Carter's Corner: I'll Plant a Flag in Honor of 2024 Gators

Florida players celebrate their rivalry win at Florida State on Saturday night.

Carter's Corner: I'll Plant a Flag in Honor of 2024 Gators

Sunday, December 1, 2024 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An hour after Bobby Bowden Field had cleared and Doak Campbell Stadium stood empty, the hole remained. The truth is, there was more than one cavity on the Florida State logo at midfield.

Almost as quickly as Florida edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted a Florida flag following the Gators' 31-11 takedown of the Seminoles on Saturday night, 6-foot-4, 315-pound FSU senior offensive lineman Jeremiah Byers protested. Other Seminoles followed. About the same time Gumbs lodged his flag, reserve offensive lineman Hayden Clem staked one nearby.

Soon, a full-blown fracas was underway, which took a couple of minutes to settle down. FSU coach Mike Norvell showed his dislike by unplanting one of the flags and tossing it away, drawing the ire of Gators general manager Jacob LaFrance. When Gators head coach Billy Napier came by to shake hands, Norvell voiced his displeasure.

Meanwhile, Napier voiced his displeasure to his team in the locker room.

"He was like, 'There is no place for this. We're not that type of program,' " running back Montrell Johnson Jr. said. "It's football, and we're trying to become a winning program, and winning programs don't do that."

A few minutes later, Napier shared his irritation with the media.

"Before we get going here, obviously what happened there at the end of the game is not who we would want to be as a program," Napier said. "And it's embarrassing to me, and it's a distraction from a really well-played football game.

"So, I want to apologize on behalf of the entire organization, just in terms of how we represented the university there. We shouldn't have done that. We won't do that going forward, and there'll be consequences for all involved."

Now that we've covered the postgame party — the Gators celebrated with cigars in the locker room and barbecue on the bus ride home — let's plant another flag.

Hayden, Clem (2024 at FSU) — The Gators celebrate their first victory at Doak Campbell Stadium in six years on Saturday night in Tallahassee. (Photo: **Lorenzo Vasquez**/UAA Communications)

This victory banner is in honor of the 2024 Gators. Although their 20-point win Saturday will not be remembered as a signature performance in the storied rivalry, it nonetheless deserves praise in the story of Florida's tumultuous regular season.

Florida's first win over the Seminoles since 2021 and first in Tallahassee in six years clinched a winning record. That is a first for Napier in his three seasons. It's the first winning record for the Gators since 2020, erasing the possibility of four consecutive losing seasons for the first time since before World War II.

They don't exactly have parades down University Avenue for such accomplishments, but considering where this team was after three games, the least we can do is give them a hearty pat on the shoulder pads.

Look, when the season started, I projected 5-7 or 6-6, considering the strength of schedule, the roster and unknowns of a revamped organization. After those lopsided losses to Miami and Texas A&M at The Swamp, I considered 2-10 possible. There ain't no sugarcoating that. If you need proof, ask those in the press box who cover Florida State like I did Saturday.

"It's been a miserable year,'' one said.

Two months ago, thinking the same might happen in Gainesville was not an automatic appointment at the insane asylum.

But here is where it's time to start slapping some backs. The Gators made some in-season changes despite constantly losing players to season-ending injuries.

Think about this for a second: Florida won its final three games of the regular season, beating ranked LSU and Ole Miss at home after a 32-point loss at Texas and then dispatching the downtrodden Seminoles on the road. And the Gators did it with their starting quarterback (Graham Mertz), starting cornerbacks (Jason Marshall Jr. and Devin Moore), a starting offensive lineman (Damieon George Jr.), their preseason offensive MVP (receiver Eugene Wilson III) and two of their top defensive transfers (safety Asa Turner and linebacker Grayson Howard) unavailable for most of that stretch.

But let's look past the injuries since every team takes its lumps by the end of a 12-game season.

By now, a book could be written about the bye-week changes the Gators made following a road win at Mississippi State in late September. It's not like they went out and signed a group of transfers to inject into the lineup or secretly brought Nick Saban into their weekly meetings. No, they made more subtle changes, and quite frankly, typical ones when a season is in danger of going down the drain.

They turned up the competition at practice, made some lineup changes, and awarded those who performed well in practice by playing them on Saturdays. They also moved co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts up to a coaching box and brought Austin Armstrong onto the sideline.

In other words, they pushed whatever buttons were within reach.

Sometimes, that works; sometimes, it's just another footnote on the road to unemployment.

Napier deserves credit for re-evaluating in-season, and the players merit praise for staying the course and building positive momentum as dark clouds thundered above.

"I think midseason, that is when it all came together," Napier said. "The players did a good job of putting their blinders on in the first month and didn't allow excuses, didn't allow blame."

We can't continue this review without mentioning the most apparent reason Florida has gone from being an also-ran to being a team receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll. His name is DJ Lagway, and he is No. 2 on your roster and No. 1 in the Faith and Hope department.

Did you see Lagway shed FSU's 330-pound defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. on Saturday night and complete a first-down pass on the run to Chimere Dike?

"Just doing everything I can to get a dub,'' Lagway said. "I just kind of kept churning, and he kind of pushed off me, and I pushed off of him back. I got off him, and my helmet was all screwed up. I really couldn't see Chim. I just threw it to a spot, and he was there."

Lagway did his part as Florida's first true freshman quarterback to win a game in Tallahassee. Lagway was 14 of 22 for 133 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. It was far from his best performance, yet he represented a steadying presence.

"I thought he kept his composure,'' Napier said. "There will be things he can learn from tonight's experience."

As Lagway continues developing as the program's centerpiece, we have learned much about him in his six career starts. First, he's a winner. Lagway is 5-1 as Florida's starter (and 5-0 in games he starts and finishes). He exhibits humility, bravado and quiet confidence that you can't teach. Oh, and an arm that brings back memories of the Fun 'N Gun days.

The defense made tremendous strides as the season progressed (seven sacks and five fumble recoveries against the Seminoles). Transfer receivers Dike and Elijhah Badger proved to be a dangerous combo. Running backs Jadan Baugh and Ja'Kobi Jackson didn't miss a beat when senior Johnson Jr. missed time with an injury. And don't forget the offensive line and special teams, the most-criticized units in Napier's first two seasons.

The special teams have been nothing short of excellent all season under first-year analyst Joe Houston, and once the Gators settled on the starting five of Austin Barber, Knijeah Harris, Jake Slaughter, George Jr. and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, the offensive line proved more than capable in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference.

Does this mean the Gators are automatically a national championship contender heading into 2025? Not so fast, my friend. Before then, there remain many questions and unknown answers. This is about what this team did this year.

They are a 7-5 team headed to a bowl game. They made significant strides when they came under as much scrutiny as any Gators team in the post-Tim Tebow era.

Sure, they could have handled their big rivalry win Saturday night in a classier fashion. But they get a hall pass in this space. They deserved to dance to "Seminole Wind."

"We don't like them, and they don't like us,'' defensive line Tyreak Sapp said. "For the last two years, this has been sitting on us."

If I had a Gators flag emoji on my keyboard, I would plant it right here and make sure nobody touched it.