Billy Napier laments Florida inconsistency on offense, third-down execution
Florida trails Miami 24-10 at halftime, with the Hurricanes dominating in the trenches and putting the clamps down defensively.
Third-year coach Billy Napier spoke to ABC’s Katie George at halftime about what he was seeing, and he tagged inconsistency as the team’s biggest problem in the opening 30 minutes.
“Struggled on third down for the most part,” Napier said. “Then inconsistent with the run game, you know what I mean? I think we’ve had some opportunities but struggled on third down, haven’t been able to stay on the field. We’ve made a handful of explosives.”
Explosive plays kept the first-half score from being even more lopsided. The Gators capitalized on one such play when running back Montrell Johnson busted out a 71-yard run for a touchdown down the left sideline late in the second quarter.
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Unfortunately for Florida, the deficit would stand at 17-10 for only a brief period, as Miami answered with a scoring drive of its own in short order. Quarterback Cam Ward picked apart the Florida secondary to put the ‘Canes up 24-10 just before the half.
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Defensively, Florida simply couldn’t stop Ward and company. Even when it did, self-inflicted wounds proved costly.
The Gators had the Hurricanes stopped on third down in the red zone in the first quarter, only to get hit with a costly roughing the passer penalty. Ward and the ‘Canes punched it in for a touchdown moments later for the opening score.
“It’s a handful of errors on defense. Two penalties,” Napier said. “We’ve had a couple pressures that didn’t hit. We’ve got to get it cleaned up here at the half.”
If there was a lone bright spot for the Florida defense in the first half, it was that linebacker Shemar James was able to take advantage of a Ward miscue to come up with an interception. The pick resulted in a field goal drive for the Gators.