While the Gators entered Thursday night's game as underdogs against a ranked Utah squad on the road, Billy Napier surely hoped for a better season debut than he received from his team. Special teams miscues and failing to convert in the red zone ultimately hurt this team.
Utah struck early and often, scoring on its first play from scrimmage on offense.
The Gators defense looked unprepared and, frankly, underwhelming against a Utah team that ran the ball early and often, including from the quarterback position. Napier doubled down on failed execution from all units postgame, which ultimately led to his team's demise.
"The first thing I told the team after the game was that 'execution wins,' I mean, let's call it how it is,'' Florida coach Billy Napier said. "It's simple. I feel that if we do what we're supposed to do at times, we're right in the game. Ultimately, the Gators weren't good enough tonight. I think our team will respond the right way, and I'm confident in that."
While some Gators deserve more blame than others, it's easy to start at the top.
Florida Gators to blame: Billy Napier
Billy Napier has preached patience as he builds a program Florida fans can be proud of in Gainesville, but his team has taken very few strides forward since he was hired prior to last season. Despite having one of the best quarterback prospects in this year's draft class in Anthony Richardson, Napier's team went just 6-7, good for a fifth-place finish in the SEC East. Florida was routinely housed by the best teams in their division, like the eventual National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.
Napier's performance on Thursday night had some Florida fans calling for his job, and not just those overreacting to the on-field product. The Gators failed in many aspects, including basic execution. That's on coaching.
Napier's team wasn't prepared, and a quick 24-3 deficit severely limited their chances of winning despite a decent second half from an offensive standpoint. Napier's buyout is $31 million, and he has some fans thinking about a GoFundMe. That's not a good sign.
Florida Gators to blame: Graham Mertz
It's easy to take one look at the stat line and assume Graham Mertz had a successful debut with the Florida Gators, but that wasn't necessarily the case. A bad turnover along with some basic accuracy issues put the Gators behind the eight ball early, especially against a solid defense like Utah.
Mertz has been hailed a Heisman candidate by some around Gainesville after an impressive spring and summer camp. As optimistic and downright delusional as that take may have been, Mertz is a former highly-rated recruit with Wisconsin, and has played in big games before.
After the loss, Mertz echoed Napier's comments about lack of execution. It's on Mertz as a leader to ensure these kinds of mistakes don't happen twice.
"Execution. That's the word; that's the theme. That's what I need to see from myself; I need to hold myself accountable to that, and I need to see that across the board. I am going to push the guys every day. We just have to execute," Mertz said.
Mertz was far from the only problem when Florida fell behind early. But, frankly, the Gators were outmanned against Utah, and if they were going to pull off an upset, Mertz would've needed to carry them on his back.
It wasn't meant to be.
Florida Gators to blame: Special teams coach? You there?
There is plenty of blame to go around in Gainesville, but the majority of it belongs to the special teams coach. We don't mean to pile on, surely he's had a tough enough day already. Anyway, what's his name?
I hate to break it to Florida fans who may be unaware, but the Gators do not have a special teams coach. Whether it's for funding reasons or because they have enough confidence in their coaching staff to cover the necessary ground, UF looks downright silly on Friday for failing to employ an essential assistant.
Never underestimate special teams, as it can make or break just about any game in college football, especially those between Power 5 teams. Utah failed to make mistakes in that department, and capitalized on Florida's issues, of which there were many. Shield your eyes, Gators fans.
Yikes! Basically, this is a second bullet point aimed at Napier, as he is ultimately in charge of hiring his coaching staff.
It should be noted that special teams is surely covered in weekly practices. Florida isn't out here ignoring one of the basic phases of the game. However, failing to empower an experienced special teams mind -- as is typically the case at major college football programs -- is coming back to haunt the Gators.
