The television cameras showed a sign somewhere around the stadium that read simply “In Napier We Trust.” You had to expect that after the string of “would-be’s“ that just weren’t the guy. 29-26 win that was in doubt up until Amari Burney smothered a pass in the end zone, hanging on for the interception that snuffed out Utah’s bid for a win. Finding a way to win is a good quality. It tested that trust, but it was fulfilled and Napier begins his tenure in grand fashion by upsetting the #7 Utes and keeping alive the streak of home opener wins at 33. Hell yeah!
If there was any doubt about the QB position, and I can’t imagine there being much, it should be erased. All the guy did in his debut as the undisputed starter was run for 103 yds on 11 carries with 3 TDs and was 17/24 for 169 yds passing. No turnovers, cool but elusive when he had to be in the pocket, and ran the offense with confidence. His runs were effective, exciting, but without reckless abandon. It gave a feel that he’s matured under the new coaching without sacrificing his unique capabilities.
As for Napier, the game looked and felt like we were better-prepared and that we had a plan, didn’t panic, and stuck to it. That didn’t mean that some of us weren’t on the very edge late in the game as the D was bending. Make no mistake, we are not a world class defense, missing some tackles, losing contain on the edge, and not getting a consistent rush, but we were better coached in terms of keeping the ball in front of us and making them keep snapping it. And our guys never lost faith. Even when Utah was driving late for the winning or tying score. We haven’t had that in a bit.
As the Adrenalin we all felt at the end subsided, the thought might have crossed some minds that we might have been kinda vanilla tonight on both sides of the ball. Take away AR and a couple of the backs and our offense was a little middling. The defense, as previously alluded to, was pretty plain excepting two goal line stands. But again, the attention to fundamentals and preparation for the opposition was there along with confidence. It was all pretty old school. Disappointing maybe in this day of high octane football. But effective.
It seemed clear that our roster was less than half with guys who can play SEC football right now and the rest a mixture of “gonna-he’s” and journeymen. It could be argued that it’s pretty similar, if not a little less tHan last year’s that fell flat. It’s going to take a couple of recruiting cycles and transfers to get us where we need to be, so the coaching will have to be spot on. It wasn’t last year, but we’ve upgraded. That much is pretty clear.
* It was pretty fitting that Burney made the game-saving pick of the ball that was intended for Kuithe, who had 9 receptions for 105 yds and a TD, mostly at Burney’s expense. I can’t say that he was out of position, maybe outclassed by a pretty good TE. The fact that we didn’t really have consistent pressure on their QB only made Burney’s job tougher. But he didn’t quit, playing hard until the final snap. The old coach in me believes that kind of attitude is huge for a successful rebuild.
* I don’t have the defensive stats to look at, but Ventrell Miller looked pretty solid. The secondary were not reminiscent of the Keystone Cops of the last few seasons and at least kept the ball in front of them. The front was not really consistent, allowing 229 rushing yds (90 by their QB). I know the depth isn’t there right now and likely won’t be this year, but again, you’ve got to give them points for the goal line stands and two FGs instead of TDs. Enough can’t be said about the heart in game one and a lot of that comes from how the kids are coached and the expectations placed upon them.
* The OL was pleasingly consistent. They paved the way for 282 rushing yds and gave AR time in the pocket. Our backs were very effective with Etienne and Johnson having strong efforts and likely positioning themselves as the top two with Wright a ways back. There were also a couple of good pickups by these guys in pass pro. If there’s a knock it’s that the Receivers were a bit underwhelming. But we knew that coming in and hopefully they’ll develop as we progress through the schedule. At some point, we’ll need them to stretch the field and do more than block downfield. Who the heck is Ricky Pearsall and where did he come from?! The TEs are ahead of them and Shorter and Zipperer had a few nice routes and catches.
* Special Teams were a little low spot based on the inconsistency of the kicks and punts as well as the attempted returns. Let’s take the ball on the 25. The cover teams could be a little less sticky and cut down on the return yds.
* The lone turnover could have been costly, but we were able to nullify it. Johnson, while showing that he’s up to the task running the ball in a bigger league, needs to shore up his ball security. It‘s easier to correct one that didn’t hurt us than if we’d come up on the bottom end of the scoreboard. The mental stuff is different in the two scenarios.
* The Swamp lookEd awesome, loud and intimidating, on TV. Whether you want to blame the lulls of the last few seasons on Covid or Mullen, it was great to see it looking as formidable as it once did. That’s what the 12th man stuff is all about.
* And speaking of extra men, was it just me or were those far west officials pretty crappy? Who the heck negotiated them into the game contract? Anyone? Thank goodness it didn’t cost us, but it sure looked like it might.
I have to tell you that the last few years were taking their toll on me and I’ve had to fight the malaise that the Muschamp-Butters-Mullen eras had inflicted. I was very happy with Napier’s hiring and his rebuilding of the football staff and attention to the facilities, yet cautious with my optimism due to Mullen’s lazy a$$ approach to recruiting, discipline, and defense, leaving a lot for the new staff to overcome. Tonight’s victory over a quality ranked team gives cause for a little faith to grow and I can say that my trust in Napier is also building. Might have to put my own sign up in the yard! We’ve still got a hill to climb, but we’ve got a guy willing to do it. He’s got another tough test next week, but there’s more reason for anticipation than apprehension, for the first time in a while. Go Gators!
Johnson and ETN look TONS better. I hate to say it, but Wright didn’t impress me at all. I’d like to see Lingard given a chance to earn RB3. 
