By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

When Florida quarterback DJ Lagway threw his fifth interception Saturday night to seal the game at No. 3 LSU, athletic director Scott Stricklin pursed his lips and turned away.

Stricklin did not watch the replay. He clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the ground.

What else was there to see? What else is there to say?

The Gators 20-10 loss dropped them to 1-2 this season with plenty of the nation’s hardest schedule still ahead.

The numbers are grisly enough to spark questions about Napier’s buyout ($19.4 million at the end of this contract year) to intensify:

Three games into his fourth season, Napier is 20-21. That’s as many losses as Will Muschamp had, and Muschamp coached in eight more games. Napier’s winning percentage (.487) is the worst by any non-interim Florida coach since 1950.

He needs to win his next 28 games to match the winning percentage of Dan Mullen, who was fired.

Napier is 3-10 against Florida’s primary annual rivals. That’s 0-3 against Georgia, 1-2 against Tennessee and Florida State and 1-3 against the Tigers after last week.

Napier dropped to 4-15 against ranked opponents and 5-14 away from The Swamp.

Saturday was especially troubling if you watch the way the game played out. The athletes have not quit on Napier, and this loss wasn’t due to a lack of fight.

Florida was a willing participant in pregame shouting matches and a brief in-game scuffle.

The defense was good enough to win, starting the game with three consecutive three-and-outs and holding LSU to 316 total yards — the Tigers’ third-lowest output in three seasons under Brian Kelly.

The problem is the offense. Napier’s offense can’t score. Napier leads it after refusing to hire a play caller and doubling down on his role after last week’s 18-16 loss to South Florida.

This is an offense that Florida fans expect to light up scoreboards like they did under Steve Spurrier. This offense looks like it’s squandering a third consecutive NFL talent at quarterback, and this one might be the most promising of them all.

In Year 1, Napier’s quarterback was the No. 4 NFL Draft pick, Anthony Richardson. The Gators went 6-7.

For the next year and a half, Napier’s quarterback was Graham Mertz, who was drafted in the sixth round this spring. Gators went 8-10.

Since mid-October, Napier’s quarterback has been Lagway, the former five-star recruit and Gatorade National High School Player of the Year. After encouraging performances in 2024, Napier and Lagway have lost two in a row in 2025. Lagway’s five interceptions Saturday were the most by a Florida quarterback since 1992.

Despite those turnovers, the Gators were still competitive. An optimistic spin is: if you take away the pick six Lagway threw and add the 87-yard touchdown pass that was nullified by a holding call, Florida would’ve been right there.

“We’ve lost two in a row like that,” Napier said.

He’s right. The Gators had a pair of touchdowns negated by penalties in last week’s loss.

That doesn’t make Saturday night look or feel any better, especially because of how poorly the “Bull spit” game aged.

South Florida was blown out 49-12 on Saturday by No. 5 Miami — the same No. 5 Miami that hosts the Gators this week.

Napier is 0-1 against the Hurricanes, in case anyone was wondering.

If Napier is feeling the heat at this biggest pressure-cooker program, he isn’t necessarily showing it. When Urban Meyer lost in Baton Rouge in 2005, he cried in his postgame news conference. Napier started Saturday night’s address by complimenting his players and team leadership.

Stricklin, again, turned his head to the ground. He did not need to watch that replay, either. He’s seen this trainwreck too many times before, only difference is the conductor.