Billy Napier, Gators Risk Infamous Feat with Kentucky Game Looming

Should Billy Napier and the Florida Gators drop another game against Kentucky, they'll find themselves in the history books for the wrong reasons

Another loss to Kentuck would put Billy Napier in some infamous territory of Florida Gators history. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators are back home in The Swamp hosting rival Kentucky on Saturday. This matchup has been played under a flipped script for the last few years. 

It used to be this was a guaranteed win for Florida. No matter who the head coach was or what Florida’s record was, they beat Kentucky - for 31 straight years as a matter of fact. Since 2018, they’ve lost four of six matchups including the last three in a row. Napier, in turn, has never beaten Kentucky.

Struggles on offense have been a glaring highlight of these losses. During their three-game losing streak, the Gators' offense has failed to score more than 16 points in each game. Hard to pick up your first win when that's the case.

To find a Gators head coach who hasn’t lost a game to Kentucky, you have to go pretty far back. Dennis K Stanley, who coached the Gators from 1933 to 1935 is the most recent, and he only played Kentucky once in those three seasons. 

Even if it’s just a losing record against Kentucky of more than one game, you have to back to Bob Woodruff in the 1950s. And yes, Dan Mullen was .500 against Kentucky, Napier isn't alone in recent losing history. But that second loss contributed to Mullen's departure. Imagine being the coach who gets a third. That could be Billy Napier. 

And he’s fighting to hang on to his job. Since it’s been an annual game, Gators head coaches beat Kentucky - and more often than not. A loss at home to Kentucky could be what does him in, especially if the offense yet again fails to put up a fight.

Even beyond Napier, there’s a lot at stake for the Gators. The last time they lost four in a row to Kentucky was between 1948 and 1951. They haven’t lost back-to-back home games in this matchup since 1977 and 1979. 

It’s a reflection of how far the Gators have fallen from grace in the 2020s decade. There is hope to get back on track, but it has to start with a statement win over Kentucky. The fact that it can be called a statement win also shows how rough things have gotten, but here we are.