Florida football coach Billy Napier began his press conference by again taking accountability for UF’s 41-17 season-opening loss to Miami at The Swamp.
“Our fans showed up and did a great job,” Napier said. “We need to do our part so that they could have been more of a factor in the game. Certainly, we contributed to that.”
The loss was the sixth straight for the Florida Gators dating back to the 2023 season and dropped Napier to 11-15 in year three as Florida’s coach. It brought an onslaught of criticism on social media throughout the weekend. Napier said while the criticism is justified, the focus for Florida players and coaches needs to return to the field.
“We got to go to work on the football part,” Napier said. “I think we got to become a more consistent team and we have to execute better. If we can focus on those things and not necessarily what some guy in his basement is saying in rural central Florida on social media, then we got a chance to get better, right? I think that’s the key.
“Sometimes you deserve criticism. I think that’s one of those things I would say I have no excuses, right? We got to go get it fixed.”
Florida coach Billy Napier walks on the sideline against Miami during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Florida entered the matchup against Miami with 14 returning starters and Napier stressed during the offseason that “all systems were in place” for Florida to enjoy future success. Florida was outgained 529-261 in yardage against the Hurricanes and trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
“The reality here is that execution wins,” Napier said. “We did not do enough to be competitive in the game. We got to go do it when it counts. That’s reality.”
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