Florida and Napier spiff up their image against Tennessee | Whitley
Long before Billy Napier needed a razor, there was an aftershave commercial that perfectly summed up what happened Saturday night:
“Thanks, I needed that.”
So said an actor after slapping his cheeks with a palm full of Mennen Skin Bracer. I don’t know if that product is still on the market. I do know that after the Tennessee game, it’ll be a lot easier for Florida fans to start buying what Napier is selling.
That’s what happens when you beat one of your biggest rivals by 13 points in a game oddsmakers said you should lose by 6½ points.
Wait, did I just write the Gators beat a rival?
Florida fans had been waiting 658 days to read that. Not that any of them were counting, of course.
It was Nov. 27, 2021, against FSU. You know what’s happened since.
Napier was hired. Approximately 394 assistants and analysts soon followed. All that manpower couldn’t muster a win against Tennessee, LSU, Georgia or FSU.
That hadn’t happened in 43 years. Again, not that anyone around here was counting.
Napier was also 1-6 against ranked teams going into Saturday night. Oh yeah, it has also been 20 years since the Volunteers won at The Swamp.
On the off chance you were aware of that, you can finally get a night’s sleep without visions of a cackling Dan Mullen popping into your head.
Along those lines, a group of Tennessee fans were chanting, “Where’s Sun Belt Billy?” before the game. What happened in the following three hours won’t erase all the doubts about Napier, but it will make what happens in the next few weeks soooo much easier for UF faithful to take.
The last thing they needed to see was a Utah replay. That opening game, with its killer penalties and comedic special teams play, set the proverbial narrative that Napier might not be ready for Power Five prime time.
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That didn’t quite make Tennessee a must-win, but Florida could not afford another slop-fest. The irony is that’s precisely how the game began.
Damieon George jumped offside on the first snap. A few plays later, Kingsley Eguakun was flagged for holding on a third-and-1.
The Gators overcame those gaffes and ended up with a 46-yard field goal attempt. Adam Mihalik shanked a low line drive that skidded to Earth about the 15-yard line.
In the next two minutes, Joe Milton hit a 41-yard completion and an 11-yard TD pass. Approximately 90,751 people were having Utah flashbacks, then Trevor Etienne burst up the middle for a 62-yard score.
The extra point was blocked (try not to act shocked), but Etienne’s run changed everything.
Florida’s defense actually played pretty well at Utah and throttled McNeese State. Josh Heupel’s offense was supposed to be a different animal.
“For us, it’s more of a statement game,” linebacker Scooby Williams said. “Like the last two weeks weren’t a fluke.”
Tennessee piled up some yards, but there’s no doubt Florida’s defense is at least half-a-light-year better than it was the last two seasons. Speaking of statements, Graham Mertz made another one against the Volunteers.
The precise numbers were 19-for-24 with one TD and no interceptions. Etienne and Montrell Johnson looked every bit like the dynamic running duo they were cracked up to be.
Florida’s balanced attack increasingly resembles the one Napier produced at Louisiana. The one that got him an SEC job.
He’s been preaching patience since, and most of the fan base has been understanding. But the rivalry thing was a growing albatross. And the slipshod debut at Utah had really shaken people’s faith.
The product Napier is selling is still far from a finished one. The Gators will still be underdogs against their other rivals, and nobody should be pondering a trip to a New Year’s Six bowl.
But beating the Volunteers changed the entire mood around the program. The Gators really needed that, and Napier certainly knew it.
When he gets up Sunday morning for a shave, nobody would say Sun Belt Billy was looking back at him in the mirror.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Napier gets signature win against Tennessee
