The ultimate dilemma for a Gator

(Photo by Chris Spears)

New year, similar circumstances. Nothing, but nothing scares the hell out of Gator fans quite like that thought.

A year ago, even though he had the endorsement of athletic director Scott Stricklin, Billy Napier had one foot out the door of the Heavener Center when the Gators did the unthinkable and beat LSU, 27-16. From that spark a small, but very effective forest fire began to burn, the end result a 4-game winning streak, an 8-5 record, and a good case of the warm and fuzzies about Billy Napier.

A season later, the Gators are 1-3, their worst start to a season since 1986. Texas is coming to town, ranked 9^th in the country with a defense that hasn’t allowed more than 269 yards in a game so far. There has been no endorsement of Billy Napier from Scott Stricklin. Talk around town is that the lack of a Stricklin vote of confidence is evidence that once again Napier has one foot out the door of the Heavener Center.  

Here is what has the entire Gator Nation feeling they are caught in the middle of a no-win situation: (1) If the Gators beat Texas it might crank up the kind of rally that the Gators win enough of the remaining games on the schedule and Napier gets another year; and (2) a blowout loss to Texas might trigger Stricklin to decide enough is enough.

This is a dilemma: Gator fans want to win and hate to lose, but there is a price to be paid for both. Win too much and he stays. Keep on losing and he goes, but recruiting falls apart and the next coach is faced with an incredible rebuild.

NAPIER WILL CONTINUE TO CALL THE PLAYS

Napier put the kibosh on the notion he might be relinquishing the play calling to one of his assistants during the off week. At his Monday press conference, Napier basically dug in his heels to debunk the mere thought that someone else would call plays.  

“Well, it's year eight for me [as a head coach], and I think it's the way we've done it,” Napier said. “I think it helped us get here. It helped us, but look, I think there's a lot of guys that are still doing it, too. You could argue both ways here. I watched several of them this weekend.

“So I think each year you're evaluating what is best for the team, for the staff, and certainly I think with who we had coming back. The quarterback, in particular, I think is a huge piece of that puzzle in terms of the verbiage, the system, the dialogue, how you teach the quarterback. I think that's a big piece of the puzzle. And then certain situations present maybe an opportunity for a reset. I think that you're always just evaluating what's best for this team. That's ultimately what drives every decision that we do, no different than a lot of the changes that we've made in the past. I get it.

“There's a lot of teams out there this weekend that struggled, and there's going to be criticism when you're not as productive and that contributes to the team not winning, no different than when you give up a lot of points, there's criticism on the other side. I think we've got to play complementary football. This is a defense that we've worked four years on building and preparing, and they're playing at a high level. We have to continue that, and now we have to get back to playing better on offense. I do think that the kicking game has become a weapon for us, the punt return game, our specialists' play. We've struggled a little bit here the first month, and I think all know that. I know that, our players know that, and certainly our fans know that."

So, there you go. Another year, another game and nothing is going to change. If the Gators turn it around and the offense begins to click, Napier will perhaps be vindicated for his decision to call the plays. If the offense continues to stink, then Napier will go down with the ship.  

SEC FOOTBALL

No. 10 Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC): Quarterback Ty Simpson was the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after completing 24-38 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia. Left tackle Kadyn Proctor was selected SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week … Coordinator Ryan Grubb got a shout out from Nick Saban after his offense converted 13 of 19 third downs in the win over Georgia. “This is what I see being really good coaching,” Saban said. Saturday: No. 16 Vanderbilt (5-0, 1-0 SEC)

Arkansas (2-3, 0-1 SEC): Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a multi-gozillionaire and former Arkansas offensive lineman, is throwing his weight and money behind SMU coach Rhett Lashlee to be the new head coach. Lashley is a former Arkansas quarterback.

Auburn (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Speaking of the offensive frustrations the last two games, coordinator Derrick Nix said Monday, “When you do have a negative play on first down and it does set us back, we have not figured out a way to overcome that yet.”

No. 12 Georgia (3-1, 0-1 SEC): Among the things Kirby Smart said he learned about his team in the loss to Alabama are: “We can run the ball and we can stop the run, two things we struggled with last year. So, we’ve got to continue to improve in those areas. We’ve got to lean on those areas but we’ve got a lot of areas we’ve got to get better at.” Saturday: Kentucky (2-2, 0-2 SEC)

Kentucky (2-2, 0-2 SEC): Following the loss to South Carolina, HBC Mark Stoops said, “We’re a better football team. I understand the frustration. I really do … You know bottom line is winning and we’re falling short of that. That’s frustrating.” Saturday: at No. 12 Georgia (3-1, 1-1 SEC)

No. 13 LSU (3-1, 1-1 SEC): LSU’s running game, which was supposed to be an improvement over last year when the Tigers averaged 116.38 yards per game, has taken a step backwards. After netting just 57 yards against Ole Miss, the Tigers are averaging only 104.8 yards per game, which ranks 15^th in the SEC and No. 121 nationally.

Mississippi State (4-1, 0-1 SEC): South Alabama transfer Fluff Bothwell has recorded back-to-back 100-yard games. He ran for 101 yards against Northern Illinois and followed that up with 134 yards against Tennessee. Bothwell leads Mississippi State in rushing with 450 yards and six touchdowns. Saturday: at No. 6 Texas A&M (5-0, 1-0 SEC)

No. 19 Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Missouri leads both the Southeastern Conference and nation in average time of possession. The Tigers hold onto the ball for 37:29.40 every game. The Tigers rank second nationally in third down conversions with 45 in 73 third down situations (61.64 percent).

No. 5 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Head coach Brent Venables says quarterback John Mateer is “going to push the limits on everything when it comes to his rehab and getting back.” Mateer had surgery on his thumb after the Auburn game. He’s trying to be back in time to play against Texas October 11. Saturday: Kent State (1-3)

No. 4 Ole Miss (5-0, 3-0 SEC): Quarterback Trinidad Chambers, who threw for 314 yards and ran for 71 in the win over LSU, was chosen SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Patrick Kutas was selected SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week. Punter Oscar Bird was named SEC Freshman of the Week … The coordinator for the Ole Miss offense is Charlie Weis Jr., who spent a year at Florida as a student assistant in 2011 when his dad was the offensive coordinator for Will Muschamp. He has been the OC at Ole Miss since 2022. The Rebels have finished top three or better in the SEC every year with Weis calling the plays.

South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Bryan Thomas Jr., who had seven tackles and two sacks in the win over Kentucky, was selected SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week … During the off week, the Gamecocks are going to do plenty of work with the offensive line. The Gamecocks are averaging an anemic 99.8 yards per game on the ground, dead last in the SEC and 126^th nationally. The Gamecocks average 2.9 yards per carry. The O-line has allowed 15 sacks for -130 yards in losses.

No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Linebacker Arion Carter was SEC Defensive Player of the Week after registering 17 tackles and breaking up a game-saving pass in overtime against Mississippi State. Defensive end Tyre West, who had three tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble was selected SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week … The Vols are dead last in the SEC in pass defense. The Vols are giving up 259.2 yards per game, which is 113^th nationally.

No. 9 Texas (3-1): Addressing what he sees as Florida’s defensive strength, HBC Steve Sarkisian said Monday, “They can force a quarterback to hold the ball and then that’s where the pressure can get there. If we can get them out of their two-high [safety] look where they’re doubling receivers, then we can try to attack them as best we can with some one-on-one opportunities.” Saturday: at FLORIDA (1-3, 0-1 SEC)

No. 6 Texas A&M (4-1, 1-0 SEC): The Aggies are working on eliminating penalties as they prep for Mississippi State. They’ve been flagged 13 times in each of the last two games. Said HBC Mike Elko, “We should never have false starts. We should never have procedure penalties. We certainly should not have things happening after the whistle. Those are discipline things. I take those all very personally. They are on me. They are the sign of a really poorly coached football team.” Saturday: Mississippi State (4-1, 0-1 SEC)

No. 16 Vanderbilt (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Placekicker Brock Taylor, who had two field goals and 6-6 on extra points, was selected SEC Special Teams Player of the Week … Vandy upset Alabama in Nashville last year. This year, College Game Day will be in Tuscaloosa for the Vandy-Bama game. It is the first time since 2008 that Vanderbilt has been part of a Game Day matchup. Saturday: at No. 10 Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC)