Billy Napier reveals Florida is making tweaks ahead of road trip to South Carolina
The road has been a lonely, unsuccessful place for Florida as of late. That’s why, ahead of their trip to South Carolina this weekend, Billy Napier says the Gators are going to change it up a bit in hopes of different results.
Napier addressed Florida’s travel plans to start questions off at his press conference on Monday. He said that they’re shifting their schedule around once they get to the middle of the week so that they’re as ready as they can be for their afternoon kick with the Gamecocks on Saturday.
“I think we’re going to try to get to Columbia a little bit earlier this week. We’re tweaking our schedule on Thursday. We’re going to put a huge emphasis on sleep on Wednesday night. And then things, like little things. I think we’re going to arrive to the stadium a little earlier,” Napier explained. “All these things are typical, quality control that we do. I think, ultimately, there’s a pulse from the players that you’ve got to take into account.”
It’s going to take more than that, though. As Napier put it, they’re going to have to learn from their mistakes in order to correct them in time for their third road trip of the year.
“I think that, ultimately, kind of like what I described earlier, we’ve got to know and apply the things that we’ve learned in the past,” said Napier.
Florida is currently 0-2 on the road this fall with rough trips to Salt Lake City and Lexington on their record. That makes them 1-5 when playing true road games under Napier. Go just a little further back and the Gators are just 2-10 in enemy territory over the past three seasons.
With four trips left on their schedule, three away and one neutral, something has to give if Florida wants to stay above .500 on the year. That’s reason enough for Napier to make a change or two here and there to see if his team will be more ready to roll to Williams-Brice Stadium come the end of the week.
Florida vs. South Carolina: Early point spread released on Gators vs. Gamecocks
The Florida Gators will travel to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. Right around the midway point of the season, this has become one of the most anticipated games of the weekend that both teams feel they need to win.
As of now, the folks out in Las Vegas are expecting this to be a very close game. South Carolina is starting the week as a very slight favorite. According to FanDuel, the Gamecocks are -2 coming into the game, making them a slight home favorite. The point total for the game is currently set at 52 points.
South Carolina comes into the game against Florida after a bye week. Prior to that, the Gamecocks lost a tough road game against Tennessee. On the other hand, Florida is coming off a big win against Vanderbilt. That win was huge for a Florida team that needed to bounce back after losing badly to Kentucky the week prior.
Florida has a 4-2 record overall and a 2-1 conference record. Meanwhile, South Carolina is 2-3 with a 1-2 record in SEC play.