Napier rolls the dice one too many times, Gators fall to Miami, 26-7

(Photo by Chris Spears)

MIAMI – All things considered, it probably seemed like a good idea at the moment when Billy Napier decided to roll the dice a third time against 4^th-ranked Miami Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Trailing the Hurricanes (4-0) 13-7, Napier had to decide between going for it on fourth down at the Miami 33 or sending in Trey Smack to kick a field goal. For Smack, who has a school-record tying 56-yarder to his credit this season, a 50-yarder is close to a chip shot but Napier was feeling good about his offense.

On Florida’s 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, the Gators faced a fourth-and-2 at the Miami 15. After a first half in which the offense was in witness protection, this was a bold move by the ultra-conservative Napier, but the gamble paid off as Lagway went around the right side for a 3-yard gain to the 12. Two plays later, Jaden Baugh carried Hurricanes into the end zone with him, scoring a TD on a 7-yard run with 3:24 left in the quarter.

When Cormani McClain made an acrobatic interception of a Carson Beck pass on Miami’s first play from scrimmage after the Baugh TD, momentum was on Florida’s side, enough that Napier elected to go for a fourth-and-2 at the Miami 45. This time Lagway completed a 5-yard pass to J Michael Sturdivant. Two plays later the drive slowed when Lagway was sacked for a 9-yard loss back to the 45.

A Lagway to Vernell Brown III pass got 12 yards back but fourth-and-3 called for a decision and this time Napier came up on the short end. Lagway completed a short pass to TJ Abrams who seemed to have enough for the first down when the ball was spotted, but when the chains came in to measure, the Gators were a few inches shy of the 30.

Momentum died on that play and so did Napier’s boldness. On Miami’s takeover series, the Gators forced a three-and-out. Taking over at their own 18, Baugh gained nine yards on first and second downs, but on third-and-1 at the 27, there was no deception whatsoever. Baugh got the carry and almost as soon as he touched the ball he was swarmed under.

This time, Napier chose to punt the ball away rather than risk another fourth down conversion. All Miami did from that point on was pile on a couple of touchdowns to walk away with a 26-7 win that looked a lot more decisive than it really was.

You wouldn’t go so far as to chalk this one up among the many winnable games that have slipped through the Gators’ fingers during the Billy Napier era, but it’s worth asking what might have happened had Napier elected to kick the field goal. Ten straight points and who knows how Miami might have reacted.

When the Hurricanes got the good spot and the turnover on downs after the Abrams catch on fourth down, there was clearly a jolt of energy that swung in their direction. Florida, meanwhile, was deflated and it showed when the Hurricanes pounded out a 13-play, 80-yard drive to take a 20-7 lead. The Hurricanes made three conservative, no-risk passes that accounted for 31 yards. The rest was all grind with Mark Fletcher and CharMar Brown taking turns hammering Florida’s injury-depleted front.

Down two touchdowns, the Gators had more ray of hope possession but a sack and two dropped passes killed off Florida’s final shot at springing the upset. Taking over at the Florida 23, the Hurricanes needed four plays to put the ball in the end zone for the final margin.

If there are fingers of blame to point, then they need to be directed to the Florida offense, which had what might be the worst half any Gator team has had since the 1979 Alabama game at Florida Field. The Gators managed only three first downs in that game and didn’t cross midfield.

In the first quarter, the Gators ran only six plays, good for five yards. Things improved a teensy bit in the second when the Gators picked up their only first down and gained 27 yards.

Take a moment and digest that. At the half, Florida’s offense had one first down and 32 total yards. Miami had the ball for 19:41 of the first half. The Hurricanes had 198 yards of first half offense, which is more than Florida had for the entire game (141).

It’s not that the defense played poorly in the first half, either. There was zero in the way of help from the offense, which was once again highly predictable. Once again, the offensive line struggled to get any traction against the Miami defense whether running the ball or protecting Lagway. Lagway was sacked four times for 21 yards in losses and was hurried into bad throws four times.

Lagway finished the game completing 12-23 passes for 61 yards. No matter what level of football you play, averaging 2.35 yards per pass won’t cut it.

Florida held Miami to 344 total yards but 103 of those came late in the fourth quarter. Carson Beck threw for 160 yards on 17-30 passing with no touchdowns and the one interception. He might have played his way out of Heisman contention. The Hurricanes ran for 184 yards, with 81 of those coming in the fourth quarter.

The loss drops the Gators to 1-3 on the season, their worst start since 1986 when they won their season opener and then lost the next four before beating Kent State on Homecoming 52-9. The Gators went on to win four of their final five games to finish 6-5.

Florida won’t play again for two weeks when 8^th-ranked Texas (3-1) comes to The Swamp. It will be a chance for Florida’s walking wounded to heal up. Four players left the game injured against Miami, at least two (Aaron Gates and Dijon Johnson) with what appeared to be serious injuries. Florida came into the game minus several players, most of which play on the defensive line.