The game was awful. The ramifications may be even worse for the Gators

GAINESVILLE — It’s never good when the suspense is stomped out of a season before the first halftime show.

Maybe there will be pleasant surprises in September or a plot twist in October but come November we know where this story is heading. And chances are it will include Internet mobs and lists of coaching candidates.

Florida was humiliated 41-17 by Miami on Saturday, the first time the Gators had lost a home opener since Steve Spurrier was still at Duke. And the worst part is not the 0-1 record, but the realization that all the offseason moves added up to squat.

The offensive line was unimpressive. The defense was as bad as you recall. And the head coach was at a loss to explain how a once-enviable program continues a years-long slide backward.

“It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest with you. That’s how I feel, it’s how our kids feel,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got a decision to make. That’s what I just told them. There’s no excuses, keep our mouths shut, show up to work and do better.”

As bad as it was to sit through that game, the ramifications are even more unsettling.

Because there was nothing fluky about this. Although there were a handful of blunders, they were not the story of the outcome. It wasn’t penalties. It wasn’t turnovers. It wasn’t obvious mistakes. It was simply a butt whipping in front of God and an ABC audience.

And that suggests a talent gap that could haunt a team with one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

“This game right here does not define us at all,” said edge rusher Justus Boone. “This is not what it’s going to look like for the rest of the year, I can promise you that.”

You can appreciate the defiant sentiment, but the truth is we’ve heard it all before. We heard it on Monday when Napier said the game would be the first opportunity for this team to tell the story of its season. We heard it on Friday when athletic director Scott Stricklin went on Paul Finebaum’s show and said the university was going to be rewarded for its patience in Napier.

But here’s the reality:

Napier is in danger of being the first UF football coach to suffer three consecutive losing seasons since Josh Cody in 1936-38.

The Gators have now lost six consecutive games dating to last season, surrendering 38.5 points a game in that span. There were seasons in the recent past when the Gators went through the entire schedule without surrendering that many points in a single game.

“It was very disappointing. Super disappointing,” said center Jake Slaughter. “We have certain expectations.”

The problem is Florida players and fans had spent the previous eight months promoting the idea that the worst was behind them. That a top recruiting class, portal transfers and a new defensive staff had eradicated the holes from 2022-23.

Unless Miami is one of the top 2-3 teams in the nation, those hopes now seem like wishful thinking.

Instead of playing the Tom Petty anthem “I Won’t Back Down” at the start of the fourth quarter, “Free Fallin’” would have been more appropriate. With more than 13 minutes remaining, a healthy portion of the 90,544 at Florida Field had already backed down and walked out.

It’s easy to pile on Napier, and it’s not undeserving. Still, it shouldn’t be done with any sense of glee. He seems like a good man. Better than some who passed through Gainesville before him. But it’s hard to imagine the Gators winning enough games in 2024 to keep the wolves at bay.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge, right? I think you’ve got to be a man, and you’ve got to take responsibility for the things you can do better,” Napier said. “The sun’s going to come up tomorrow, and we’re going to go back to work. Ultimately, there’s not much for us to talk about right now. We’ve got to go play better.”

Most of his players had already left the field by the time Napier began making his way. He stopped briefly in the end zone to shake hands with university president Kent Fuchs. Fuchs is on an interim contract, and he may have a better chance of reaching January than Napier.

After a brief conversation, Napier headed to the tunnel that would take him to the locker room. There were few fans remaining at that point, but one shouted at Napier as he disappeared under the bleachers:

“You’re gone. After this, you’re gone!”

Jumping to conclusions after one game in August is not advisable. So, as good as the Hurricanes looked, I wouldn’t yet say they’re back among the nation’s elite.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t argue if you said Florida sucks.

John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

• • •

Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.