Emmitt Smith Congratulates Florida on Win Two Days After Loss

The Hall of Famer and beloved Florida alum had interesting timing two days after the Gators lost at home to Kentucky.

News travels fast in today’s sports news cycle, with information always no more than a click away. It’s hard to be out of the loop for too long—unless, apparently, you’re a Hall of Fame running back.

Emmitt Smith is a Florida legend who was a three-time All-SEC selection and conference MVP in 1989 before embarking on an iconic career in the NFL, so you’d think he’d at least be aware of how his alma mater was performing on the gridiron. That makes his Monday morning tweet congratulating the Gators on their win over Utah—a game that took place nine days ago—all the more puzzling, especially considering Florida’s subsequent home loss to Kentucky this weekend.

“Great win against Utah,” Smith wrote. “Good work and keep the program moving forward!”

The Gators did not, in fact, keep up the good work moving forward from their win over the Utes. Florida fell to the Wildcats on Saturday, 26–16, giving up 23 unanswered points and getting shut out in the second half. After starring against Utah, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was not nearly as effective against Kentucky, completing 14 of 35 pass attempts with two interceptions and just four rushing yards. 

Perhaps Smith was unaware of the Kentucky game when he composed that tweet. His son, Emmitt Smith Jr., plays for Stanford, and the elder Smith was at the game on Saturday when the Cardinal hosted USC. That game kicked off around the same time as Florida-Kentucky, so maybe he truly had not been clued in on how it turned out.

If this is the first time Smith is being informed of what happened, though, then we apologize to the former Gator for being the bearer of bad news.

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