Florida Football Friday Final: Gators aim to maintain momentum for second upset vs. No. 9 Ole Miss

Image Credit: Lorenzo Vasquez, UAA

The Swamp was indeed an insane asylum last week as the Florida Gators picked up their biggest win in the last two seasons, an upset victory over ranked LSU inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The question that presents itself this week is whether Florida will be able to build on a week of sustained momentum as the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels visit with a College Football Playoff berth in their sights.

The Gators, of course, are not focused on the playoff but rather reaching bowl eligibility. Sitting at 5-5 with two games remaining, they are one win away from clinching a bowl berth (and any win total bets fans might have placed). However, if Florida can somehow finish the regular season at 7-5, despite some disappointments on the road to that record, it would be tough to consider that anything but a success.

Head coach Billy Napier is neither one to rest on his laurels nor allow his players to do the same. In fact, he believes Saturday’s game will tell him a lot about whether this Gators team has truly taken a step forward, win or lose.

“I would like to see some maturity from our team. This group has been able to ignore the noise. Can we sort through the hype a little bit and stay consistent in the way we prepare, our practice habits, our self-discipline, our film review?” he said. “Long term, as a program, to go where we want to go, we’re going to have to navigate that week in and week out. … Are we mature enough to handle all the praise, and can we turn it around and do it again?”

If Florida is going to find success, taking care of business on the field will certainly be paramount, though Napier believes the fans in the stands are capable of significantly impacting the game. In fact, he took time out Monday while addressing the media to praise the consistent fan support even has the program has faced significant adversity throughout his tenure.

“I want to thank our fans — 11 straight sell-outs. We’re hopeful for the 12th this weekend; really special environment. I thought they played a major factor in the [LSU] game,” he said. “This group and our team have been vocal about how thankful they are that our fans continue to show up. Obviously, we’ve been frustrated ourselves at times, and for them to continue to be there and play a major factor in the game, we’re very appreciative of that. We’re going to need them Saturday.”

The Gators have won three straight home games against Power Four opponents for the first time under Napier. On Saturday, they have a chance to win four straight such contests for the first time since the shortened 2020 season.

“It’s part of being a good team and part of having a championship contender. Trying to become a championship contender is you have to be strong at home. You have to win those [games],” Napier said. “Home field advantage in this league — it’s a big piece to the puzzle. If you look at the history of this program when we were winning championships around here, [the Gators] dominated at home. We understand that and know that, and that’s a big part of it.”

Go, DJ

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway may not have put together an eye-popping stat line, but his play was nevertheless spectacular last week against LSU. Pro Football Focus this week revealed that Lagway is in a class of his own when it comes to throwing the ball deep; he is rated 99.4 in that stat category, best in the country at tosses beyond 20 yards down the field.

Such explosive plays used to be a hallmark of Florida football but have certainly been harder to come by in recent years. Lagway’s quick release and ability to put deep balls in safe places for his pass catchers has been exceptional, especially given his limited mobility of late as he continues to recover from a Grade 2 hamstring injury.

Napier told Lagway last week that playing while athletically stunted would actually benefit him in the long run.

“This is part of the challenge: ‘Can you evolve as a player? Can you play a little short-handed? This will be good for your development as a whole. You have to view the game in that regard. It’s not an option,’” said Napier explaining his stance last week. “Now, don’t get me wrong, he did extend the play. He did move in the pocket. He did a really good job in that regard. …

“[But] there were a handful of plays out there, missed opportunities. He could have had a big, big day. He’s still a young player. He’s still evolving. That was a good kind of experience for him long term that he can lean on in the future.”

As far as Lagway’s health goes, Napier claimed Wednesday that his quarterback has not missed a rep in practice and continues to get “a little better every day” without any setbacks from last week.

That’s particularly important given the Rebels offer a far tougher test than the Tigers. Ole Miss enters Saturday ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring defense and No. 16 nationally in total defense.

Line up

Perhaps the primary reason for Florida’s recent run of success has been its play up front. The offensive and defensive lines have improved markedly since the start of the season with the defense in particular last week stepping up to the tune of seven sacks, more than LSU had allowed through the entire season before kickoff.

“It’s one of the premium matchups in the game,” Napier said. “… Both sides, always protect and affect, right? Protect the quarterback, affect the quarterback. That’ll be a big component this week for sure.”

The offensive line will be under the spotlight this week against an attacking Ole Miss front featuring former UF defensive end Princely Umanmielen. Perhaps no one will be under a brighter spotlight than redshirt junior center Jake Slaughter, who has emerged as one of the top players at his position this season.

“He works extremely hard [and is] extremely smart, very diligent,” Napier said of his emerging star blocker. “He’s 6-foot-4.5. He’s got some length in there; he’s got some power. And he’s a technician. He’s very good with his hands and feet, and so, veteran player, and a guy who continues to get better. Great leader.”

Notes & quotes

Napier on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin: “Lane has always been that guy. He’s got tremendous experience. Lane has shown a ton of growth, in my opinion. I obviously know him well. When his dad passed away, we spent a lot of time talking about some of that. Obviously, I had been through that. He’s a coach’s son. I’m a coach’s son.”

Napier on doing the Griddy after the LSU win: “My sons have been very critical of my Griddy the last day or two. Players ask for it; I delivered. I got a six out of 10 or something like that. Maybe I’ll do better next time.”

Napier on kicking off at noon ET: “It’s a mindset. We talk about it. But look, they gotta wake up at the same time we gotta wake up. We’ll be eating about the same time, getting on the bus about the same time, and putting the ball down at 12 noon. So, we both gotta deal with it.”

Napier on the production of his young running backs: “The two young ones continue to get better with confidence. The biggest area of growth for them is just overall understanding of the scheme and the protection part. They’ve got really good instincts with the ball. Typically, running backs early in their career are pretty good with the ball; it’s [understanding] the protection piece that’s key. You’re either growing or dying. They need to not rest on their laurels here … and try to finish the season trending in the right direction. So far so good with those two.”

Napier on recruiting trending in the right direction amid recent successes: “Winning helps recruiting. That’s what I will tell you. For us, that game day environment, seeing players produce, seeing players improve, it’s a final piece of your product. We’ve worked on all the other parts of the player experience here. It’s second to none, and I think seeing players improve and develop and grow into guys that can be some of the better players in the country at their position and have future NFL careers, that’s important. Winning is important. Then just having a seat in that Swamp when it’s on fire like it was Saturday night, I think that’s important as well.”

Napier on the secondary stepping up amid continued depth issues due to injuries: “It was huge. It was a big part of the challenge in the game. … We stayed on top of them pretty good. We played with better leverage. The communication was really good. There was only a handful of plays that we were maybe a little bit out of whack, and some of that was underneath coverage.

“Trikweze Bridges’ position flexibility has proved to be very valuable; he can play corner the entire game. Bryce Thornton really stepped up. And we’re getting good play out of the nickel and free safety position. So [DJ Douglas], man, what an incredible example to other players relative to his toughness and grit playing through injury. Those guys got healthy last week. We leapt into that Texas game, and they played, but they weren’t quite themselves. Being healthy helped them, but there’s no doubt some coverage sacks in the game, they were a big piece of that.”