The Florida Gators’ hype train has come to a screeching halt. And their head coach knows they have no one to blame but themselves.
Billy Napier is well aware of what No. 13 Florida‘s 18-16 defeat at the hands of South Florida on Saturday will bring him over the course of the next week. After all, this isn’t his first time on the hot seat in Gainesville.
If there’s any positive to being back in this situation, it’s that he knows how to conduct himself in the immediate aftermath. He stood in the fire during his postgame press conference, based on reporting from the Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson.
“There’s no excuse here,” Napier said. “I’m not here to make excuses.”
Napier also acknowledged that Florida’s failures in the red zone were a major reason for this result.
Florida out-possessed USF by nearly 8-and-a-half minutes (34:13-25:47) in Saturday’s contest. Despite this, the Gators failed to put touchdowns on the board. They converted only 33% (4/12) of their third down opportunities and kicked three field goals — two from the red zone — in the first half. Then, when they had a chance to run out the clock, they went three-and-out in just 27 seconds.
Napier and Co. have zero time to sulk about this loss. If they don’t regroup immediately, they’ll be out of the running for a College Football Playoff spot (and Napier will likely be out of a job).
