What a difference one win makes in college football. Going into last weekend’s matchup with Texas, Florida was on the verge of having their season spiral out of control.
Coming off a bye week, the 1-3 Gators hosted the Longhorns at the Swamp. The bye week did Florida some good as they upset Texas, 29-21, for their second win of the season. For one week, it takes some heat off of head coach Billy Napier.
After a win over Arch Manning and the Longhorns, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy thinks the Gators will get their season back on track. He thinks over their final six SEC games, they’re going to be a problem for the conference.
“Florida might be a problem down the stretch,” said McElroy on the Always College Football podcast. “If you watched this game, this was a desperate team in need of some hope. They were sitting there at 1-3 and on a three-game losing streak. They looked like a team in free fall, especially with how unproductive this offense has been. They had over 450 yards on offense, and DJ Lagway looked like the guy we all thought he would look like.”
Given how things have gone up until this past weekend, that is a rather bold take from McElroy for a program that struggles to play consistently under Napier.
Florida’s Offense Puts Up Big Numbers Against Texas
Last week, leading into the game, Langway was confident that the Gators’ offense was going to turn things around after their bye week. He said eventually it was ‘going to pop.’ It did against the Longhorns.
“Eventually, it’s going to pop. And when it pops, it is going to be hard to stop. I’ll tell you that right now,” Lagway said. “I definitely feel like that. We just need a little spark and it’s going to set ablaze. So we just gotta keep chopping wood, carrying water, and just continue to better our process.”
Langway led an offense that exploded for over 450 yards. He threw for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and had one interception. He finished with a 75 percent completion percentage.
Napier still called the plays as the head coach, something he was not planning on giving up. Turns out, for one week, it was the right decision. Things are not going to get easier for Florida in terms of the schedule beginning this weekend at Texas A&M.
Florida Faces Loaded Schedule Over the Final Seven Weeks
If the Gators are going to be a problem for the rest of the SEC, they will be a problem for some of the top teams in the conference.
After playing the Aggies this weekend in College Station, they still have games with Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee in marquee SEC matchups. They close out the season hosting Florida State Thanksgiving Weekend.
All of a sudden, at 2-3, Florida can make a push for a bowl game for the second straight year. Last year, it saved Napier his job, but if their offense is going to produce like it did against Texas, they have a shot.
Florida’s defense has always been good, as it’s been the offense that has let them down. A win at Texas A&M would certainly change the narrative for Napier and the Gators going into the second half of the season.
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