COLLEGE FOOTBALL What if Arch Manning doesn’t stink? And, what if he
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● Billy Napier advances toward Florida firing
Napier said the words on every Florida fan’s brain after the Gators shockingly lost 18-16 to South Florida at The Swamp.
“I think it is coaching,” Napier said of the team’s undisciplined play.
Yes, indeed. Coaching remains the issue in Napier’s fourth season, and a loss to an in-state Group of Five school pushes Napier farther down the plank.
An offseason of hype belied the reality that, other than a few wins at the end of last season, Napier has never shown he’s up to this job.
“Not good enough,” Napier said of Florida’s performance.
That assessment could double as the title of a book about Napier’s tenure.
His 20-20 record at Florida designates him as the Gators’ worst coach since the 1940s, not counting interim coaches.
This result had all the hallmarks of a Napier debacle – a barrage of penalties, a special teams blunder and clock management issues. As an added twist, Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett got ejected for spitting on an opposing player late in the fourth quarter, while the outcome hung in the balance. That penalty, one of 11 for the Gators, advanced South Florida 15 yards closer to its game-winning score.
● Mike Gundy advances toward Oklahoma State firing
The Mike Gundy era at Oklahoma State will be remembered about like “Interstellar,” Christopher Nolan’s movie starring Matthew McConaughey. Both were darn good for a while, but they took a sudden turn and ended woefully bad.
On cue, Gundy stuffed himself into a bookcase last week.
He poked the Duck when he made a pointed comment about Oregon’s roster payroll. Leave it to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, a motivational maestro, to use that as extra fuel for a 69-3 thrashing. For Oklahoma State, the closing credits on the Gundy era can’t come soon enough.
