Will Compton puts Miami on upset alert vs. Florida: 'Not a dead animal'

Perhaps no coach in college football has a hotter seat than Billy Napier. Now, he leads his Florida Gators into South Florida to take on the Miami Hurricanes. It’s part of a stretch of games that look like they’ll either make or break the season for Florida.

After Florida lost its last two games, including at home to a USF team that Miami blew out the next week, Miami is going into the game as a heavy favorite. Despite that, Will Compton hasn’t given up on the Gators yet. Because of that, he went on Get Up on Thursday morning and put the Hurricanes on upset alert.

“Look, I had Florida as my wounded animal coming out on top at Death Valley against LSU last week,” Compton said. “I still see them as a wounded animal, not a dead animal. I think Miami is on upset alert.”

Florida slipped to 1-2 on the season last week, with its only win coming over LIU out of the FCS ranks. Against LSU, the Gators’ offense looked as bad as it has in recent memory, as star quarterback DJ Lagway threw five interceptions. There was a silver lining to that, though, with the defense only giving up 20 total points. One of those touchdowns can’t be attributed to the defense, either. That makes 13 points that fell on the defense’s shoulders after being put in a bad spot with the turnovers.

If the Florida defense can keep playing at that level, then there’s a chance that they give Miami’s offense trouble. By keeping it close, the Hurricanes could end up on upset alert moving forward.

“DJ Lagway, he throws five picks,” Compton said. “They lose the game by 10. I think Miami needs to be very cautious about this Florida Gators team because they’re very good on defense.”

Taylor Lewan quickly pushed back on that take, calling Florida a “dead animal.” He’d also, notably, point out that Miami appears to have a better offense than LSU. So, it’s going to be an even more difficult task for the Gators’ defense.

The Miami game is the second game of a stretch where Florida plays four straight games against teams ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll. After losing the game preceding that stretch and the first game of that stretch, the Gators need to find wins because the pressure is mounting on Billy Napier. That recently forced him to address whether he’s coaching for his job.

“I think I’m trying to solve problems. You know, I think you’re trying to find the right combination of things to help and look, I mean, we’re a handful of plays away from winning that game Saturday. So I think you got to try to be as objective as you can. And you got to get consumed with how you help the players. You know, how do you help the players improve? How do you help position the players a little bit better spot here, there, and keep their keep the human element intact, you know?” Napier said.

“That’s the really important part. So, you know, I do think, in my opinion, you know, a man is not defeated until he blames someone else, right? So I think it’s key, you know, for us to, you know, evaluate what we can do for every individual within the team and organization to contribute and help us get better.”

Miami is set to host Florida on Saturday, September 20th. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. A win for the Gators would be a massive way to turn the season around.

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