Opinion Shifting in Billy Napier's Favor Despite Florida Gators Loss

The Florida Gators took another loss to Georgia, but this was different - it's leading to a potential shift in the perception of Billy Napier

The court of public opinion could be starting to rule in favor of Billy Napier / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida Gators lost to the Georgia Bulldogs yet again, 34-20. However, something was different about this game.

First of all, the score doesn’t tell the whole story. Florida led 13-6 at halftime, and the game was tied 20-20 until the final minutes of the game when Georgia quickly put up two touchdowns.

They had as high as a 67.1% chance to win at one point during the game, according to ESPN Analytics.

This was all despite Florida losing quarterback DJ Lagway to a hamstring injury. Third-string Aidan Warner was out there game-managing as best as he could, and they still had a shot to beat Georgia.

Putting up a fight against Tennessee was a positive sign, but the Georgia game turned some heads. This is the No. 2 team in the country and the expectation is now winning the National Championship.

It could be time to rethink Billy Napier’s outlook as the head coach of the Florida Gators.

On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman discussed it Sunday morning. They gave Napier some credit for how he kept the Gators in the game as late as they were. He was also impressed with how much his players believed in his process.

“I think the way his players are playing for him says a lot about him,” Staples said.

Without a starting quarterback, there isn’t a lot of hope, if any at all, that they'll go out there and beat Texas on Saturday. But for Staples, all the Gators have to do is make it a game.

They don’t have to win to show that things are getting better.

“I’m not expecting them to win, but if you’re in a game with Texas in Austin with a preferred walk-on transfer from Yale at quarterback, that’s pretty damn good.”

The Gators have one of the toughest schedules in college football down the stretch. After Texas, they host No. 14 LSU and No. 16 Ole Miss in The Swamp back-to-back.

Staples said he is ready to take back his criticisms of Napier if Florida continues to put on a strong performance over the next few weeks against these teams.

“If they continue to look like they should look in the trenches, then I will probably say I was wrong,” he said. “Because I said this needs to end.”

Staples added that it could have been that it was a rivalry game, so it led to a higher performance. If Florida gets smacked by Texas next week, he felt it could change the narrative again.

But for now, Napier gets more of the benefit of the doubt than he has been.

It only took three games for the reports that Napier was done to start spreading. After the 33-20 loss to Texas A&M, who has since gone from unranked to No.15 in the country, there were reports that boosters had the buyout ready. There was speculation that he wouldn’t make it to the UCF game.

It wasn’t pretty, and the reports were warranted. Florida was smoked in its losses to Miami and A&M. Mississippi State put up almost 500 yards in the Gators 45-28 win in Starkville.  

His time at Florida coming to an end was seen as a when instead of an if. It can swing back that way pretty quickly, but he’s certainly bought himself more time – at least the end of the season.

Now, to be clear, there are still critiques that need to be mentioned. The special teams unit needs a lot more work. That botched snap swung the momentum back in Georgia’s favor. Other areas have improved - maybe that can too.

Having a competitive team that can rattle the best teams in the SEC with a third-string quarterback is a sure sign something is coming together. If that holds true until the end of the year, the Gators going to want to see what that translates to in 2025.