NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
GAINESVILLE — The collective tenure of Gators coach Billy Napier won’t be graded on a curve. To the contrary, most have assessed his sub-.500 stint with rigid red-letter marks across the board.
But in one of the most inspiring nights of his beleaguered era, even the most cynical of Gators had to upgrade Napier to at least a D.
As in defensive stands, downfield shots and dazzling rookie play.
As job security goes, Napier‘s hardly out of the woods, but he just might make it out of November. Saturday night’s 48-20 homecoming embarrassment of Kentucky — snapping the Wildcats’ three-game win streak in the series — temporarily turns down the volume of the vitriol and creates at least a plausible path to a bowl berth.
“We played complementary ball,” said Napier, whose team rebounded from a gut-wrenching overtime defeat at Tennessee only seven nights before. “And I think we probably played our best football of the year, and I’m really proud of the resiliency of this group.”
Even with a daunting double bill of Texas and Georgia looming, Saturday’s effort — ushering in the era of freshman quarterback DJ Lagway — provided reasonable hope the Gators can knock off, say, Ole Miss at home (Nov. 23) and reeling FSU on the road (Nov. 30) to reach six wins.
It all seems possible after Saturday, when Napier’s team (4-3, 2-2 SEC) complemented defensive stoutness with offensive balance before a stoked sellout crowd of 89,906 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“I think we fed off each other to some degree,” Napier said.
Florida finished with 279 passing and 197 rushing yards, establishing a potent run game behind Lagway (305 total yards) and fellow true freshman Jadan Baugh that set up numerous vertical opportunities. Baugh, stepping in for injured veteran Montrell Johnson, finished with 106 yards on 22 carries,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/resurgent-gators-roll-past-kentucky-050300273.html
Author : Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Publish date : 2024-10-20 05:03:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
