It looks like Billy Napier has the Gators cooking up a storm in Gainesville. After a rocky 4-5 start last season, Napier’s team found their stride, winning four straight, including against LSU and Florida State, to finish 8-5. This strong finish ignited excitement in Gainesville: recruiting was going well, the locker room bought in, and the AP poll ranked them No. 15. Everything appeared to be going smoothly until a former Florida coach issued a three-word warning and publicly supported another SEC team. That’s a real damper on the buzz.
So, who’s this former HC who’s turning up the heat in Gainesville? Well, it’s none other than Steve Spurrier who’s turning heads with his latest admission. We all know his history with the Gators: he revitalized the program by bringing back the blue jerseys, natural grass, and key rivalries, while also establishing “The Gator Mentality.” He inherited a team on NCAA probation, yet still managed to lead them to the best record in the SEC in his first season and secured Florida’s first official SEC title in 1991.
But it looks like he isn’t the one picking up sides. While talking about the fall camp grind on Another Dooley Noted Podcast, Steve Spurrier made it clear that he’s supporting all his former college teams. “No, I’m just a spectator. Pulling for the Gators, pulling for South Carolina, and pulling for Duke,” he said. Now, it doesn’t just stop at that. As he talked about Billy Napier’s team’s tough schedule, he didn’t mince words before landing them with a tough reality check: “We’ll be favored the first two definitely. And then the next four we have to play well.”
Can we blame him? Florida’s rolling into 2025 with plenty of hype, but USA TODAY Sports just slapped the Gators with the No. 1 toughest schedule in the nation. The preseason US LBM Coaches Poll says it all. Florida’s path is stacked with ranked opponents from start to finish. And even host Pat Dooley lays out the same fear: “I know they are right now at LSU. They’re in Miami. There’s that, they’re underdogs. Texas are underdogs. A&M, I think they’re underdogs right now. So, that’d be four straight.”
Florida’s 2025 football schedule is a brutal test. The Gators face a gauntlet starting in Week 3: No. 9 LSU, followed by No. 10 Miami, then back home to battle No. 1 Texas, and finally, a trip to No. 21 Texas A&M. That’s four ranked teams in four weeks, before October even arrives. No easy games, no breaks. Just a series of tough matchups. And the difficulty continues into November.
The month begins with the usual clash against No. 4 Georgia, then a road game at No. 15 Ole Miss, concluding the season at home versus No. 18 Tennessee. As USA TODAY’s Jordan Mendoza noted, “the grind doesn’t stop.” For Billy Napier’s Gators, topping the “toughest schedule” rankings isn’t something to celebrate. It’s a warning that to reach the playoffs, they must endure a grueling stretch.
On top of that, Gator Nation isn’t known for its patience, and 2025 is no different. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently released his college football impatience index, and Florida is in the “Need a playoff run” tier. Although Napier earned some breathing room with a tough 2024 finish, beating CFP hopeful Ole Miss and winning four straight. Fans still see a program that hasn’t been in the AP top 10, hit nine wins, or made the playoff since 2019. But with this kind of schedule, the pressure is just intensifying.
Billy Napier’s turnaround seasons takes another hit
The key to Billy Napier’s championship aspirations rests squarely on DJ Lagway’s shoulders, as every college football enthusiast understands. Last season, he didn’t just step in for Graham Mertz, he proved he could win, boasting a 6-1 record in seven starts, completing 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. However, with injuries mounting and his rhythm disrupted, that same level of consistency feels like it’s slipping away.
Despite throwing 70 passes daily, Florida’s Heisman hopeful is still not at full speed after straining his left calf just before camp. While Billy Napier maintains he’s “on schedule” with his rehab and will be “modified for a while,” this translates to no 11-on-11 work and sitting out Saturday’s scrimmage. “His workload is high,” Napier explained. “It’s just not with a pass rush, you know? We’re controlling the environment, trying to take care of him from a soft-tissue standpoint.”
But can we blame him? Lagway’s faced a series of hurdles recently: surgery for a sports hernia sidelined him in the spring, shoulder issues lingered last fall, and a hamstring strain hit in November. Coach Napier concedes the timing isn’t ideal. “It’s not ideal. That’s the way I’ve tried to put it in the past, and I still kind of stand by that.” Napier said. “In a perfect world, he’d be 100% and taking every single rep. But he’s not able to do that.” For now, Florida is adjusting practice and walkthroughs to focus on “mental reps, process reps, and communication reps” while protecting him.
On the bright side, the 15th-ranked Gators are getting a good look at the QB2 competition, and freshman Tramell Jones Jr. is impressing. Napier even called his performance “buzzworthy.” The expectations are high, and even Nick Saban mentioned at a recent event that Florida could be a contender in the SEC this year. But if Lagway isn’t fully healthy, that dream could be a long shot.
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