Too many plays, drives, and coaching decisions left Gator fans uneasy during Florida’s 18-16 loss to USF on Saturday evening. Perhaps the most disappointing action came when the Bulls were attempting a two-minute drill for the win inside The Swamp.
Yards were at a premium as Florida only led by one point. After a pass interference penalty gave USF a first down at their own 24-yard line with 2:14 to play, the Gators held running back Alvon Isaac to a zero-yard rush. Shortly after the play, Gators defensive tackle Brendan Bett proceeded to spit on USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner, resulting in an ejection and a 15-yard penalty. Before Florida’s defense had even given up a yard, USF had moved the ball nearly 30 yards down field.
With the game on the line, you simply can’t make mistakes that have nothing to do with football.
“It’s unacceptable,” head coach Billy Napier said postgame. “I think we’ve got a lot of players in that room as well that have the same belief that it’s unacceptable.”
“When a guy does something like that, he’s compromising the team. He’s putting himself before the team. Everything the game is about, you’re compromising. So there will be lessons to be learned there. Yeah, it’s that simple,” Napier added.
We’ve heard the staff and players preach the positive culture at UF, but spitting in a players face in a critical moment doesn’t showcase it.
“The ones that keep you up at night are the ones that are player decision-making, so there’s got to be some ownership there on both ends. “They’re under my leadership. It’s ultimately my responsibility,” Napier said.
Senior cornerback Devin Moore told the media he plans to address the penalty with Bett as one of the leaders on the team.
“Address it, hold my teammate accountable,” Moore said. “There’s no place for that as an individual and certainly representing the University of Florida. There’s no place for that here. This is a prestigious program, and that will be addressed for sure.
Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway showed his support for Bett in a hard time.
“Brendan, he’s a heck of a player. He made a mistake there. That doesn’t identify his character at all,” Lagway said on Bett. “He’s such a nice guy, nice kid, nice person to have in the locker room. He was in there crying and stuff like that, feeling bad, talking to the coaches, talking to the players, and apologizing for it. We don’t ever hold that against anybody. He’s going to come prepared this week.”
It wasn’t just the spitting penalty that hurt Florida in the game. The Gators were penalized 11 times for 103 yards in the loss.
“It’s so out of character for us,” quarterback DJ Lagway said on the penalties. “Coach Napier, he’s built the foundation from day one here. He knows and we know what’s the expectations here, and we didn’t live up to that today.”
It’s unclear whether Bett will face a suspension after his ejection.
The thing that is “unacceptable” is that Napier is still our coach. Followed closely by giving a horrendous AD an extension?! All of his hires except Golden have been a disaster, and he just got lucky on that one.