Florida coach Billy Napier understands why fans were booing during his team’s 33-20 home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.
The loss dropped Florida to 1-2 and wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Aggies were up 33-7 in the third quarter before Florida scored the final 13 points.
After the game, Napier was asked about the boos that rained down at halftime and at the end of the fourth quarter.
“Well, I don’t blame — I have no excuse, I have no negative comment about that,” Napier said of fans’ actions. “Ultimately when you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized.”
“Like I said, this is one of those places where there’s history and tradition and expectations. There’s been a lot of really good football teams that played in that stadium in the past. And when you play ugly ball, and maybe it doesn’t look quite like we all want it to, then hey, it comes with the territory.”
“So I probably would have done the same thing, truth be known.”
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed made his first start as Connor Weigman didn’t play because of an upper-body injury. Reed threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Aggies dominated the Gators. Reed was 11-of-17 passing for 178 yards and also rushed for 83. The Aggies had 55 carries for 310 yards. Florida had 301 yards of total offense.
The Gators played both Graham Mertz and freshman DJ Lagway at QB after Mertz missed the Week 2 win over Samford with a concussion he suffered in the season-opener against Miami. They combined to go 18-of-29 for 249 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Lagway threw two picks and Mertz’s interception was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by Bryce Anderson.
Napier is in his third season with the Gators and Florida has lost seven games in each of his first two seasons. He signed a contract worth over $50 million when he was hired, and his future could depend on other factors at the school if the team has another losing season. Florida is currently without a permanent president after former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse stepped down this summer. In the weeks and months since Sasse’s resignation, multiple reports have emerged about extravagant spending in the president’s office.