Florida Gators Get A Win, So Napier Hangs On To A Strand Of Floss

Hayden Hansen celebrates a touchdown in Florida's win over Mississippi State (UAA Photo)

The Gators (2-2, 1-1 SEC) got a 45-28 win over Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1 SEC) Saturday afternoon in Starkville, their first over a Division I team since last October when they took out South Carolina in Columbia. This was a win the Gators needed desperately, but did it move the needle at all for Billy Napier, hanging on to his job by a strand of dental floss?

Getting a win was a priority because it broke an 8-game losing streak against Division I teams dating back to last October 14, but it’s difficult to imagine that any of the boosters who have put together the $26 million it will take to buy out Napier’s contract will feel the urge to renege on his contribution pledge. Napier needed something decisive to convince anyone that given a little more time he can turn things around, but this was anything but decisive.  

It was a win and as necessary as it was, it was far too reminiscent of at least ten of the past 29 games – enough offense to win but a defense that does a dandy impersonation of a sieve. If the defense had come out of witness protection a few times in the past Napier’s seat wouldn’t feel like it’s being heated by an acetylene torch.

Two seasons and four games into a third, there seems to be little if any improvement. Einstein once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. The Gators keep doing the same thing. The results remain the same.

Is that what we have here? Insanity? Have we abandoned the idea that the results are going to be better because there is someone new to coordinate the defense? Napier has hired three different coordinators, one for each season. Each one has come with the promise from the top that things are going to be better.

Promises, promises. Things aren’t better and only the most optimistic among us holds out hope that it's just a matter of time before we see the turnaround.

Here is what keeps happening. The defensive line keeps getting blown off the line of scrimmage, which is why the Gators keep giving up these chunk running plays. Opposing receivers run around unchecked in the secondary like banshees on Halloween. Tackles are missed all too frequently. Third down has become an adventure. Opposing quarterbacks rarely feel the heat from the rush and when they do, they tend to run for however many yards they need for a first down. The Gators are tied for last nationally in interceptions. And these are only the obvious problems.

Saturday, an overmatched Mississippi State team that will be fortunate to win two games this year, put up 28 points and generated 480 yards of offense – 240 on the ground, 240 through the air. The Bulldogs ran 90 plays, held the ball for nearly five minutes more than the Gators (32:24-27:36), had 15 big plays (7-155 passing, 8-125 rushing), put together five drives in which they held the ball for at least 11 plays and converted 11 third downs in 20 attempts.

Focus in on the rushing yardage. Mississippi State came into the game averaging just 97 yards on the ground and 3.29 per carry against a D1AA team, a mid-level team from the Big 12 and a team from the MAC. Yet these same Bulldogs ran through big holes and through countless UF defenders.

That is an entire laundry list of obvious mistakes. It makes you wonder was Third and Grantham ever this bad?

As he does every game, Napier offered explanations that sounded a lot like the ones he offered a week ago, three weeks ago, a year ago or two years ago.

"Well, look, we are what we are,” Napier said Saturday. “I don't have any other answer for you other than I think we're capable of better. I think we can play better. I think we can coach better.”

Yes, the Gators are what they are. Bad. Very bad. Are they capable of playing better? Do they have personnel capable of playing defense at a high level in the Southeastern Conference? Or is it a case that all the smoke and mirrors in the world are incapable of hiding the fact that Florida’s defensive personnel just aren’t good enough to compete and win in the SEC? Can the defense be coached better? Isn't it obvious?

What Napier said Saturday about Florida’s personnel on the defensive line of scrimmage was distressing.

“We got to get it fixed,” he said. “If you want to play really good defense, you got to be strong up the middle. It's discouraging because it's at the core of what you do. And I think we've got the personnel in there to be really good.”

That the Gators keep playing rotten defense is a reflection that they aren't strong up the middle, and yes, it is discouraging. If the personnel are capable of being really good, then why aren't they? Is the coaching that bad?

Look at the three games this season against Division I opponents. Miami only ran for 144 yards but the Hurricanes threw for 385 because Florida’s defensive front couldn’t lay a finger on Cam Ward. A week ago, Texas A&M ran for 310 yards and didn’t give up a sack. Saturday the Gators were lit up for 240 rushing yards and it was so rare that they applied any pressure to two MSU quarterbacks.

Good D-lines stuff the run and pressure the passer. It doesn't take a card carying member of MENSA to see that the Gators do not have a good defensive line.

Over on the offensive side of the ball, Napier has good enough skill people to win games when the offensive line has a decent game. Saturday the O-line was good enough that the Gators put up six touchdowns and a field goal while generating 503 very efficient yards on just 60 plays. Graham Mertz had an exceptional day, hitting 19-21 of his passes for 201 yards and three TDs. He also ran for a TD. Freshman DJ Lagway made the most of his opportunities by completing 7-7 of his passes for 76 yards.

The Gators threw for 277 yards, ran for 226 and averaged 7.9 yards per play. The O-line didn’t give up a sack although they did allow a handful of pressures. The Gators converted six of their nine third downs and only had to punt the football twice. Six different people carried the football, 10 different receivers caught a pass.

Had the defense gotten off the field with any kind of regularity, the Gators probably could have lit up the scoreboard for 70 points.

It sounds impressive and to a certain degree it is, but let’s not fool ourselves here. A week ago Mississippi State gave up five touchdowns, two field goals and 41 points to Toledo from the Mid-American Conference. Mississippi State’s defense is a lot like Florida’s – not very good.

After the game, Napier offered this assessment:

“Okay, we won today, but we are very much a work in progress and this group can get so much better,” he said. “I mean, we got so many individual players, position groups and units on our team, that we're not even close to being who we can be and they know that. That's what I told them in the locker room. I think we saw flashes of it today, but we have to become a more consistent team, and I think that's going to be the emphasis here in the open date.

“And look, I just want to see a little more scrap, a little more fight, in particular on defense in some of these situations that we had today. We got multiple opportunities to get off the field, and I just think we got to challenge the leadership, and we have to get a little bit more out of them. I think ultimately that's what's going to be for us to have success in future we got to play complementary ball, and at some point we got to play really good defense.”

A work in progress. Needing more consistency. Complementary football. We’ve been hearing that since Napier arrived and except for a few rare occasions it’s something we’ve yet to see. The offense has shown up enough that Napier could be sitting at 20 or so wins for his time at Florida, but the defense hasn’t held up its end of the bargain. Napier with 20 wins would be hailed as a coach who has Florida back on track to be in championship hunts in the future.

Napier with 13 wins in 29 games and a 3-12 record away from Gainesville is simply a coach waiting for when he gets fired, not if. Saturday’s win over Mississippi State only delayed the inevitable. Florida will soon be searching for its seventh head coach since Steve Spurrier retired in 2001.

The strand of dental floss Billy Napier is holding on to will snap very soon.