Everything Billy Napier said after the Gators' loss to Kentucky

Lexington, Ky, — The No. 22 Florida Gators fell flat on the road to the Kentucky Wildcats. It is the third consecutive loss to Kentucky, something Florida hadn’t done in more than 70 years. Billy Napier addressed the media immediately following the game.

Everything Billy Napier said after losing to Kentucky

Opening statement:

Napier: “OK guys, not a lot of positive to talk about today. I think hats off to Kentucky and coach Stoops, they were ready to play and they flat out beat us. They were the more physical team, they controlled the line of scrimmage, the edges of the formations, they protected their quarterback and we did not win the line of scrimmage or the edges and they affected our quarterback. We had a handful of penalties that were obviously a factor, the early turnover was a factor and then just fundamentally, very disappointed in our team.

I told the players I know one way to do this and that is to take complete ownership of it and I think, for me personally, as a leader, I have to do a better job for our team in all ways. You know, and, ultimately that’s my job, to have this football team ready to play and I’m going to take ownership of that because I know what we’re capable of. I do believe that we had a good week and we’re in the right frame of mind but when you put the ball down, we didn’t execute. We weren’t ready. And certainly, the way the game went early, we did our best to try to fight to get back in it but hats off to Kentucky. All parts of the game, they were more effective. I haven’t looked at the stat sheet yet but I imagine that’s exactly what it says. Kentucky deserved to win today, the Gators did not. That’s my responsibility.

I think we’ll be able to evaluate things technically a little bit more and talk Monday but, overall, we’ve got work to do to improve. One thing I do really believe in, is I believe in that group of kids in there. I think they want to have success. I think they’ve done a lot of quality work and I do think that these types of experiences present opportunity and I think, I’m very hopeful that there will be some good things to come of this but we’ve got to take a good look in the mirror as an overall operation here and do a better job for the players. I’m sure the players will see things they can do better as well.”

On whether or not he feels he and his staff didn’t adequately prepare the team:

Napier: “No, I do think we had a good week. I think they beat us up pretty good. Any time a team rushes for 300-plus and they hold you to under 100, you know, ultimately, that’s where the game was won today. Line of scrimmage, edges, tackling, fundamentals, we mis-fit some runs and we were unable to do that on offense.”

On taking a bad special teams penalty that led to a score:

Napier: “It’s disappointing because we had a similar situation in last week’s game. We covered it thoroughly throughout the week. We actually sent a play in from last week’s game to the SEC and talked about the exact rule and how it’s interpreted. We showed the clip in the meeting. I think we just got a young player out there that made a poor decision and he knows he made a mistake. I do think that was a pivotal moment in the game. It’s still a close game, we’re off the field and going to get it at mid field on the short field for probably the first time the whole day and we put them back out there and they end up getting a touchdown on that possession. I think there’s no question, huge play in the game.”

On not being the more physical football team:

Napier: “Anybody who knows me, knows that that game right there is going to be hard on me, just in terms of who I want to be, the brand of football that I want to play. So I think you’re exactly right. Look, I respect it. I respect it. I think you’re spot on.”

On the defense taking a step back Saturday:

Napier: “I think it would be very fundamental. We understand exactly what happened. We got to strike blockers: we’ve got to play with better eye discipline: we got to fit out gaps; and when given the opportunity we have to get the runner on the ground. There were times throughout the day we did not do that. We’ve played better defense. Much like I’ve told you before, the challenges are ahead. Today is a good example of that. Good slice of humble pie. Ultimately we got to play with better urgency. We have to strike blockers, we have to fit runs and when we get the opportunity we got to get the runner on the ground. 300-plus on the ground, that’s not who we are and not who we want to be and we’re going to get it fixed.”

On the biggest concern about the game:

Napier: “Physicality, yeah. We’ve gotten beat around here. I don’t know that we’ve been beat up like that. We got to take ownership of that. Much like I’ve said before, give some credit to Kentucky. That’s exactly what I told the team. I said, look, they beat us. You have to look in the mirror. We had our opportunities out there today. That’s what I would say. Sometimes, you come in here and feel like you went toe to toe. You played a brand of football you want to play and maybe execution was the issue. They got after us, both lines of scrimmages. Again, I respect it. We’ve done it to other people and I think anybody that knows me, that’s going to be most disappointing thing about the game.”

ON UF’s offensive tempo and time management late:

Napier: “The sack was a big play. We’re trying to get it on a long field. We get a first down. We get it out in the 20, 30 range and it’s a P-and-10 play, seven-man protection and we give up a sack. The challenging thing about that from an analytics standpoint was that it was an all-go situation, so the last thing we want to do is have a negative play. So you’re spot-on. It’s a two-score game for a lot of the second half to some degree. I think once the game became about time, we played with more tempo and urgency. I think it was three scores at that point.”

On evaluating his play calling in the aftermath:

Napier: “I think I remember them all. I think between possessions we know what happened. I think sometimes you’ve gotta remain objective. No different than how we evaluate everything we do. What caused the issues in the game? Is it, sometimes it may be design, sometimes it’s communication, sometimes it’s an undisciplined penalty, sometimes it’s fundamentals and technique. I think there’s lots of things that contribute to when you don’t have success in this game. We’ve got a great group of people that work hard to do that. We certainly weren’t good enough today.”

On whether he’s too conservative with his play calling:

Napier: “Yeah, I think all of those things are, look, I think let’s just go back to the first third down of the game. We called an outside zone that popped for a first down on third and long. So, when they work they pat you on the back. When they don’t work they criticize you. What we have to do is we have to do our job for the players. That’s what’s important to me. It’s important to me that we do our best for the players and the staff. When you don’t have success you deserve criticism. We deserve every bit of criticism that we’re going to get for this game. That’s part of it. My responsibility is to the players and to the staff. Ultimately, that’s what I think about.”

On whether criticism of his play calling is inaccurate or accurate:

Napier: “I think there’s always good and bad. Some of it is well deserved. Some of it, you know, maybe they don’t quite know what they’re talking about. I think it’s probably a mixed bag.”

On Caleb Douglas’s injury:

Napier: “Caleb is injured. He’ll be out for a significant chunk of time. He’s got a lower leg injury. It’ll be, I think it’s non-surgical but it will be quite a bit of time.”

On Eugene Wilson III:

Napier: “We didn’t feel good about putting him out there. We were hopeful that he would be ready. (He had) some contact throughout the week. After evaluating him in pregame, it wasn’t in his best interest as much as maybe he wanted to go. I think we made a decision that he wasn’t ready.”