The Gators hosted the University of South Florida on Saturday, a program that has experienced a recent surge under head coach Alex Golesh. Coming into this matchup, the Gators had never lost to USF, but the previous matchup was a close 31-28 finish.
The initial reaction to this game by many fans was to call for the firing of 4th year head coach Billy Napier. This is predictable, as this is not the first embarrassing performance of his tenure, and with the hardest schedule in the country this year, it doesn’t seem that it will be his last. Most fans believe a coaching change is in order as they lack faith in Napier’s ability to right the ship.
This game seemed to be a referendum on his role as a play caller, and it seemed to go as poorly as it possibly could have. The play-calling was dull and uninspired. There were times when keeping it simple was the best option and that’s when he would try to get creative, and then when he needed to be aggressive, he got ultra conservative.
His game management was not much better. Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh would be inexplicably absent for extensive periods of time, rendering our run game ineffective. The last two drives of the game speak for themselves. Florida threw two passes when they could have just run a large chunk of clock off, giving USF the ball back with plenty of time to score, and then did not let USF score late in the game.
It wasn’t completely his fault though. Execution was very poor throughout the game and horrible penalties plagued the Florida offense, effectively shutting it down for most of the game. Two TDs were wiped off the board in one drive. Tony Livingston dropped a potential walk in TD. DJ Lagway struggled to make the right decision all game. A penalty for spitting gave USF new life on their final drive. Florida left no fewer than 21-28 points on the field against a good USF team.
Defensively, there has to be a scheme Florida can run that does not result in multiple wide open receivers every single play. I’m no defensive game plan expert, but when there are 2-3 wide open receivers every single down, there’s something wrong. Florida simply cannot take that level of play into SEC competition.
Credit to the USF defense for executing a great game plan. I look forward to their matchup with Miami and hope they take down the Canes.
As for Florida, they’re headed to Death Valley to play hated rivals LSU. Florida must clean up their play if they hope to win in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2016.
Eric White
College Football Digest 