Another Gator football season is in the books, and for the third time since 1991, it’s over before December hits. I will get into the bigger picture later, but for today, let’s just talk about that last game.
If the Gators had Graham Mertz, I think there’s a good chance they would’ve won. I am not entirely sure of it, though, and that’s because of the gap in talent between the teams.
Mike Norvell had a two-year head start on Billy Napier, and UF was also missing a lot more than just its starting quarterback. Multiple starting offensive linemen and the only above-average linebacker were just a start, and then more guys started dropping through the game. For a team that had little experienced depth to begin with, they couldn’t stay afloat with that many missing men.
The biggest single problem was that the offensive line couldn’t handle Jared Verse. Everything else seemed survivable, but he was wrecking shop all game. Nothing the Gators did had any effectiveness for long. He should’ve been in the NFL this year, and in a past era, he likely would’ve been. I think I read that supposedly a nice, hefty NIL deal pushed him over the edge to staying an extra year to try to play his way into the first round, and I would guess he’s done that.
Verse was a transfer portal pick from FCS program Albany. A handful of guys each year are good enough to make the jump from lower levels up to the P5; Missouri’s nearly 1,500-yard running back Cody Schrader is an example from this past year’s cycle.
It’s the kind of player that Napier has not pulled from the portal, because those dudes tend to go quick and don’t want to deal with someone’s long and thorough vetting process. One thing to watch in the coming month is whether UF goes quickly after guys and actually lands some instead of securing visits only to watch the guy commit before he takes any. The Gators have already offered a D-lineman from Penn who’s gotten a lot of P5 attention, so maybe that’s a sign of change, but we’ll have to monitor.
Anyway, back to the game. The offense felt kind of like watching the coyote from the old cartoons run off a cliff. As long as he doesn’t look down, he can keep going. As soon as he does, gravity takes over and he plummets to the bottom of the ravine.
That moment of looking down was the ill-timed double reverse late in the first half. The regular offense had largely been working fine to that point. They had scoring opportunities on their first three drives — missed FG, TD, made FG — and the fourth drive was a punt from 4th & 1 that pinned FSU deep and ultimately led to a safety.
And then, for no reason, from around midfield, Napier calls the trick play. It was a bad idea for several reasons.
It killed all offensive momentum. The prior drive was a three-and-out, but again, they almost converted. It wasn’t one of those drives where they end up in 3rd & 12 and then can’t pick up the conversion. The drive didn’t convert, but only by a tiny amount. There wasn’t a reason to go away from the normal scheme.
It also wasn’t necessary from a game state standpoint. UF was up by 12, and with not that much yardage gained, they could’ve had a chance at a field goal to push the lead into the territory where a two-point conversion would’ve been necessary to tie. It’s not like they were down and needed a spark to get back into it.
And furthermore, Florida couldn’t block anything for any appreciable amount of time. The thing that kills me the most about Napier’s offense and play calling is how many times he calls slow developing pass plays as though he has an offensive line that’s three times better than it actually is. And on top of that, the perimeter blocking is even worse than the line’s.
Therefore, calling a play that requires several seconds’ worth of exchanges before even getting to the guy who’s going to throw it is a terrible idea against this opponent. It was even worse with nearly a half’s worth of evidence showing blocking deficiencies. Call a trick play if you must, but not that trick play.
I could feel the momentum shift from my couch and easily predicted the FSU touchdown that ensued. I knew Florida hadn’t taken advantage of the defense’s unexpected success early, what with the missed field goal and then kicking on 4th & 1 from the Seminoles’ 17-yard-line. The defense finally wasn’t the reason they lost the game, but Napier took that and ran with it way too far. He coached like he thought the unit was capable of getting stops indefinitely, and no one ever should’ve expected that.
Another loss then is laid at the feet of the guy in charge. I am still of the opinion that Napier needs a play calling OC to focus more on the big picture, but his big-picture coaching is still frustrating. He tries to use “analytics” as a shield when possible and deflects when pressed on his conservatism that can’t be excused by the numbers.
The only possible cure to the Napier era is more Napier, but it also might not be a cure at all. Ah, but there I go, getting off to the macro again.
I salute the players strongly for never giving up down the stretch or on Saturday night. They were giving it their all. It’s just that their all wasn’t good enough, which is no fault of their own.
It’s too bad, as many of these guys will be forgotten as so many from the 2013 team were, but they were still an admirable bunch laboring under questionable leadership. Fair winds and following seas, fellas.