‘We Will Never Panic’: Gators Staying Calm Before LSU
The aftermath of losing to USF last Saturday might led some people to believe the sky fell in Gainesville.
On one hand, Florida (1-1) lost to a team as a three-score favorite at home and needed to win that game with the remaining gauntlet left on the schedule.
On the other hand, it was a single bad game, where Florida had multiple chances to secure a win, but could not.
The good news is this stumble took place in Week 2, so Florida has time to bounce back and still achieve everything it wants to this season.
“That’s one thing this group will never do. We will never panic and will get right back to work,” tight end Hayden Hansen said. “We’re gonna address the issues we need to fix. We’re gonna do that, just going to keep on sharpening the sword, and we’re going to keep going.”
Unlike the fanbase, which has been sounding the alarms since USF kicker Nico Gramatica secured the upset win with a 20-yard last-second field goal, the Gators believe there is time to right the ship, even with the challenge of traveling to Baton Rouge, La., to face No. 3 LSU (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC, 98.1-FM, 103.7-FM/AM-850 WRUF).
This is not unfamiliar territory for Florida, which found itself in a similar position last season. After a slow start, Florida was 4-5 heading into the LSU game before knocking off the Tigers 27-16 in The Swamp. That helped propel a four-game winning streak to finish 8-5.
“We know how to respond. Obviously, you saw last year how we flipped the narrative with that last four-game stretch,” Hansen said. “Basically, what it comes down to now is we have to do that a whole lot sooner this time. We have to go to Death Valley, beat the No. 3 team at their place and then get home and keep going, go play Miami. We’ve got to get this taste out of our mouths.”
After the USF game, outside noise around the Gators program called for drastic changes. UF coach Billy Napier urged the fanbase not to let one loss define the team or erase the progress made in the offseason.
“Everything that’s been built here didn’t all of a sudden just disappear, OK? We didn’t perform to the best of our ability, the ball didn’t bounce our way on a few things,” Napier said. “But there’s been a ton of investment put into the people on our team, within the organization, and those things still exist. So, we’re gonna double down on who we are and go try to play a brand of football that we all can be proud of.”
Returning multiple starters from a year ago, like redshirt seniors Jake Slaughter and Tyreak Sapp, are trying to use their veteran leadership to guide their teammates.
“Yeah, there’s always a calling to that, you know, as an older veteran player. It’s one of those things that everybody’s frustrated after a game like that, everybody’s embarrassed to an extent,” Slaughter said. “Nobody’s happy with their individual and especially not with their team performance. So, there’s definitely a calling among older guys.”
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC
