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Florida coach Billy Napier touts “complementary football” as key to his winning formula.
But W’s rarely come easily for his Gators, even on an atypical night in Tennessee when football’s three phases all showed up. With his offense, defense and special teams clicking on Rocky Top, Napier didn’t do his part during a soul-crushing 23-17 overtime loss to the No. 8 Vols.
Rather than go for the win and avoid overtime, Napier played it safely. With the chance to build a first-half cushion, his offense fell flat and provided hope to Tennessee.
UF failed twice with a yard or less to gain, including on the goal line when quarterback Graham Mertz fumbled.
“We had many opportunities to score points and left a ton of points out there,” Napier said.
Coach Josh Heupel’s Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC) eventually capitalized to keep alive their College Football Playoff hopes. The loss undercut Florida’s push for a winning season and Napier’s case to save his job.
Until Tennessee tailback Dylan Sampson’s third touchdown run secured the win, the Gators went toe to toe with a top 10 team with a sellout crowd of 101,915 against them.
Napier had his team, particularly UF’s embattled defense, prepared to compete as 15.5-point underdogs. Yet his repeated miscues derailed the effort and offered the latest example of Napier’s in-game struggles with play-calling, game management and overseeing the operation.
Consider the end of the first half when the Gators squandered three critical points after an illegal-substitution penalty left UF with 12 men on the field and negated Trey Smack’s 42-yard-field goal. Napier claimed an injured player failed to exit the game.
“The player that had been substituted on that unit did not come off (the field),” he said. “He stayed.”
The ensuing 10-second run-off ended the half, with the Gators…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gators-loss-tennessee-spotlights-billy-200000054.html
Author : Orlando Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-10-13 20:00:00
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