When the win feels like a loss, the home crowd is going to boo.
As Florida head coach Billy Napier walked off the field in Gainesville on Saturday night, the boo birds were out. Maybe Gator fans were upset with the near-disaster against a Mississippi State team that hasn’t won an SEC game in 2 years. Maybe fans were upset the Gators pulled out a win and saved Napier’s job for another week.
The Gators (3-4, 2-2 SEC) took a major step toward bowl eligibility on Saturday night, but for a season that began with a 15th-place ranking in the AP poll, more was expected. Squeaking out a win over Mississippi State wasn’t expected.
What is abundantly clear is that Napier has run out of goodwill at Florida.
Following a touchdown run from KD Daniels with 13:41 to play, Florida had a 20-7 lead on the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State scored with 2 minutes to go to climb within 2 points, then it forced a 3-and-out in just 13 seconds to get the football back. The Bulldogs drove down to the Florida 29 and looked to be in range to attempt a game-winning field goal before quarterback Blake Shapen was picked off.
The play sealed the deal on a 23-21 win for the Gators.
Heading into the game, a report stated that Napier would not “survive” another loss. Based on fan reaction, wins aren’t worth much either right now.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
