Billy Napier wants Florida to 'settle in and play' during second half

Florida just walked out of the halftime locker room with a three-point lead, playing a wild first half against Kentucky. It’s early in the season but the Gators find themselves in a crucial SEC East showdown, wanting to get ahead of the pack. In addition, head coach Billy Napier is looking for his first win in the conference.

Napier gave his thoughts on the second half before kickoff, saying he wants his team to “settle in and play.” He thinks there are a couple of things they can do better and will end up having a good result when the game ends.

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“Just throw and catch it a little better,” Napier said. “A little bit more precision. Defensively, we’ve done a great job. We held them to one play, short play after that turnover there. Just got to settle in and play. Proud of the players and how they’re playing. Little better execution, little more detail, little more discipline.”

Points have been hard to come back for Florida, getting just 16 in the first half. Two came via a safety when a snap went over the Kentucky punter’s head. The ball was kicked out of the end zone and gave us the score heading into halftime, 16-13.

Florida has been sound defensively as well, with the Wildcats mainly being able to capitalize off a turnover. While Anthony Richardson would like that throw back, it’s something the Gators can deal with when playing solid football for most of the evening.

Now, the message from Napier to his team is clear. He wants Florida to play a little bit better fundamentally on both sides of the ball. If they can, the head coach will begin his tenure is Gainesville with two wins over ranked opponents.