Florida Gators coach Billy Napier celebrates a fourth-down stop against the Ole Miss Rebels during the second half of last year's win at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators defeated the Rebels 24-17. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]

Napier-led Gators On Roll Against SEC Ranked Teams in Swamp

In just four games of the 2025 college football season, Florida coach Billy Napier added more undesirable records to his resume: losing to USF for the first time in school history, leading the first 1-3 Gator team since 1986 and having the worst record for a Florida coach since the 1940s.

Going into Florida’s game Saturday against No. 9 Texas, however, Napier has one record up his sleeve that cements The Swamp as one of the hardest places to play in college football.

Napier is 3-0 in his last three home games against top-25 opponents in the SEC. This includes one win in 2023 and two wins in 2024.

Florida’s win in 2023 came against No. 11 Tennessee. Florida quarterback Graham Mertz completed 19 of 24 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown. Running back Trevor Etienne rushed for 172 yards and had a 62-yard touchdown run. Florida stunned the SEC world winning 29-16.

Florida’s first win last year against an SEC top-25 opponent in The Swamp came against No. 21 LSU. Quarterback DJ Lagway was the highlight of the game, throwing for 226 yards and leading Florida to a 27-16 victory.

Lagway took the spotlight again in Florida’s 24-17 win against No. 9 Ole Miss the following week, completing 10 of 17 passes for 180 yards, including two first-half touchdowns.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian noted in his news conference on Monday how The Swamp is “a place that has been known around the country as one of the more difficult places to play.”

Sarkisian also focused on Lagway posing as a threat Saturday.

Despite Lagway’s struggles this year — most notably six interceptions in four games — Sarkisian insisted that “the competitor and the talent is still in there,” and that Texas must be prepared for “the best version of DJ Lagway.”

“I know the competitor that he is,” Sarkisian said. “I know the coach that Billy is. They’ve been scheming people up. They just maybe haven’t been hitting them here the first few games.”

With Napier on the chopping block, Florida’s Saturday matchup against No. 9 Texas (3-1) is the most important game for the Gators to start the path of saving their season. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, and coverage will also start at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN 98.1-FM, 103.7-FM/850-AM WRUF.

Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC