Billy Napier addresses noise in program after win vs. Mississippi State: 'Dealt with the adversity'

Billy Napier and Florida won against Mississippi State in improbable fashion on Saturday night. A massive defensive lineman dropped into coverage and picked off a pass when the Bulldogs were in very makeable field goal range with a chance to win it.

For Napier, it was a wild whirlwind of an afternoon. He heard “Fire Billy” chants in the first half as the Gators squandered some opportunities.

Then, he would hear them even louder in the waning moments of the game following a perplexing call on third-and-1 on a series that would have allowed Florida to seriously start running the clock out with a conversion. Through it all, he didn’t blink. Nor did his team.

“It’s a resilient group,” Billy Napier said postgame on TV. “You know, they’ve got character. They care for each other. Regardless of what happened on the outside. Man, what an incredible group. They play so hard. They dealt with the adversity. We talked about that yesterday.

“Look, it hasn’t gone the way we want it to, or we want it to, or the way our fans want it to go. But they’re a team. They stuck together and they were a good example of a team tonight.”

Florida walked away with a 23-21 win, but there will be plenty to dissect following the win. Starting with that playcall.

The Gators faced third-and-1 with about two and a half minutes remaining in the game, up 23-21. Tailback Jadan Baugh had put together an excellent game, rushing 23 times for 150 yards and a touchdown.

But rather than hand it off to Baugh, Billy Napier called a rollout for quarterback DJ Lagway, despite the fact that he had openly admitted earlier in the week that Lagway was not 100%. He’s been limited as a runner.

Lagway was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, forcing Florida to punt it away. Mississippi State quickly worked it into field goal range, where a boot through the uprights would have given it the win.

Instead, on the 29-yard line, quarterback Blake Shapen dropped to pass. He didn’t see Florida defensive lineman Michai Boireau dropping into coverage. He unleashed and Boireau picked it off, sealing the win.

“First of all, give coach (Jeff) Lebby and Mississippi State some credit,” Billy Napier said. “That team continues to get better. I have a ton of respect for Jeff and that staff. They’re improving and I’m going to tell you something, I don’t care who you put out here in this league, you better be ready to go.

“And we let them hang around. We had almost 300 yards in the first half and didn’t get the points that we wanted. But how about Michai Boireau, man? Three hundred and seventy-five pounds picking off a pass to win the game.”