Billy Napier embracing College Football Playoff hopes, focusing on path

Heading into the fourth season of the Billy Napier era at Florida, expectations are creeping back up for the Gators to once again compete for the SEC crown. Florida won just six and five games (respectively) over his first two seasons in charge, but impressed mightily in 2024 with a strong end to the season.

Florida started the 2024 season 4-5, but finished with an 8-5 record after winning its final four games of the season. This included two wins over Top 25-ranked teams (No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss), rival Florida State and Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators won their final four games by an average of 15.8 points.

Napier discussed embracing the College Football Playoff this season earlier this week. Florida hasn’t reached the SEC Championship Game since 2020 (which was also the last time it finished inside the top-10 of the final College Football Playoff Rankings).

“We absolutely have aspirations to be a Playoff team,” Napier said. “That’s the intention to come here and win championships. Now what do we know about that? It’s about the work we do and it’s about today. It’s not about yesterday or tomorrow… it’s about today. A good today leads to a good week, which leads to a good month, which leads to a good season.”

Napier wants his team to buy into the process

“I think for us, it’s about getting the most out of this group,” Napier said. “The best thing about coaching football is the challenge of ‘okay, I’m a position coach and I’m going to take this player and this position group’ and get the most out of the unit. For me, it’s the team and the organization as a whole right? I think for us, we know that the results will really be a product of buying into the process. Being present, stacking good days and creating habits that will hold up on gameday.”

Florida will line up against SEC juggernauts Texas, Georgia and Tennessee this season, but all three games will be played in Gainesville. It will, however, have to travel to LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Kentucky (where it has lost back-to-back road games for the first time since 1974-1976). It will play the 12th hardest schedule in the country, according to Phil Steele.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that need to establish that we can trust them and this next month will present that opportunity,” Napier finished with. The Gators open their highly anticipated season at home on Aug. 30 against LIU.