Gators head coach Billy Napier gives defensive lineman Brenton Cox Jr. a celebratory hug after UF escaped with a 31-28 win over USF on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
These Gators Keep Fans on Edge of Seats for Better or Worse
Sunday, September 18, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators would pull out a win despite some costly miscues. Wait a second. This one isn't over. USF is going to pull off a headline-grabbing upset.
That was a shared sense inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium late Saturday night for those who stayed around until the end and consumed a seesaw fourth quarter on the edge of their seats. Thanks to a botched snap that cost the Bulls 14 yards and, two plays later, a botched hold on a potential game-tying field goal with 23 seconds left, the No. 18-ranked Gators survived 31-28.
The air returned to The Swamp as soon as Bulls kicker Spencer Shrader's 49-yard field goal attempt sailed right, sealing a nail-biter for the Gators and their 14th consecutive regular-season win against a nonconference opponent.
In his third game as Florida's head coach, Billy Napier provided a quick assessment at his postgame press conference.
"We made it hard, but I tell you what — a lot of that had to do with South Florida and their execution," he said.
Opinions will rage for days over what unfolded in the third all-time meeting between the Gators and their in-state foes from Tampa. They indeed flowed fast and furious on social media as it became apparent that Florida, a 24-point favorite, was not going to cruise to a feel-good win before heading to Neyland Stadium next week to face the up-and-coming Volunteers of Tennessee.
In the aftermath, the most critical fact for the Gators is that they survived. They survived another shaky outing from quarterback Anthony Richardson, who tossed two interceptions for the second consecutive game. They survived USF churning out 286 yards on the ground. And they survived USF's final march, a 12-play, 39-yard drive that reached UF's 19-yard line before an errant snap by center Brad Cecil resulted in a 14-yard loss.
"Could have been a better ending, obviously,'' said Gators defensive back Jalen Kimber. "We didn't want it to end like that or be that close, but we just got the dub."
Florida escaped with that dub thanks partly to Kimber, who returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter that put UF ahead 24-10. These Gators are clearly a work in progress, with a quarter of the regular season in the books.
Napier has said so repeatedly, but the win over then-No. 7 Utah two weeks ago altered the perception of his inaugural UF team. Everyone knew that the Gators likely would go only as far as Richardson could take them, and when he played so well in the victory over the Utes, the realm of possibilities expanded on the outside.
However, Richardson was just 10 of 18 for 112 yards and two picks against the Bulls. That makes him 24 of 53 for 255 yards and four interceptions since his career-high 168 yards passing and three rushing touchdowns against Utah.
The Heisman Trophy chatter after Week 1 seems silly in retrospect.
Richardson stepped to the podium again Saturday to address another patchy performance that raised questions about his health and confidence. As for the former, Richardson said he is suffering from nothing more than the typical bruises that happen during a game.
As for the latter, Richardson's body language improved on Saturday, and so did his mindset.
"I'd say [my confidence] definitely got back up. Feel like I'm getting back to myself, just focusing on football, not focusing on the outside noise,'' Richardson said. "Despite the two interceptions, you know, I feel like I keep growing as a player, as a person, put that in the past. Nobody wants to see two interceptions, zero touchdowns after the game, but it is football and I got to get better."
The most alarming misfire for Richardson on Saturday was an interception in the end zone on first-and-goal from USF's 5. Richardson checked out of a running play to throw a pass in the corner of the end zone to Justin Shorter. However, USF cornerback Aamaris Brown picked off the pass to preserve the Bulls' 28-24 lead.
"It's a run play with an individual cut option. They loaded the box up with one-on-one coverage over there,'' Napier said. "He made the decision to throw it. I have no issue with the decision to throw it. It's how he threw it. He tried to throw a back-shoulder fade when that wasn't what was required. A simple play that has to be executed better."
Richardson didn't shy away from the mistake.
"I saw Shorter out there, and I trusted him. I just didn't give him a chance to make a play on the ball, and the defense made a play,'' Richardson said. "That was pretty much what happened. I just gotta give my guys a better chance to attack the ball and score."
Fortunately for the Gators, Tre'Vez Johnson picked off USF quarterback Gerry Bohanon on the ensuing drive. Four Trevor Etienne runs, and 28 yards later, the Gators regained the lead for good.
So, what do we make of the Gators after three games? They could have won all three, and they could have lost all three.
Napier offered the straight facts: "We're 2-1, but we've got work to do."
The Gators seem to be the kind of team that can beat anybody if Richardson is making super-human plays like his two-point conversion pass against Utah or lose to anybody when he's spotty and the defense is missing key pieces like Ventrell Miller on Saturday against the Bulls.
This is a young team with some holes and a program building for the long road. The Gators will need inexperienced players to grow up fast to continue improving. Linebackers Shemar James and Scooby Williams were thrown into the fire in Miller's absence and were burned at times by USF's run game.
Meanwhile, defensive veterans like Gervon Dexter Sr., Brenton Cox Jr., Amari Burney and Trey Dean III must lead the way. Cox stood out on USF's final drive, a disrupting force to aid the Gators' survival. Offensively, the run game looks like a winner with a veteran offensive line and the backfield trio of Montrell Johnson Jr., Nay'Quan Wright and Etienne eating up yards.
Finally, you don't need to be Napier or the most seasoned armchair quarterback to know that Richardson is the wild card. If he plays well, the Gators' chances of winning improve drastically.
Napier was in no mood to entertain a question about how most expected the Gators to take care of the Bulls in a much easier fashion.
"I don't think you can get caught up into that,'' he said. "I don't care who they played or who we played, the Gators played South Florida tonight, and we did enough to win. That's a credit to our players for sticking together, for competing through the adversity of the game. They made mistakes. We made mistakes. We made enough plays to win.
"I know that sometimes that's part of the profession, but in our world, I don't really care about who they played or what their record is or what the outside world thinks about it. We beat South Florida tonight, and I think they've got a good football team. I think what we're learning about our team is that we've got the intangibles. We need to improve the execution."
That is something everyone should be able to agree on this morning.
That was a shared sense inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium late Saturday night for those who stayed around until the end and consumed a seesaw fourth quarter on the edge of their seats. Thanks to a botched snap that cost the Bulls 14 yards and, two plays later, a botched hold on a potential game-tying field goal with 23 seconds left, the No. 18-ranked Gators survived 31-28.
The air returned to The Swamp as soon as Bulls kicker Spencer Shrader's 49-yard field goal attempt sailed right, sealing a nail-biter for the Gators and their 14th consecutive regular-season win against a nonconference opponent.
In his third game as Florida's head coach, Billy Napier provided a quick assessment at his postgame press conference.
"We made it hard, but I tell you what — a lot of that had to do with South Florida and their execution," he said.
Opinions will rage for days over what unfolded in the third all-time meeting between the Gators and their in-state foes from Tampa. They indeed flowed fast and furious on social media as it became apparent that Florida, a 24-point favorite, was not going to cruise to a feel-good win before heading to Neyland Stadium next week to face the up-and-coming Volunteers of Tennessee.
In the aftermath, the most critical fact for the Gators is that they survived. They survived another shaky outing from quarterback Anthony Richardson, who tossed two interceptions for the second consecutive game. They survived USF churning out 286 yards on the ground. And they survived USF's final march, a 12-play, 39-yard drive that reached UF's 19-yard line before an errant snap by center Brad Cecil resulted in a 14-yard loss.
"Could have been a better ending, obviously,'' said Gators defensive back Jalen Kimber. "We didn't want it to end like that or be that close, but we just got the dub."
Florida escaped with that dub thanks partly to Kimber, who returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter that put UF ahead 24-10. These Gators are clearly a work in progress, with a quarter of the regular season in the books.
Napier has said so repeatedly, but the win over then-No. 7 Utah two weeks ago altered the perception of his inaugural UF team. Everyone knew that the Gators likely would go only as far as Richardson could take them, and when he played so well in the victory over the Utes, the realm of possibilities expanded on the outside.
However, Richardson was just 10 of 18 for 112 yards and two picks against the Bulls. That makes him 24 of 53 for 255 yards and four interceptions since his career-high 168 yards passing and three rushing touchdowns against Utah.
The Heisman Trophy chatter after Week 1 seems silly in retrospect.
Richardson stepped to the podium again Saturday to address another patchy performance that raised questions about his health and confidence. As for the former, Richardson said he is suffering from nothing more than the typical bruises that happen during a game.
As for the latter, Richardson's body language improved on Saturday, and so did his mindset.
"I'd say [my confidence] definitely got back up. Feel like I'm getting back to myself, just focusing on football, not focusing on the outside noise,'' Richardson said. "Despite the two interceptions, you know, I feel like I keep growing as a player, as a person, put that in the past. Nobody wants to see two interceptions, zero touchdowns after the game, but it is football and I got to get better."
The most alarming misfire for Richardson on Saturday was an interception in the end zone on first-and-goal from USF's 5. Richardson checked out of a running play to throw a pass in the corner of the end zone to Justin Shorter. However, USF cornerback Aamaris Brown picked off the pass to preserve the Bulls' 28-24 lead.
"It's a run play with an individual cut option. They loaded the box up with one-on-one coverage over there,'' Napier said. "He made the decision to throw it. I have no issue with the decision to throw it. It's how he threw it. He tried to throw a back-shoulder fade when that wasn't what was required. A simple play that has to be executed better."
Richardson didn't shy away from the mistake.
"I saw Shorter out there, and I trusted him. I just didn't give him a chance to make a play on the ball, and the defense made a play,'' Richardson said. "That was pretty much what happened. I just gotta give my guys a better chance to attack the ball and score."
Fortunately for the Gators, Tre'Vez Johnson picked off USF quarterback Gerry Bohanon on the ensuing drive. Four Trevor Etienne runs, and 28 yards later, the Gators regained the lead for good.
So, what do we make of the Gators after three games? They could have won all three, and they could have lost all three.
Napier offered the straight facts: "We're 2-1, but we've got work to do."
The Gators seem to be the kind of team that can beat anybody if Richardson is making super-human plays like his two-point conversion pass against Utah or lose to anybody when he's spotty and the defense is missing key pieces like Ventrell Miller on Saturday against the Bulls.
This is a young team with some holes and a program building for the long road. The Gators will need inexperienced players to grow up fast to continue improving. Linebackers Shemar James and Scooby Williams were thrown into the fire in Miller's absence and were burned at times by USF's run game.
Meanwhile, defensive veterans like Gervon Dexter Sr., Brenton Cox Jr., Amari Burney and Trey Dean III must lead the way. Cox stood out on USF's final drive, a disrupting force to aid the Gators' survival. Offensively, the run game looks like a winner with a veteran offensive line and the backfield trio of Montrell Johnson Jr., Nay'Quan Wright and Etienne eating up yards.
Finally, you don't need to be Napier or the most seasoned armchair quarterback to know that Richardson is the wild card. If he plays well, the Gators' chances of winning improve drastically.
Napier was in no mood to entertain a question about how most expected the Gators to take care of the Bulls in a much easier fashion.
"I don't think you can get caught up into that,'' he said. "I don't care who they played or who we played, the Gators played South Florida tonight, and we did enough to win. That's a credit to our players for sticking together, for competing through the adversity of the game. They made mistakes. We made mistakes. We made enough plays to win.
"I know that sometimes that's part of the profession, but in our world, I don't really care about who they played or what their record is or what the outside world thinks about it. We beat South Florida tonight, and I think they've got a good football team. I think what we're learning about our team is that we've got the intangibles. We need to improve the execution."
That is something everyone should be able to agree on this morning.
Players Mentioned
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