How Florida football’s two-QB system fared and what the Gators learned from the TAMU loss

Florida football desperately needed a win in its SEC opener against Texas A&M to quell the noise in the system surrounding third-year coach Billy Napier.

Instead, the Florida Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) put forth a disheartening, disinterested effort in a 33-20 loss to the Aggies.

“We’re not getting the result on the field right now that we want, but ultimately that’s how you’re judged to some degree in this arena, so it comes with the territory,” Napier said. “We all understand that as coaches. So we have to play more competitive football. We have to play better quality football. That’s my responsibility.”

The question now becomes, how much longer will Napier get to fix it? With the loss, Florida dropped to 12-16 overall under Napier and 6-11 in the SEC. Florida trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half in its season-opening loss to Miami and by as many as 26 points on Saturday against Texas A&M.

Here are three things learned from Florida’s 33-20 loss to TAMU at The Swamp:

Florida football coach Billy Napier needs to tweak two-QB system

Napier’s plan to alternate incumbent starter Graham Mertz and five-star freshman DJ Lagway each series resulted in at least one of his quarterbacks, failing to find a rhythm. Mertz went 12 for 15 for 195 yards and a TD, though he did throw a costly pick-six in the third quarter that put the Gators behind 33-7 in the third quarter. Lagway, coming off a UF freshman-record 456 yards passing against Samford, went 6 for 13 for 54 yards and a TD with two interceptions. “We felt like it was in the best interest of the team to do it that way, and we did it, and I don’t necessarily think that that was one of our — that wasn’t the reason that we got beat today,” Napier said. “I think there were a lot of other things that contributed to that.”

Florida football’s offensive line needs a shakeup

UF…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-footballs-two-qb-system-080205048.html

Author : The Gainesville Sun

Publish date : 2024-09-15 08:02:05

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