With the opening of USF’s football season just over two months away, Green, Gold, and Bold will examine each opponent the Bulls will face in the 2025 season.
Here’s the second in the series.
Team: Florida Gators
When: September 6, 4:15 p.m. at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Head coach: Billy Napier. He is entering his fourth season with the Gators after four seasons at Louisiana. He is 90-59 overall, including 19-19 at Florida.
Last year’s record: 8-5. There was rampant speculation about Napier’s job security after the Gators fell to 4-5 following back-to-back losses to Georgia and Texas by a combined score of 83-37, but that talk faded when Florida ended the season with four consecutive wins. The Gators' 24-17 win over 9th-ranked Ole Miss probably cost the Rebels a spot in the playoffs.
Name to know: D.J. Lagway. Well, duh! It’s not a stretch to say Florida’s 2024 season turned around when starting quarterback Graham Mertz tore his ACL against Tennessee on October 12. That forced Napier to use Lagway, a true freshman, as the starter. Lagway was electrifying, with a 154.9 passer rating, including a 95.8 rating on deep throws.
This throw by D.J. Lagway is a throw that not many quarterbacks can make.pic.twitter.com/AfTwD5GH0a
— Anthony Beck (@AceWade1) September 8, 2024
By the way, the Gators’ two losses after Lagway took over deserve an asterisk. He left the Georgia game early with an injury and was held out of the following game against Texas as a precaution.
The biggest potential weakness: Our sister site, Hail Florida Hail, identified safety as a potential issue for the Gators.
It noted, “The Gators do return Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton. Castell is coming off a down season, while Thornton was serviceable at times for the Gators in 2024.
“The depth behind them is inexperienced, and one potential candidate who, on paper, was going to push for playing time in 2025 is instead hitting the transfer portal after just one season with Florida.”
That’s Gregory Smith III, a former four-star recruit from Sumner High School near Tampa. He took his talents to North Carolina and Bill Belichick.
Biggest question mark: It still comes down to Napier, particularly his play-calling. He has called the plays since he arrived in Gainesville, but the Gators haven’t ranked in the top 50 teams in scoring. For the past three years with Napier calling the plays, the Gators' offense has struggled to be a top-tier unit. They ranked 64th in total offense last year, averaging 28.3 points per game. By comparison, USF was 33rd overall at 32.2 points per game.
Interesting things to know: The Bulls are 0-3 lifetime against Florida, but they keep getting closer. In 2022 at The Swamp, the Bulls trailed 31-28 in the final minute and were driving deep into Florida territory. However, after reaching the Gators’ 19-yard line in the final minute, a fumble cost USF 14 yards, and a potential game-tying field goal from 49 yards was no good.
Why is UF’s football field called The Swamp?
Credit legendary coach Steve Spurrier for that one, after he quipped, “Only Gators get out alive.”
The football team was founded in 1906, but wasn’t the Gators until 1911.
In 1984, an NCAA investigation uncovered 107 allegations at Florida, ranging from illegal payments to players and spying on practice sessions by their opponents. Head coach Charley Pell was fired.