Florida coach Billy Napier won his first SEC game on Saturday as his team found a way to pull out a homecoming victory over Missouri. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators Find a Way To Put Away Missouri (And Maybe Others)
Sunday, October 9, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Even the most Pollyanna of Gators fans were forced to swallow hard late in the fourth quarter on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.
Florida led Missouri on homecoming as quarterback Anthony Richardson dropped back to pass on third-and-14 from the Tigers' 47-yard line. Richardson's pass to Ricky Pearsall across the middle arrived at the same time as Tigers safety Jaylon Carlies. As Carlies collided with Pearsall, he knocked the pass from Pearsall's outstretched hands. The ball fluttered away, bounced off Carlies, and was intercepted by teammate Daylan Carnell.
The large video board at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stated the facts: 2 minutes, 57 seconds left in the game, Florida up by seven.
In a Southeastern Conference East Division rivalry known for its erratic behavior over the past decade, this one seemed ready to deliver another peculiar finish, which would undoubtedly be painful for the home team if it ended like the game last season at Missouri.
Ah, but as a man in a visor once said, God smiled on the Gators.
Of course, God has a sense of humor. How can one explain that third-and-18 pass the Tigers converted on their final drive?
Still, with the Tigers facing fourth-and-2 at Florida's 48, Gators linebacker Ventrell Miller pressured quarterback Brady Cook into a low throw with 1:17 remaining. The pass hit the turf. The Swamp roared, the Gators celebrated, and head coach Billy Napier could smile, knowing he had his first SEC victory.
The final play preserved Florida's 24-17 win and, equally important, saved Napier and his Gators from a week of salty hot takes from the Orange & Blue faithful heading into Saturday's annual showdown with LSU.
"It was a team win," Napier said. "It wasn't anything great offensively, [on] defense or special teams, but the combination of those three got it done."
The Gators improved to 4-2, 1-2 in the conference at the season's midway point. And while a portion of Florida fans expects 6-0 and a 20-point average margin of victory, that's not these Gators. It would never be and won't be for the rest of the season.
But for those who tend to live in reality, the Gators are in a good spot in the big picture heading into the LSU matchup. Before I forget, you might want to check in on your Baton Rouge buddies Sunday morning. OK, back to the Gators.
The win over Missouri won't remind anyone of the Gators' glory days, but it proved once again that in Napier's first season, he has built a culture and a team that will fight until the end. They might take a few punches on the chin, but they get back up.
Look at what transpired in the first half Saturday.
Florida managed a measly 65 yards of total offense on 18 plays. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime thanks to an interception return for a score by corner Jaydon Hill and Adam Mihalek's 37-yard field goal. A homecoming win was far from guaranteed as the teams headed to the locker room.
"We had a lot left on the call sheet," Napier said.
And many of those plays called for Richardson to hand the ball off to the three-headed backfield of Montrell Johnson Jr., Nay'Quan Wright and Trevor Etienne. After 19 rushing yards in the first half, the approach moved the chains as Florida scooted for 212 in the second half.
Johnson finished with 86 yards, including a 41-yard run. Etienne had 83, and Wright a modest 22. Meanwhile, Richardson had the game's biggest run when he scrambled for 32 yards on fourth-and-2 from Missouri's 35 late in the third quarter. Johnson scored on a 3-yard run on the next play to put the Gators up for good, 17-10.
With Richardson often a roller-coaster ride — he turned the ball over twice Saturday but added an excellent throw for a 9-yard touchdown strike to Pearsall in the fourth quarter — the Gators can take solace in knowing they can move the ball on the ground behind a veteran offensive line.
After one of the best games of his college career (11 tackles, 10 solo), Miller received assurance at halftime Saturday from veteran center Kingsley Eguakun.
"We always have faith in the offense,'' Miller said. "Big Kings, he came to me down there at halftime, and he said, 'we got you, we got you,' so basically them having that confidence, it keeps me having that confidence in them that they're gonna come out and execute."
With the heart of the schedule looming in the season's second half, Florida's ability to run the ball effectively will likely determine the season the Gators have. Following the LSU game, they have a bye week before the annual rivalry game against Georgia in Jacksonville.
If the Gators can beat LSU, their confidence will be high.
Napier has a good grasp of what his team is at midseason.
"We have not executed our formula to win games at the rate in which we would, at any point," he said. "I think we're very much a work in progress, but I do believe in this group relative to the fight they show, the competitive spirit, the intangibles. I think we've developed some togetherness, there's some chemistry there. I think that's getting stronger.
"I do think we're built to play winning football. We've got a formula that's won a lot of games."
They overcame some ingredients not in that formula on Saturday: Missouri converting 9 of 17 third-down conversions; a pair of missed field goals by Mihalek; Richardson's quiet day (8 of 14, 66 yards) in the passing game.
Still, they snapped a six-game SEC losing streak and are on pace to finish 8-4, which, all things considered, would represent a successful season based on preseason projections for Napier in Year 1 of a rebuild.
"A lot of guys were saying, 'We got to win. We got to win,' " Miller said. "And we finally pulled through."
It was far from perfect, but no one has to tell Napier that. His to-do list reminds him daily.
"I've got a long list of things we can do better, and that list, it's there every morning when I wake up, and it's there when I go to bed at night,'' he said. "We're concerned with making that list smaller."
Florida led Missouri on homecoming as quarterback Anthony Richardson dropped back to pass on third-and-14 from the Tigers' 47-yard line. Richardson's pass to Ricky Pearsall across the middle arrived at the same time as Tigers safety Jaylon Carlies. As Carlies collided with Pearsall, he knocked the pass from Pearsall's outstretched hands. The ball fluttered away, bounced off Carlies, and was intercepted by teammate Daylan Carnell.
The large video board at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stated the facts: 2 minutes, 57 seconds left in the game, Florida up by seven.
In a Southeastern Conference East Division rivalry known for its erratic behavior over the past decade, this one seemed ready to deliver another peculiar finish, which would undoubtedly be painful for the home team if it ended like the game last season at Missouri.
Ah, but as a man in a visor once said, God smiled on the Gators.
Of course, God has a sense of humor. How can one explain that third-and-18 pass the Tigers converted on their final drive?
Still, with the Tigers facing fourth-and-2 at Florida's 48, Gators linebacker Ventrell Miller pressured quarterback Brady Cook into a low throw with 1:17 remaining. The pass hit the turf. The Swamp roared, the Gators celebrated, and head coach Billy Napier could smile, knowing he had his first SEC victory.
The final play preserved Florida's 24-17 win and, equally important, saved Napier and his Gators from a week of salty hot takes from the Orange & Blue faithful heading into Saturday's annual showdown with LSU.
"It was a team win," Napier said. "It wasn't anything great offensively, [on] defense or special teams, but the combination of those three got it done."
The Gators improved to 4-2, 1-2 in the conference at the season's midway point. And while a portion of Florida fans expects 6-0 and a 20-point average margin of victory, that's not these Gators. It would never be and won't be for the rest of the season.
But for those who tend to live in reality, the Gators are in a good spot in the big picture heading into the LSU matchup. Before I forget, you might want to check in on your Baton Rouge buddies Sunday morning. OK, back to the Gators.
The win over Missouri won't remind anyone of the Gators' glory days, but it proved once again that in Napier's first season, he has built a culture and a team that will fight until the end. They might take a few punches on the chin, but they get back up.
Look at what transpired in the first half Saturday.
Florida managed a measly 65 yards of total offense on 18 plays. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime thanks to an interception return for a score by corner Jaydon Hill and Adam Mihalek's 37-yard field goal. A homecoming win was far from guaranteed as the teams headed to the locker room.
"We had a lot left on the call sheet," Napier said.
And many of those plays called for Richardson to hand the ball off to the three-headed backfield of Montrell Johnson Jr., Nay'Quan Wright and Trevor Etienne. After 19 rushing yards in the first half, the approach moved the chains as Florida scooted for 212 in the second half.
Johnson finished with 86 yards, including a 41-yard run. Etienne had 83, and Wright a modest 22. Meanwhile, Richardson had the game's biggest run when he scrambled for 32 yards on fourth-and-2 from Missouri's 35 late in the third quarter. Johnson scored on a 3-yard run on the next play to put the Gators up for good, 17-10.
With Richardson often a roller-coaster ride — he turned the ball over twice Saturday but added an excellent throw for a 9-yard touchdown strike to Pearsall in the fourth quarter — the Gators can take solace in knowing they can move the ball on the ground behind a veteran offensive line.
After one of the best games of his college career (11 tackles, 10 solo), Miller received assurance at halftime Saturday from veteran center Kingsley Eguakun.
"We always have faith in the offense,'' Miller said. "Big Kings, he came to me down there at halftime, and he said, 'we got you, we got you,' so basically them having that confidence, it keeps me having that confidence in them that they're gonna come out and execute."
With the heart of the schedule looming in the season's second half, Florida's ability to run the ball effectively will likely determine the season the Gators have. Following the LSU game, they have a bye week before the annual rivalry game against Georgia in Jacksonville.
If the Gators can beat LSU, their confidence will be high.
Napier has a good grasp of what his team is at midseason.
"We have not executed our formula to win games at the rate in which we would, at any point," he said. "I think we're very much a work in progress, but I do believe in this group relative to the fight they show, the competitive spirit, the intangibles. I think we've developed some togetherness, there's some chemistry there. I think that's getting stronger.
"I do think we're built to play winning football. We've got a formula that's won a lot of games."
They overcame some ingredients not in that formula on Saturday: Missouri converting 9 of 17 third-down conversions; a pair of missed field goals by Mihalek; Richardson's quiet day (8 of 14, 66 yards) in the passing game.
Still, they snapped a six-game SEC losing streak and are on pace to finish 8-4, which, all things considered, would represent a successful season based on preseason projections for Napier in Year 1 of a rebuild.
"A lot of guys were saying, 'We got to win. We got to win,' " Miller said. "And we finally pulled through."
It was far from perfect, but no one has to tell Napier that. His to-do list reminds him daily.
"I've got a long list of things we can do better, and that list, it's there every morning when I wake up, and it's there when I go to bed at night,'' he said. "We're concerned with making that list smaller."
Players Mentioned
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