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The Florida Gators wrapped up their season in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, heartbroken and distraught because they lost blew a lead to in-state rival Florida State and came up short, 24-15.
It was Florida’s fifth straight loss and the football program was eliminated from bowl game eligibility. Just another disappointment to end the year.
USA TODAY Sports released its opinions on the conference coaches of the year, teams with the most improvement and teams who were the “biggest disappointment.”
The same publication named the Gators as “losers” five weeks in a row, so it was only right that staff writer Paul Myerberg marked Billy Napier and Co. as the biggest disappointment in the SEC.
Myerberg stated that Florida “flopped once again,” creating back-to-back losing record seasons in Napier’s first two seasons under the headset.
Fan expectations were high for the Florida Gators. Napier entered his second year with a supposedly better (but still young) roster and a new (also young) defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. The stars seemed like they were aligned, but it all fell apart after Week 3.
Florida got run over by Kentucky, but then traveled back home to collect an easy win over Vanderbilt, followed by a last-minute win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. The stocks rose but then drastically, the market collapsed like it was 1929 when the Gators were curb-stomped by the Georgia Bulldogs, 40-23.
The defense disappeared and five losses later, the team missed bowl eligibility and players are entering the transfer portal or the NFL draft.
Some fans are calling for Napier’s head and hoping the program hits a hard reset, but others are keeping a glass-half-full mindset and moving on to 2024. Florida is No. 5 on the recruiting rankings, and Napier is still fishing for more signees.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/usa-today-sports-marks-florida-190931188.html
Author : Gators Wire
Publish date : 2023-12-08 19:09:31
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