Emotional Billy Napier shares powerful reaction to upset win over Ole Miss: 'Hope and belief are powerful'

Just two months ago, it looked like Billy Napier and Florida were preparing to part ways. The Gators suffered home blowout losses to Miami and Texas A&M, and the schedule wasn’t going to get any easier.

But UF rallied around its coach in a big way, and a win over LSU showed that. An even bigger victory came a week later as the Gators stunned No. 9 Ole Miss at The Swamp – and Napier got emotional during his postgame interview with ABC’s Molly McGrath.

Napier looked around the scene at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the packed house of fans celebrated the Senior Day victory, which effectively knocked Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff picture. He reflected on the journey of this season as Florida put it all together to get back-to-back marquee wins.

“I’m gonna tell you something. It’s a blessing to coach,” Napier said as his voice cracked. “Man, what a blessing to be associated with that group of young men. I just have so much respect for what they’ve been through and how they handled it. We’ve got Senior Day, we’ve got some unique leaders in that group. I’m just so happy for our players, our staff. They work so hard.

“Hope and belief are powerful. Somewhere along the way, we figured it out and we started to realize we could play with anybody. God’s been good to me, and I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”

It’s been a rollercoaster year for Florida. Napier entered the season on the hot seat as the Gators faced the toughest schedule in the country, and starting quarterback Graham Mertz suffered multiple injuries, including a season-ending knee injury. But star freshman DJ Lagway rose to the challenge and has propelled UF to a 4-1 record in his starts. In that one loss to Georgia, he left with a hamstring injury.

When he looked at the road to the turnaround, Napier gave credit to the players and staff. He knows how the outside noise can change, but that helps grow his love for the game.

“I think it’s confidence in our people, confidence in our process,” Napier said while wiping away a tear. “Look, I learned a long time ago, they love you when you win, they hate you when you lose. For me, there’s something about the game that’s conditional. I think there’s a life out there that’s unconditional. We earned the right to win today. I’m proud of our team.”

Billy Napier: Florida had to ‘earn the right to win’ vs. Ole Miss

Florida struck first after forcing an Ole Miss turnover on downs as DJ Lagway connected with Elijhah Badger in the back of the end zone to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. However, the Rebels responded with back-to-back touchdown drives to jump out in front, 14-7, before UF tied it up at 14-14 heading into halftime.

The two teams traded field goals to make it 17-17, and that score held until the fourth quarter when Montrell Johnson took a direct snap into the end zone to put the Gators back on top, 24-17. That held as the final score after two Jaxson Dart interceptions.

With one ranked win already, Billy Napier preached the need to “earn the right” for another victory. There are no givens in the SEC, and he knew it’d take a strong effort from all three phases of the game. Florida got just that.

“We talked all week about earning the right to win, and we mapped it out, Day 1-5 and Game Day,” Napier said. “Look, you’ve got to earn the right to win throughout the week, and then you’ve got to spot the ball on game day in this league and you have to go earn it. They did that today, and that was football in its purest form. It was offense and defense and special teams, field position, takeaways, explosive plays.

“Look, we’ve got young players and veteran players. Football’s a special game, man. I’m humbled to coach it and I’m humbled to be a part of this team.”