GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In Florida head coach Billy Napier's tenure, the Gators have led at the half in eight Power Five/Four games. The Gators are 5-3 in those contests. In their other high-major matchups over the last two years, they're 2-13.
Florida plays Saturday away from the theoretical safety of The Swamp. The Gators head into the land of the cowbell looking for a turnaround to the 2024 season against Mississippi State.
The road hasn't treated the Gators well under Napier, though. When the Gators face the Bulldogs on Saturday, the Cookeville, Tenn., native will look for his third road victory. Napier is off to a 2-7 start in true road matchups. A fast start, which evaded the Gators in home losses to Miami and Texas A&M, could help.
Napier recognized his team's past struggles in road environments, especially to begin the season.
"History would say that your first road game in this league is always a struggle," Napier said this week.
The Gators went 1-4 in road games last season, notching a tight 41-39 victory over South Carolina on Oct. 14. That victory marked Florida's last Power Four win, as the Gators have dropped their last seven matchups, five of which have come against ranked teams.
Florida's road opener last season came at Utah, as the Gators lost 24-11 to the Utes in the season opener. Utah held a lead from their first offensive play, jumping to a 17-3 halftime edge. Similarly, in Florida's first SEC road game of the 2023 slate, Kentucky dropped 16 points on the Gators in the first quarter, never looking back as the late September match unfolded.
The Gators seek to run onto the field and start fast on Saturday at Mississippi State. (Photo: Katie Park/UAA Communications)
To begin the 2024 season, Florida has been no better at getting off to quick starts. In their season opener, the Gators struggled en route to a 24-10 halftime deficit against Miami. In Florida's first SEC game, the same story. Texas A&M ran all over the Gators in the first quarter before a rain delay put the UF faithful out of their misery for some time. The Aggies held a 20-0 halftime lead.
Now, Napier's Gators seek to open strong at Mississippi State and produce better results.
"If you look at the analytics, there's a huge emphasis on starting fast," Napier said.
As noted, the Gators have struggled mightily to come back in games, emphasizing the need for their offense to be productive quickly. Napier is confident that the Florida offense will be able to get on track early against Mississippi State.
"It's an area in particular for us on offense where we have had some success in the past, and we've got to get back to that," Napier said. "We've typically been able to get going early."
The Gators have averaged 12.75 points per first half in their 16 games since quarterback Anthony Richardson's departure. While they were relatively effective on offense early in games in Napier's first season, that hasn't necessarily been the case since.
After a start to the season that saw the Gators score 10 first-quarter points across three games, Florida may need more offensive productivity to overcome their previous road failures.
"Starting fast is critical at every level of football," Napier said.
A win on the road may just be what the Florida roster needs to get where it wants to be this season. Looking back on their most recent SEC victory against South Carolina, defensive lineman Justus Boone noted the value of a road win for the team environment.
"I definitely feel that road games, especially being in somebody else's territory, getting a win and making a statement in their territory, there's nothing better," Boone said.
With two losses already in the books, Florida's 2024 season is at a critical breaking point. With a matchup Saturday against Mississippi State, a team that lost 41-17 to Toledo, and a bye the following week, Florida needs to get on track now.
Following UF's Oct. 5 matchup with UCF, the Gators will face four top-six teams over the next seven weeks.
When the Gators walk into Davis Wade Stadium to the ringing of 50,000 cowbells, a fast start could be necessary to win the game, revive Florida's quickly disappearing season and keep the Florida coaching staff intact. Even though the SEC road opener has a lot riding on it for the Gators, the Florida roster remains confident.
"I'm going to go out there and give my all for my teammates," wide receiver Chimere Dike said. "And I'm going to prepare like it's the biggest game of the season."
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