GAINESVILLE — Florida slipped by 28-point underdog Charlotte 22-7 win in the Swamp, a lackluster performance following a pivotal win a week earlier against Tennessee.
The Gators (3-1) now turn their attention to a seven-game, eight-week SEC schedule, beginning Saturday at Kentucky — winner of three of the past five meetings.
Here are three things learned during UF’s third straight win, the Gators’ longest winning streak under Napier:
Play Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr. together
The two tailbacks and receiver Ricky Pearsall are the Gators’ three most explosive playmakers until freshman Eugene Wilson III (collarbone) returns. Each runner showed his pass-catching skills the past two weeks, but only one is on the field at a time.
Johnson caught an 18-yard touchdown against Tennessee, but Etienne is the more dynamic receiving option and slipperier in space. Against Charlotte, he split out wide, caught a bubble screen, juked a defender and picked up 13 yards.
The sophomore also could operate in the slot or slip into the back field with Johnson.
Etienne entertained the possibility during fall camp.
“I wish,” he said. “I feel like that would be pretty dangerous. You don’t know who’s getting the ball. You have to pick your poison.”
The Gators need some offensive punch after managing just one touchdown and settling for five field goals by Trey Smack — three inside the 49ers’ 10-yard line — against a defense allowing an average of 39.4 points. UF has 13 touchdowns in 19 red-zone trips, or 68.4% — in the middle of the pack in the SEC.
Given his accuracy and football acumen, quarterback Graham Mertz could capitalize on more playmaking options.
Freshman receiver Andy Jean did flash with a 32-yard catch and 25-yard run, but his first college game was against an overmatched opponent.
To best capitalize on his weapons, Napier needs to break from his suddenly conservative approach.
The 44-year-old’s “Scared Money Don’t Make Money” ethos he brought from Louisiana is at times high risk, if not ill-advised. In 2022, UF’s 32 fourth-down attempts were third in the SEC behind high-powered Tennessee and Ole Miss.
But facing fourth-and-1 from Charlotte’s 8 and leading 7-0 against a defense on its heels, the Gators settled for a field goal. Napier opted for three points again on the next series when faced with fourth-and-3 from the 49ers’ 5.
“That was a test of, ‘Do you really believe in the analytics or not,’” he said.
Thinking outside the box might be necessary as SEC play ramps up.
Shemar James plus Scooby Williams equals UF’s best linebacking tandem in years
The sophomores have led Gators’ impressive defensive turnaround. Fast, instinctive and physical, the duo has combined for 47 stops, including six for loss. James recorded his first sack of 2023 while Williams forced his second fumble of the season.
“We’re always on the same page,” James said. “He always knows what I’m doing, he always know what he’s doing, so that allows us to play fast.”
In 2022, Ventrell Miller was a force, but he did not have someone to match his intensity and production.
The last time the Gators had two linebackers with the talent of James and Williams was 2016 with Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone, though each missed games with injuries. In 2015, Davis and Antonio Morrison combined for 201 tackles, 23 for loss.
Jon Bostic, Jelani Jenkins and Morrison were productive for the Gators’ stellar 2012 defense while Earl Everett and Brandon Siler ranked 1-2 in tackles for the 2006 national champions.
The 2023 Gators’ defense could keep them in games, with James and Williams setting the tone.
Special teams need an overhaul
Mistakes continue to compound in the third phase of the game as Napier’s reliance on analyst Chris Couch continues to look ill-fated, if not ill-conceived. A shake-up is needed.
Illegal blocks negated returns, including an electrifying 47-yarder by Pearsall, after Charlotte’s first two punts to give UF five special teams penalties in 2023. The most egregious was having two players wearing No. 3 on the field at the same time during a punt return at Utah.
Miscues cost the Gators big time during a season-opening loss to the Utes, have been a factor every week and will be continue to be until something changes.
Two shanked punts, two missed field goals and two botched extra points, one because of bad snap, are a season’s worth of miscues in three games.
The Gators’ kicking game finally appears sorted out. Smack, a sophomore, replaced Adam Mihalek and converted two short field goals before nailing a 54-yarder. He added a 36- and 23-yard effort.
UF also blocked a punt. Yet, twice the Gators had 10 men on the field, on a field-goal block and a punt return.
Napier downplayed the latter miscue.
“It’s out there where we think we’re going to be in field-goal range and then all of a sudden the punter is out there,” he said. “Aware of that and very unique situation in the game, and we’re OK with that.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
