Paul Finebaum dismisses Florida's ability to bounce back under Billy Napier: 'Too much damage incurred'

Florida has put itself in a must-win kind of scenario with its upset loss last weekend to USF in The Swamp. The Gators did so in time for one of the most difficult games they could have done it for, as they travel to play No. 3 LSU in Baton Rouge.

Appearing on ‘SportsCenter’ on Friday, Paul Finebaum considered what kind of response we’d see from the Gators tomorrow night. He thinks they’ll play up to the game, considering the kind of matchup it is in conference play, but that it won’t matter much in the result, with the spot they find themselves in under Billy Napier.

“This is always one of the biggest games for them, so I think they will play very well,” Finebaum said. “Bounce back? I don’t think that is possible.

“I think there has been too much damage incurred under Billy Napier’s tenure at the University of Florida. He is 20-20 as he enters the third game of his fourth year. DJ Lagway was supposed to be the salvation, but he missed most of the offseason battling some injuries and he has been very rusty so far and ineffective. That’s really going to be the problem as they face one of the best defenses in the country in LSU, in perhaps the most difficult place in America to play in Tiger Stadium at night.”

Falling to .500 overall this season and in their tenure under Napier, the Gators are facing a real challenge the rest of the way. Florida plays eight of its 10 remaining games against ranked opponents, including each of their next three being against teams currently in the Top 10. For reference, just two games into year four in Gainesville, Napier is 4-14 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.

This being the case, the topics of buyouts and firings have been discussed over the past week when it comes to Florida. Finebaum sees it that way as much as anyone, with him fully expecting this to end as their final season under Napier.

Based on how it finished last season, Florida could very well have some fight in it, whether that be tomorrow or over the rest of the fall. But, come kickoff in Death Valley, Finebaum is expecting the Tigers to be too much, regardless of the Gators on Saturday.

Finebaum reveals how serious hot seat talk is around Napier

Finebaum is certain of how the seat is under Billy Napier right now at Florida. Coming off Saturday’s result against South Florida, Finebaum appeared on ‘Always College Football’ with Greg McElroy, where he explained why he believes Napier may not be able to get himself out of this one.

“I believe (the hot seat talk is real),” Finebaum said. “I think it was real last year. It just so happened that he managed to take advantage of Ole Miss, of LSU, of a very weak FSU team and went on this run that was exciting. Beating Ole Miss and LSU at home really mattered. It helped him and Scott Stricklin helped him, too by dialing up that vote of confidence at just the right time. (DJ) Lagway coming back was really the ticket that every Florida fan felt great about. But you talked about it on your show and here. Lagway was always a mystery.

“I just didn’t expect the Gators to look so inept at various points on the field. To me, the Napier thing? I mean he’s 20-20 in his fourth year. We know what happened to every other coach with far better records. The only thing that will save him is if Florida decided to start thinking like a mid-level team and be happy with mediocrity. But I don’t think Gator fans are gonna be happy with that based on a couple of shows so far this week.”