Billy Napier’s egregious coaching decision nearly costs Florida Gators a win vs. Texas Longhorns and his job
It’s unacceptable to have this happen in year four.
The Florida Gators got a much-needed victory over the Texas Longhorns, 29-21, on Saturday with some incredible performances.
Quarterback DJ Lagway made some big throws, completing 21-28 for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception when his arm got hit. He looked like a much more confident player throughout the game. It also helps to have true freshman studs at wide receiver in Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, with the latter having a historic debut for the Gators.
Even with all of that, and a great defensive performance, the Gators still had to put the game away, and head coach Billy Napier tried to give it away.
Billy Napier nearly gives game away against Texas Longhorns
Before we get into how Napier nearly gave the game away on the Gators’ final possession, he does deserve some credit for taking shots to put the game away in the fourth quarter by attacking down the field with deep passes.
On the final drive, the Gators had a chance to run out the clock. They got a first down after the Longhorns smartly committed an offside penalty to try and conserve some clock. However, it was after the one-yard run on second down with 1:43 left that complicated things.
The clock stopped due to a player losing their helmet on the play. That player ended up being left tackle Austin Barber. It’s an important piece of information as we talk this out.
Normally, the clock stops when that happens, but at the end of the game, there is a 10-second runoff. Instead of accepting the runoff, Napier chose to call a timeout. The reason is that he wanted Barber in the game.
However, there was a way to make this happen without immediately calling a timeout. Napier could just let the clock completely drain the entirety of the play clock, call a timeout, and drain a significant amount of time off the clock. Instead, the Gators ran a third-down play with 1:43 left instead of around 1:10 remaining. When the Longhorns got the stop, they regained possession with 55 seconds left, instead of having less than 30 seconds.
That kind of coaching issue could happen in the first year of a tenure, but happening in the fourth season is completely unacceptable. Even if you don’t have your starting left tackle in the game, it’s important to drain as much time off the clock, and Napier didn’t do that.
These issues continue to occur under Napier’s watch, and even a win could still cost him his job.
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