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Florida's six fourth-down attempts marked the most by a Napier team

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•09/26/22•

ZachAbolverdi

On3 image
Florida receiver Justin Shorter makes a 39-yard catch on fourth-and-2. (Maddie Washburn/UAA Photo)

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Billy Napier had never attempted six fourth downs in a game until Saturday.

The first-year Florida coach went for it five times in multiple games during his four seasons at Louisiana. In his first road game at UF, Napier rolled the dice on fourth down a half dozen times.

“I think it was required given the matchups and dynamics in the game,” Napier said afterward. “For the most part it paid off.”

The Gators converted five of their six fourth-down plays in the 38-33 loss at Tennessee, including their last four attempts. Three of the conversions led to or produced touchdowns and gave UF a chance to keep up with the Vols from a scoring standpoint.

“I just believe in it,” Napier said of his aggressiveness of fourth down. “We left some points out there a little bit, but it also paid dividends for us. We knew we were going to have to score. I think history is the best indicator of the future. I think that group had scored 30 points eight or nine games in a row or something like that.

“We learned some things. We’re big into and we believe in the research that goes into it heading into the game relative to the matchup and all the different dynamics. You prepare your team to do it and they go do it and execute. When we don’t get, the defense responds. I think overall the research will support it.”

The biggest gamble was a fourth-and-2 call from Florida’s own 27-yard line. Napier dialed up a deep shot and Anthony Richardson threw a perfect ball to Justin Shorter for 39 yards.

“[Napier] told me before the game that we were going to be aggressive, you know, because their offense is explosive. Their tempo is unmatched,” Richardson said. “So, our game plan was to keep the ball out of their hands as long as we could. So, being aggressive, that was part of the game plan. And it’s just him trusting me and trusting the offense and believing that we could convert. And we did.”

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