Florida has struggled mightily on the road or in a neutral site since Billy Napier’s inaugural season in 2022. The Gators hold just a 1-7 record away from Gainesville under Napier. Inside The Swamp, Florida has posted a respectable 9-2 record including significant wins over Utah and Tennessee during that span.
“One of the big challenges for our team is to go play well on the road. I think that’s what’s next for us, and next week will present that challenge for us,” Billy Napier said after Florida’s 38-14 win over Vanderbilt in week six.
Gator Country breaks down just where Florida is going wrong on the road.
TOO MANY PENALTIES ON THE ROAD
Florida is having a tough time communicating on the road which is leading to an uptick in procedural penalties. The Gators simply do not seem as focused away from home which leads to undisciplined football and poor execution across the board.
The Gators are averaging 9.25 penalties for 66.75 yards on the road in the Billy Napier era, including five games with more than 10 penalties. At home, the Gators are averaging 5.09 penalties for 35.81 yards.
“I think the thing I would say is some weeks we’ve handled it really well, some weeks we haven’t. We went and played some of these places and not had those issues,” Billy Napier said on the procedural penalties on the road during Monday’s press conference.
Every road game Florida has played since 2022 consisted of seven or more penalties.
“I think it’s week to week. Ultimately it’s about, during the week, making sure that we’re doing all the things we can do to prevent those issues,” Napier said on the procedural penalties on the road. “But I think I don’t want to make too big of a deal about it because I think we’ve done it really well on the road at times. We haven’t had those issues. But it is definitely part of our past and we have to make sure that we’re on top of our game so it isn’t in the future.”
While not every road game has been a disaster procedurally, the Gators are committing nearly double the number of penalties during road games as compared to home games. Florida’s offense is not built to play behind the chains, so the penalties need to be cleaned up if the Gators want to find success on the road.
NOT STARTING FAST
The Florida Gators have trailed at halftime in seven of their eight games away from Gainesville under Napier, while their only lead against FSU in 2022 (3 points). Florida has led at halftime in nine of their 11 games at home since 2022, trailing only against LSU by a score of 28-21. Florida and Missouri were tied 10-10 at halftime a season ago before the Gators pulled out a 24-17 victory. Against P5 opponents, Florida has led at halftime in five of their seven contests at home under Napier (Missouri, tied / LSU, 7 points).
“I think one of the things that’s important is that you start fast,” Napier said. “You’ve got to show that you’re in the mix, that you’re ready to go, and ultimately you’ve got to solve the operating in that environment, right, the communication element, and then ultimately it comes down to execution.”
Veteran QB Graham Mertz knows the importance of starting fast and indicates they will need to emphasize nonverbal communication to help with execution.
“I’ve played in a lot of away games. The ones that go right, you start fast,” Mertz said on Monday. “We hit on it after the Utah game. It comes down to execution. When the environment is loud, how can we use nonverbal communication, how can we get that right during the week so we can be ready for the game.”
Nonverbal communication will help clean up the procedural penalties that has killed Florida on the road.
“The big thing, this game is all about execution, but especially when you’re on the road it’s starting fast and executing,” Mertz added. “I can guarantee you that’s going to be my point of emphasis for this whole team this week.”
TWEAKING THE ROAD SCHEDULE
“I think we’re going to try to get to Columbia a little earlier this week,” Napier said on the changes to their road process. “We’re tweaking our schedule on Thursday. We’re going to put a huge emphasis on sleep Wednesday night and things that, just little things. I think we’re going to arrive to the stadium a little earlier, all these things are typical quality control that we do.”
“Bottom line is when the ball’s spotted and we kick it off, we’ve got to be ready to mix it up,” Napier added. “And if you’ve done a good job preparing all week, you’re mentally prepared, you can communicate at a high level, you can play fast, you can anticipate.”
There’s an emotional and physical aspect of playing on the road in the SEC, and although it’s hard to find a statistic to prove that, there’s no question that the Gators have looked unprepared and flat in road games under Napier.
“Physically you’ve got to have a sharp sword, Napier said on playing on the road. “You’ve got to be ready to go. That axe can’t be dull. Gotta make the work a little bit easier.”
“If we take the right approach Tuesday, Wednesday, if we’re growing and improving in the physical parts of our team, we can apply that,” Napier added. “There’s an emotional component that I think we have to bring that, gotta create an edge. And that’s what this week’s about.”
Florida will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks in week seven.