It was not supposed to be as close as it was, but Florida football escaped its Week 8 matchup in the Swamp against the Mississippi State Bulldogs with a narrow 23-21 win.
It required some last-second heroics, but the Gators were able to send MSU to its 15th-straight loss in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday night. However, it was unlikely enough to save Billy Napier’s job as head coach and it also highlighted DJ Lagway’s continued struggles as he returns from some significant injuries.
The Orange and Blue improved its record to 3-4 and earned a victory in front of the homecoming crowd — that certainly counts for something. But Florida’s performance also left a lot to be desired, especially with its fiercest rival coming up next.
After the dust settled inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators Wire staff offered up their respective instant reactions to the outcome in good, bad and ugly format. Here is what we had to offer.
Adam Dubbi
GOOD: Jaden Baugh is a beast, and after weeks of clamoring for the team to give him the rock more, he has been getting beaucoup touches — with optimal results. KD Daniels also took advantage of his touches, including a wildcat rush for a touchdown, adding to the many options Florida’s offense has to offer.
While DJ Lagway continues to flounder and underperform his superlative talent, Baugh is the baller that carries the offense on his shoulders, and his supporting cast is not too shabby either.
BAD: Florida’s secondary got absolutely torched — but mind you, it was short four of its usual starters. The greenhorns were very clearly overmatched but to the corps’ credit, they did make a few solid plays down the stretch.
Nonetheless, Florida’s absolute dearth of depth in the defensive backfield nearly deep-sixed this game for the Gators.
UGLY: Vernell Brown III went out with an injury in the fourth quarter after a failed catch (that should have been called caught) and was seen favoring his afflicted arm on the sideline shortly after; Aidan Mizell was also seen in a boot on his left leg. Not great, Bob!
Hopefully, these are just minor issues, because the Gators cannot afford to lose either of their most potent offensive weapons.
Aidan Gallardo
GOOD: The unthinkable happened
The Bulldogs were driving deep into Florida territory with a chance to win the game when all of a sudden, defensive lineman Michai Boireau came up with a game-sealing interception. The 349-pound sophomore came up with the unthinkable and Florida somehow escaped with the victory. Goes to show that no matter what happens, a team is never out of it. Props to Boireau for competing hard and staying locked in to come up with that pick for the win.
BAD: Too many big plays allowed
Mississippi State’s receivers seemed like they were burning Florida’s secondary throughout the game. More often than not, a receiver would find himself downfield with a good amount of space between him and the Gator defender.We kind of saw the same thing happen last week against Texas A&M, and these are the types of plays that can really kill the morale of a defense. The Gators need to do a better job at making sure everything stays in front of them. It doesn’t help that the majority of Florida’s defensive backs are out due to injury, but that shouldn’t be an excuse.
UGLY: Despite the win, Napier still needs to go
Where do I even start? The seemingly recurring questionable play-calling week after week? The lack of discipline? The inability to adjust when something’s not working? Unfortunately, this victory was based on luck.
What was supposed to be a Homecoming celebration in the Swamp turned into boos and “Fire Napier!” chants that swirled the atmosphere. If this football program wants to get better, unfortunately, Napier isn’t the guy that’s going to lead them there.
David Rosenberg
GOOD: Baugh is good, so I won’t beat a dead horse there. Instead, let’s talk about Trey Smack, who made four field goals on Saturday but will only get credit for two. The first came at the end of Florida’s first drive, and many of us were sour that Smack wasn’t out there for a point after attempt instead.
But that field goal was the difference in this game, and Smack had to kick it three time — once from 33, then from 38 and finally from 54! Let’s not make it easy for him. Smack also drilled a 53-yarder on Florida’s penultimate drive. Whoever we saw in Week 1 kicking the ball is a distant memory.
Smack has shaken off the rust and drilled 10 straight for Florida. You love to see it.
BAD: I actually think the defense played a solid overall game, especially considering the injuries Florida is dealing with, but the three touchdowns were hard to watch. The Gators came out flat-footed, which is somewhat expected when the leaders of your secondary are scratched before game time. Having Jordan Castell and Cormani McClain probably makes this game a lot less interesting to watch.
But Florida can’t throw its hands up and just let other teams bomb it deep. Blake Shapen isn’t a superstar (yet) but he had the makings of one in Gainesville. Hopefully, more snaps means more experience, but the secondary is absolutely in shambles right now.
UGLY: Let’s not avoid the elephant in the room. Billy Napier makes me scratch my head way more than I would like. I admit, he probably knows more football than me, but some of the plays called on third-and-whatever are baffling. Even if it is a player-execution problem, STOP CALLING THOSE PLAYS IN CRITICAL MOMENTS!
The “Fire Billy” chants came through loud and clear. Will Florida pull the trigger? Probably not, and that’s the ugliest part of all of this.
At least the Gators got the dub?
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Blueskyand like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
