Nearly a week has elapsed since Florida football stumbled in its 2023 season opener in Salt Lake City against the Utah Utes, who prevailed over the Gators, 24-11, to avenge their loss in the Swamp last year.
It was a game characterized by frequent miscues by Billy Napier’s team, from issues with timing on offense to a rarely-seen procedural penalty that killed both rallies and defensive stops. The special teams left a great deal to be desired as well.
On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson published his college football takeaways following Week 1, including Florida’s debacle out west. Here is a look at what he had to say about Napier and Co.
(Y)ou do not know what you’re getting from the Gators yet, as the culture Billy Napier is hoping to instill has certainly yet to take. You can look at the much-maligned double jersey number penalty, for instance, where the Gators were flagged for having two players (Jason Marshall Jr. and Tre Wilson) with No. 3 jerseys on the field at the same time. One was supposed to be wearing No. 33 according to the broadcast, but he wasn’t. And according to On3 Sports, a staffer handling special teams was working off a sheet that had Wilson’s old jersey number (21).
But it would have been a penalty anyway, as Florida’s other No. 21, Desmond Watson, was on the field as well. It’s just an example of Florida’s struggles to run a tight ship at this early stage of Napier’s tenure despite the coach’s reputed high level of attention to detail. There were also backbreaking penalties in short-yardage situations that killed many drives or, in the case of the double-number fiasco, led directly to a Utah touchdown.
The Gators gave Utah opportunities to win the game, and the Utes took them gladly, because Utah isn’t a team that makes crucial mistakes (but yours probably is).
The Gators look to even up their overall record before conference play begins against the Cowboys, who travel to Gainesville on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff time is slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
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