Billy Napier pressed point blank on whether he’s coached final game at Florida

In what could very well be the final game of the Billy Napier era at Florida, the Gators held off Mississippi State 23-21 in Gainesville to improve to 3-4 on the season.

Following the win, Napier was asked whether or not he thought that he just coached the final game of his Florida tenure. He shut the question down, and then applauded his team’s effort in the victory.

“No, I think about our players man,” Napier said. “I think about our players. That’s what I think about. I think that we work. That was a good testament to the entirety of the group, from a work ethic to commitment to depth was all challenged. The entire process was challenged. We had a lot of players play some of their best football of their careers. And you had some unknowns just step up out of nowhere and make some incredible plays.”

Florida escaped with win thanks to late-game interception

“I think it’s a testament to the entire organization and young people,” Napier continued. “That’s not normal to play with that amount of effort. Especially in a game where there’s a ton of adversity for them to keep fighting. We found a way to win and that was pretty special. That’s what I love about the game man. These guys can learn a lot and that was a great memory there. Lots of life lessons happened out there today.”

Mississippi State opened the game strong with a touchdown on its opening drive. It was then outscored 20-0 until it scored again with 11:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. This made the score 20-14, which Florida extended to 23-14 with a 53-yard field goal with 6:49 left in the game. Miss State‘s Davon Booth then found pay dirt on a two-yard touchdown with two minutes remaining to make it 23-21.

The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 1:32 remaining, but quarterback Blake Shapen was intercepted on the Florida 29-yard-line with 21 seconds left to cement the Gator win.

If this was indeed Napier’s final game in Gainesville, he’ll end his tenure with a 22-23 (12-16) record. He is the first full-time Gators head coach to end his tenure with a losing record since Raymond Wolf, who was 13-24 from 1946-1949.