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Florida drawing plenty of heat for performance against Utah in season opener
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Florida is spinning its wheels a bit against Utah in the season opener for both teams.
The Gators struggled to a 6-7 (3-5 SEC) mark in Billy Napier’s first season. Considering Florida fired Dan Mullen after a 4-4 start in 2021 after winning 21 games in his first 2 seasons — and after leading the Gators to the SEC Championship Game and the Cotton Bowl in 2020, the pressure is on Napier to turn things around quickly. That’s not to mention Georgia being miles ahead of its rival thanks to back-to-back titles and fellow SEC East school Tennessee emerging as a contender.
That said, things aren’t off to a good start for the Gators in Salt Lake City. The Gators trail 14-3 midway through the 2nd quarter.
Graham Mertz, the Wisconsin transfer, is 7-of-10 for 109 yards. However, take away 2 catches for 61 yards for Marcus Burke, and Mertz is 5-of-8 for just 48 yards. On the ground, the Gators have just 29 yards on 8 carries. At one point, they were 0-of-4 on 4th down opportunities.
Florida needs to pick things up in a hurry to turn the tide in the game. Napier and the Gators are drawing plenty of criticism on social media:
Billy Napier is putting on a Chad Morris masterclass so far. @GatorsFB #FloridavsUtah #NCAAFootball
— Lee Richardson (@WilliamLeeRich) September 1, 2023
Florida fans wondering why they hired Billy Napier https://t.co/nRNNVGlMna
— Kyle Compton (@Kyle_Compton92) September 1, 2023
I would like to welcome #billynapier to Tuscaloosa in January 2024, special assistant for football. #Gators #GoGators
— JLS (@jlsturge) September 1, 2023
Billy Napier is not cut out for the sec
— Waterman (winter is coming) (@watermanbbb) September 1, 2023
Billy Napier gotta be on the hot seat. We fired Dan Mullen for this?????
— LC (@_kinglxc) September 1, 2023
Florida tomorrow after firing Billy Napier pic.twitter.com/7R55rnUJND
— ?emily? (@emilyofeasttx) September 1, 2023
People are saying Billy Napier is just Harsin with good recruiting
— Kyle (@AllAubarn) September 1, 2023
Is it too early in the college football season to assume that Billy Napier won’t last much longer at UF?
— Austin Saylor (@saylor_austin) September 1, 2023
Billy napier is not it man. Get him out.
— elder takesman (@pleasecIap) September 1, 2023
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
