No. 8 Tennessee certainly earned its 23-17 win over rival Florida. The Vols overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and proved to be the better, deeper team through overtime. But as impressive as the Vols were, the Gators had a chance to win the game in regulation.
Florida backup quarterback DJ Lagway connected with Chimere Dike for a 27-yard touchdown with 29 seconds remaining and coach Billy Napier looked ready to drop the hammer, lining up for a potential game-winning 2-point conversion. However, following a Tennessee timeout, Florida coach Billy Napier changed his mind, kicking the extra point and sending the game to overtime.
While at Louisiana, Napier once famously rolled the dice against Ohio to score a touchdown from the 1-yard line as the first half expired rather than kick a near-sure-thing field goal.
“Scared money don’t make money,” he laughingly told a reporter before walking into the locker room for halftime.
Against Tennessee, Napier was playing with with scared money. His team had all the momentum and nothing to lose on the road against a top-10 rival. The Gators were also shorthanded, playing without top quarterback Graham Mertz and their best running back Montrell Johnson.
The Gators got the ball first in overtime, going backward thanks to a sack and a penalty and missing a 47-yard field goal. Tennessee made Florida pay, marching 25 yards to score on a 1-yard walk-off plunge from Dylan Samson.
True to his own analogy, Napier’s timid decision came back to haunt him in a season where he is very likely coaching for his job.
A win would have propelled the Gators to 4-2, with a 2-1 record in an SEC that hasn’t established a true second contender behind Texas. Instead the Gators are 3-3, 1-2 on the year with Kentucky, Georgia, the Longhorns, LSU and Ole Miss all lined up in a row on the schedule.
Napier’s situation at Florida this season was never going to be easy, but he missed a major opportunity to finally make his own luck on Saturday.
