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: