In a hard-fought contest, the Florida Gators suffered a 23-17 overtime loss to Tennessee, despite a valiant effort. The game was marked by missed opportunities, particularly in the first half, where the team left “a ton of points on the field.” Key moments included a fumble on the 1-yard line and crucial short-yardage situations that didn’t go Florida’s way. Despite these setbacks, the defense kept the Gators in the game, and special teams play, especially punt returns, proved critical. Here’s what head coach Billy Napier had to say about the loss that brings Florida to a 3-3 record for the season.
PODCAST: Mistakes doom the Florida Gators in 23-17 loss to Tennessee
Opening statement:
“I have a ton of respect for the young men in that locker room and the way they competed in the game. They were prepared and in the right frame of mind and attacked it. I do think that we played extremely hard, played with passion, all three parts of our team. Certainly the tale of the tape is the missed opportunities in the first half on offense. We had many opportunities to score points and left a ton of points out there. A couple short-yardage situations and obviously the sneak-fumble on the 1-yard line. But defensively, man, I have to say, our guys kept us in the game. I thought we had a great plan. We played a really good… we kept the routes in front of us and played really good on the perimeter. I thought we did a nice job of creating some negative plays and then obviously, did a good job on conversion downs and being able to affect the quarterback. Yeah, what a game. You know, obviously had a few injuries there and certainly Graham getting banged up was a big part of the game and then DJ obviously rose to the occasion and got us back in it there with a big throw at the end to tie it up. We left a lot of opportunities on the field in the first half in terms of points and, ultimately this was one of those games where the margin was really small. Our staff have the team ready to play, they had good plans, I think that our kids fought their tail off. I have a ton of respect for that. We made some plays in the kicking game, obviously had the miscue right before half and there’s no question that we had a substitution issue but we would not be in the game without the special teams performance. Those punt returns were critical. Certainly, I thought we had control of the field position throughout. What questions do we have?”
On the decision to kick the point-after at the end of regulation:
“We had a play that we felt good about and then obviously they burned their timeout and I think we felt from the 3 there we were playing pretty good on both sides of our team at that point in time so we thought, ‘Let’s go play overtime. Let’s go give our guys a chance to play some more plays.’ Defensively, we kept ourself in it. Wasn’t quite ready to do that at that point in time.”
On have 12 men on the field at the end of the first half:
“It was relative to an injury, just to be cut and dry. It was a substitution error based on an injured player who stayed on the field. Yeah, that’s exactly what it was.
“The injured player that had been substituted on that unit did not come off. He stayed.”
On Graham Mertz and Montrell Johnson, both of whom were injured on Saturday:
“I think it’s tough. Obviously, Graham played phenomenal in the game. I thought he was lights out. Really prepared well and came to play. He does have an injury, a lower-body injury. Obviously, we’ll give you some updates on that when we get to next week. It was significant enough that he couldn’t complete the game. I think that Montrell Johnson was in that category as well. He wasn’t able to return and then RJ Moten had an injury that was a little bit of a setback.”
On whether or not he still feels his team is making progress, even after Saturday’s performance:
“I would think the defensive performance and then just our ability to move the ball throughout. We had opportunities in the red area. I think we’re three of six in terms of scoring opportunities, and ultimately that was the tale of the tape. Fumble on the 1-yard line; 3rd-and-1 we get stopped, forced to kick a field goal; we go for it on 4th-and-1, great play by their corner running over the top, great tackle; and then we missed the field goal in overtime. Technically speaking, just a ton of missed opportunities in terms of points in the first half.”
On Florida’s defense:
“We played with good gap integrity. I thought the line of scrimmage, on the edges, we tackled well, we mixed in the pressures. We were able to create some negative plays, made some long-yardage situations, and then ultimately we got off the field. We were pretty good on conversion downs throughout the day. So defensively, we we kept ourselves in the game. We had a chance to really take control of the game in the first half, and we missed on those opportunities.”
On freshman running back Jadan Baugh:
“Those guys are all capable players. Jadan and Ja’Kobi, both are rookies. But I do think they’re both very capable. Certainly, Jadan has already done some good things this year, and we have a ton of confidence in both players. They practice the right way. They have character, smart, they’re tough and they’re productive. So we’re going to continue to get those guys involved.”
On the mood in the locker room:
“It’s the hardest part about it. They played their tails off. I had a front-row seat to it. They played extremely hard in the game. There’s no guarantees n this game. You have to put yourself out there, with no guaranteed reward. It takes courage to do that. I think ultimately, there’s an opportunity here for our team. I just really believe there’s something good on the other side of this. I do think that it’s a challenge. I think that ultimately we’re all going to be tested, we’re all going to be challenged. This game it’s going to be that way. If you’re a competitor, you play this game, you’re always going to be challenged, you’re always going to be tested, there’s always going to be scenarios where you don’t get the results you want. And do you have the discipline to reset, do it again? Or will you get distracted? Will you compromise your character? I don’t think we have that issue. I think we got a bunch of guys that care about each other, that played their tails off, that prepared the right way and competed. I think we just came up with a handful of plays short. That’s where, as a coach, it’s a punch in the gut relative to you just want to do everything you can do to help the players.”
On injuries playing into competition at practice and how that went into playing time:
“We will continue to operate, it’s working. That’s what I would tell you. I think our kids have bought into it. It’s helped our level of play in all parts of our team.”
On the team’s fight:
“We got a group. We’ve got a great combination of players relative to veteran leadership and we have some young guys that have the right mindset and have the right makeup that have an opportunity to contribute. There’s a lot of guys, so many people that contribute to what you watched out there tonight. A bunch of them didn’t get a chance to make the trip but they worked their tail off all throughout the week to help the team prepare. It’s one of the best things about this group. Obviously, this will be a challenge here. We will have an opportunity to respond. We will play football next week.”
On DJ Lagway’s performance:
“One of the things about DJ that I respect is that as a competitor he has this unique ability to raise his level of play at critical moments. I think you obviously not only picked the right route progression but had to move and threw a strike in a critical moment. And, look, I thought he even did some of his more impressive stuff in the first half when he was playing. I thought he did a lot of really good things. For a rookie to go, play on the road in that environment, to step up in a big time, big moment. He’s got that in his DNA. There’s a bright future ahead of it for him.”
On whether or not Napier is confident in Lagway leading the team:
“Well, he started one game earlier in the year and then obviously he’s had an opportunity to contribute each week. He’ll be more prepared. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have absolute confidence in DJ Lagway.”
On running a jet sweep on fourth-and-inches:
“We got them all blocked. I think the guy that had Tre man-to-man ran over the top of the play and made a heck of a play. We blocked the perimeter really well. DJ Made a good decision. I think it’s an outstanding play by the corner that had Tre man, to show up on the other side. It was a good physical tackle and a really good play by the defender.”
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