Billy Napier shares Florida's emotional state after consecutive losses

Florida is now coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season, having suffered defeats against LSU and Georgia that sandwiched a bye week. It’s been almost a month since the Gators’ last win, and coach Billy Napier was asked about Florida’s emotional state right now at his Wednesday press conference after practice.

He didn’t sound overly concerned, even after the dismissal of star pass-rusher Brenton Cox over the weekend.

“Truth be known these present the best opportunities because I think the players’ awareness levels are heightened,” Napier said. “They’re much more in tuned to the impact of making a mistake.”

And for all of Florida’s struggles this season, the Gators have been competitive at points in every single game. They’ve gotten behind by large margins in a couple — LSU and Georgia, most recently — but also knocked off No. 14 Utah and made it a game in a 38-33 loss to No. 1 Tennessee.

Napier sounded optimistic the recent run of poor results can help coaches refocus the message.

Players need to be accountable.

“My mental error, my miscommunication, my misalignment, bad decision-making, whatever the case may be, I think it really causes you to evaluate the game closely, and it presents opportunity,” Napier said. “To learn, to grow, to adapt. I think they’ve taken the right approach in that regard.”

Florida’s emotional state less important than its attitude

There’s a lot on the line for Florida down the stretch, despite the fact that most of the loftier season-long goals were wiped off the table more than a month ago following a second SEC loss.

For one, bowl eligibility remains important. The Gators still need two more wins from a schedule that concludes with these four games: at Texas A&M, vs. South Carolina, at Vanderbilt, at Florida State.

With a young team in its first season under Napier, the additional practice time making a bowl game affords would be huge in terms of building for the future.

For now, though, the coach is just hoping the team responds in practice in a positive way after some turbulence in recent weeks, which was underscored over the weekend by the news of Cox’s dismissal.

“It goes back to what I said earlier,” Napier said. “We’re going to focus on what’s next and maximize all these experiences that we’ve had for the better.”

Florida and Texas A&M will kick off in College Station, Texas, on Saturday at noon ET with a national broadcast on ESPN.