 9 Tennessee comes to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium riding a rare winning streak in the series. Florida’s defense has been one of the best in the nation to this point, but it also hasn’t faced an offense like Tennessee’s, either.
“Though the Vols muddled through last week’s game against Austin Peay, the bet is they were looking ahead to this matchup. They will drop Napier to 0-5 vs. Florida’s four biggest rivals as the Vols win back-to-back vs. the Gators for the first time since 2003 and 2004 (which, Napier should note, were the final two years of Ron Zook’s tenure).”
The Gators host the Volunteers in the Swamp on Saturday, Sept. 16, for the SEC schedule opener between two historic rivals. The opening kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and the game can be watched on ESPN.
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