Florida coach Billy Napier understands why fans booed during his team’s 33-20 home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.
The loss left Florida at 1-2 and wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Aggies led 33-7 in the third quarter before Florida scored the final 13 points.
After the game, Napier was asked about the boos heard during halftime and at the end of the fourth quarter.
“Well, I don’t blame — I don’t have any excuses, I don’t have any negative comments about it,” Napier said of the fans’ actions. “Ultimately, if you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized.”
“As I said, this is one of those places where there is history, tradition and expectations. There have been many very good football teams in that stadium in the past. And if you play ugly balls, and it may not look exactly the way we all want it to, then that’s the way it is.”
“So I probably would have done the same thing, to be honest.”
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed made his first start when Connor Weigman sat out with an upper-body injury. Reed threw 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 at Samford with a concussion he suffered in the season opener against Miami. Together, they went 18 of 29 for 249 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Lagway threw two interceptions 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 more than $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 currently has no permanent president after former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse resigned this summer. In the weeks and months since Sasse’s resignation, there have been multiple reports of excessive spending in the president’s office.
