Can Billy Napier channel his inner Zooker Saturday in Jacksonville?

Billy Napier could end questions about job security if he beats Georgia Saturday (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears)

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

We could call what happened from 1990-2010 The Revenge Tour. For 25 years nothing caused more ulcers among Gator fans than the stress of dealing with Georgia and Vince Dooley. Dooley held a 17-7-1 advantage over the Gators including at least four games that prevented Florida from winning the Southeastern Conference.  All that changed with the hiring of Steven Orr Spurrier in 1990. Spurrier made Georgia his own personal whipping boy, going 11-1 against the Bulldogs. Ron Zook went 2-1 and might have gone 3-1 except he was fired on the Monday prior to the 2004 Georgia game. He coached that Saturday and nearly bushwhacked the Bulldogs, dropping a 31-24 decision. Urban Meyer followed Zooker, torturing Georgia with a 5-1 record.

During that magical run, the Gators won eight SEC and three national championships. Georgia won two SEC titles and didn’t sniff a national championship, but all that changed when Meyer departed after 2010. In the 13 years since, Georgia holds a 9-4 advantage with two SEC and two national championships, both won by Kirby Smart, who is 100-17 in his nine years on the job. Overall since 2011, Georgia is 150-34 while Florida’s four coaches have combined for a 102-69 record. During the Kirby Smart era at Georgia, the Gators are 63-44.

Among the four coaches since Meyer only Jim McElwain held a winning record (2-1) against Georgia. Will Muschamp was 1-3, Dan Mullen was 1-3 and Billy Napier is 0-2.

The reasons for Florida backsliding to those years of yesteryear when “Wait ‘til next year” was the unofficial Gator battlecry are numerous but stability has plenty to do with it as does finding the coach who is the right fit for the job. Since Steve Spurrier retired after the 2001 season, Florida has gone through six football coaches. Georgia has had two -- Mark Richt and Smart. Richt, who went 145-51 at Georgia, was Bobby Bowden’s offensive coordinator when he was hired. Smart was Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama. Neither had ever been a head coach prior to taking the Georgia job. Florida’s only two hires who had no head coaching experience (Zook and Muschamp) were a combined 51-34.

Although Georgia has already lost a game this season, most experts believe the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) will be one of the last four teams standing when the College Football Playoff enters the semifinal stage. Perhaps a majority of those same experts believe Billy Napier will be (a) job hunting at the end of the regular season and (b) consulting his financial planner to figure out the best place to invest the $26 million buyout money Florida will have to pony up to fire him.

Napier is 4-3 this season (15-17 since taking over in 2022) without a win over a team with a winning record. Saturday he goes against Smart, who was a colleague at Alabama when the two were Nick Saban assistants, for the third time. Smart and Georgia are 16.5-point favorites to begin a November run toward a championship with a relatively easy win over the Gators. Should Georgia blow the doors off the Gators, will the calls to terminate Napier be loud enough to convince the administration that the search for coach number seven since 2001 should begin immediately?

What if Napier and the Gators go white knuckles with the Bulldogs? Lest we forget, Georgia barely escaped with a 13-12 win over the same Kentucky team Napier and the Gators destroyed by 28 points two weeks ago. Can the Gators make Smart and Georgia sweat it out?

And, what happens if Florida does the impossible? Back in 2002, Zook’s first year on the job, the Gators came Jacksonville unranked with a 5-3 record. Georgia was No. 5, unbeaten and clearly in the national championship discussion. Trailing 13-12 in the fourth quarter, Rex Grossman led the Gators on a 10-play, 89-yard drive that culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ben Troupe. Grossman, not exactly a dual threat, ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Gators up 20-13, a lead they never surrendered. Florida finished 8-5 that year. Georgia went 13-1, missing out on an unbeaten season that probably would have landed them in the national championship game against Miami.

Zooker shocked the world with that win. A Napier win would be even more of a shocker, but this is Jacksonville, a place where weirdness has been known to happen when Florida plays Georgia. A Napier win and he’s coaching the Gators in 2025. Etch that in stone. A close call could do it, too.

Stranger things have happened.

SEC FOOTBALL

No. 14 Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Paul Finebaum, who earlier in the month called Bama dead in the water has changed his tune. Asked which SEC team is poised to have a November to remember on Sports Center, Finebaum replied, “I think it’s Alabama.” The Tide is off this week but plays LSU in Baton Rouge November 9 in a playoff elimination game for both teams.

Arkansas (5-3, 3-2 SEC): The task for Arkansas this week will be to protect QB Taylen Green against an Ole Miss pass rush that was credited with 10 sacks last week against Oklahoma. Arkansas has given up 17 sacks this season. Ole Miss has 34, best in the SEC and 2nd nationally. Next: No. 19 Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2 SEC)

Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC): Auburn hopes to have better luck handling Vandy QB Diego Pavia than they had last year when he was at New Mexico State. In leading New Mexico State to a 31-10 upset of the Tigers in 2023, Pavia threw three touchdown passes. Next: Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2 SEC)

No. 2 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC): Guard Tate Ratledge and defensive lineman Jordan Hall are practicing and expected to play against the Gators Saturday. Running back Branson Robinson and linebacker Smael Mondon are quesitonable. Next: FLORIDA (4-3, 2-2 SEC) in Jacksonville

Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC): The Wildcats have made it into the red zone as SEC worst 22 times in eight games. They’ve scored 12 touchdowns and kicked six field goals. HBC Mark Stoops said Monday, “Criticism is fair. I don’t get involved in play calling.”  Next: at No. 7 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC)

No. 16 LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Starting left guard Garrett Dellenger suffered a high ankle sprain in the loss to Texas A&M so having the open date came at a good time with Alabama looming on November 9.

Mississippi State (1-7, 0-5 SEC): Linebacker Bangally Kamara, who opted out after four games at South Carolina, will officially visit Mississippi State. Prior to South Carolina, Kamara played four seasons at Pittsburgh. Next: UMass (2-6)

No. 25 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC): Not only are the Tigers 0-2 against the two ranked teams they have played (No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Alabama), but they’ve been outscored 75-10 in those two games.

Oklahoma (4-4, 1-4 SEC): The Sooners have given up 19 sacks in their last two games. Their 39 sacks allowed through eight games is the worst in the nation. Next: Maine (4-4)

No. 19 Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2 SEC): ABC opted to put Alabama at LSU as its night game November 9 with Georgia at Ole Miss at 3:30, which prompted Lane Kiffen to remark, “LSU gets to play at night again, I guess? Shocker. So that’s 2-for-2 for them. It is an advantage. I feel bad for our fans not to have at least one game at night for a conference game.” Next: at Arkansas (5-3, 3-2 SEC)

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC): The Gamecocks are on the right track defensively, ranking 13th nationally (298.3 yards per game), but their offense lets them down, gaining only 346.9 yards per game. Next: No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC)

No. 7 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC): In four SEC games the Vols average 349.25 yards and 21.5 points per game. In their three non-conference games, the Vols averaged 639.33 yards and 63.67 points per game. Next: Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC)

No. 6 Texas (7-1, 3-1 SEC): The Longhorns are using the open week to do some healing and improvement on an offensive line that has played poorly in the last two games. The Longhorns gave up seven sacks in their loss to Georgia and ran for only 104 yards against Vanderbilt.

No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC): The way Marcel Reed played to lead the Aggies to a come-from-behind win over LSU last week might put Conner Weigman on the bench the rest of the season. Reed has thrown for six TDs without a pick and has run for five more TDs in the six games in which he has played. Next: at South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC)

Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2 SEC): Vanderbilt’s success is hard to figure because the Commodores rank 13th in the Southeastern Conference in total offense (351.5 yards per game) and 12th in total defense (339 yards per game). Next: at Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC)

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT:  Already three coaches have bit the dust and certainly more will follow. It will be a November to remember for more than just some teams winning enough games to make the College Football Playoff or a bowl game. For some it will be one to remember because they’ll have to pony up a boatload of money to pay for a buyout. Here are a few predictions of things to come in the coaching profession.

1. UCF won’t fire Gus Malzahn but demand changes in the coaching staff: They’re paying Gus $2.3 million to win football games and he’s 3-5 this year. He’s 27-21 overall which is why he will get another year, but he has to hire a new play caller and a new DC. He took the first step earlier in the week when he fired DC Ted Roof.

2. Jimbo Fisher will become a hot commodity: Just because things didn’t work out at Texas A&M doesn’t mean Jimbo forgot how to coach. He did win a national championship at FSU and so much of the Aggie team that could win the SEC this year he recruited. His HBC record at FSU and A&M is 128-48.The boy can recruit. He’s a coach and has the itch to do it again. Since he has $76 million banked from his Aggie buyout, he can work cheap. He will be in demand for a really good job.

3. Brent Venables will poach Navy’s Drew Cronic to be his offensive coordinator: He has resurrected Navy with his innovative play calling and funky offense that is part pro, part option. His teams run the football and incorporate some new wrinkles in the passing game. He could save Brent Venables’ coaching career.

4. LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan will be hired as the HBC at East Carolina: This is a nice stepping stone job for the big time. ECU has the facilities and one of the best fan bases among the Group of Five. It will be going home for Sloan, who played QB at ECU 2005-08. He’s one of the bright young minds in the college game.

5. Mack Brown will retire at North Carolina: Mack is too old school for what college football has become. He’s won more than 100 games at both Texas and North Carolina and has a national championship to boot (Texas 2005). He’s 73 and he looks very tired.

6. Dan Mullen likes the booth but could be persuaded to coach again: Take away that final year at UF and he was 28-9 with three straight New Year’s Six bowl games. He won at Mississippi State and nobody wins there. He’s living the good life up in North Georgia and he works on weekends for ESPN. It’s a good gig but he could be persuaded to coach again if he got the right job and could hire the right recruiter. Bet the ranch that Jimmy Sexton is already fielding calls to gauge his interest.

Bonus prediction: The Carolina Panthers will make a play for Kirby Smart, who will elect to stay at Georgia, but they will succeed at hiring Lincoln Riley away from Southern Cal. The Panthers need a quarterback guru to mentor former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and there are few better than Riley at developing a QB. Riley is no closer to bringing a national championship to Southern Cal now than the day he was hired away from Oklahoma. Thanks to its rich booster base and Big Ten money, Southern Cal will make a big time hire to replace the departed Riley.