GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some games you remember more than others. But games like Saturday’s rarely escape memory.

Most Gators fans probably would soon forget about UF’s 18-16 loss to USF by the time they wake up Sunday morning. Florida head coach Billy Napier might feel the same way.

“Not good enough, and it’s my responsibility,” Napier said to open his postgame press conference. “We let them hang around. I want to keep it short and sweet. We can do much better. We can coach better. We can play better.

“I don’t like these any more than our fans do or you do. We have a group that will respond.”

 

Florida Gators Football Press Conference 9-6-2025 https://t.co/Nk6zuW87Id

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 7, 2025

In a game they were favored by 17.5 points, the 13th-ranked Gators could not put away the Bulls at The Swamp, and it cost them dearly. USF defeated Florida for the first time in program history in the fourth all-time meeting between the programs.

Most viewed the matchup as a must-win game for the Gators if they are to be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. Instead, they are a 1-1 team heading to No. 3 LSU next weekend for the Southeastern Conference opener.

“We contributed too much to their success,” Napier said. “They did a lot of good things out there. I have respect for how they play. Give them some credit for hanging around and finding a way to win the game. But I do think that we had our opportunities to win the game … and we’ve got to go get it done.”

For more details on how the loss unfolded, check out The Quick Slant from my colleague Chris Harry.

For now, considering the tone of my X account, here are some of Napier’s answers to the most pertinent questions in the postgame press conference (Note: Edited for clarity and relevance):

 

A 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty resulted in the ejection of defensive lineman Brendan Bett and a first down for the Bulls on their game-winning drive …

Q: How unacceptable are the undisciplined penalties that continue to cost your team?

A: I think the procedure penalties — obviously, we can live with the technical penalties. There’s always going to be a handful of those. The ones that keep you up at night are the ones that are player decision-making, so there’s got to be some ownership there on both ends. They’re under my leadership. It’s ultimately my responsibility.

Q: What do you say to Bett about the spitting penalty?

A: I haven’t had that conversation with him yet. We’ll take a good look at it, but it’s unacceptable. I think we’ve got a lot of players in that room as well that have the same belief that it’s unacceptable. When a guy does something like that, he’s compromising the team. He’s putting himself before the team. Everything the game is about, you’re compromising. There will be lessons to be learned there. It’s that simple.

 

The Gators had a chance to start 2-0 for the first time in four seasons under Napier. Instead, they are 1-1 and face similar criticism to a season ago …

Q. What’s the challenge ahead for you and your team now?

A: This will be a challenge. It will be a challenge for every individual in the organization, player and staff. But I do think the game can teach you a lot, and I think we’ll have our opportunity to respond. I think that this group has been through some of these battles before. I’m hopeful that can help us. I’m more concerned with the football. Ultimately, I think there’s a lot of positive. In terms of the other stuff, the football’s got to get better. We’ve got to take ownership of the football.

 

Q: What was the mindset on USF’s final drive of perhaps not burning timeouts earlier and getting the ball back with time left?
A: We had two. At that point, there’s going to be a field goal kicked. They had one, so they had an extra down. So, regardless of when the timeouts get called, it’s going to end up about the same.
 

Q. Does the looming noise outside the program concern you?
A: We created it. We deserve it. If you play football like that, you’re going to be criticized. It comes with the territory. The only thing you can do is get it fixed, and that’s what we’ll start working on tomorrow.
 

---

The Gators had two touchdowns negated by penalties on the same drive in the first half — a holding penalty on offensive lineman Kamryn Waites that wiped out a 20-yard touchdown run by Ja’Kobi Jackson, and an offensive pass interference call on tight end Hayden Hansen that negated a 10-yard touchdown pass from DJ Lagway to Tony Livingston … 

Q: What did you see on the two costly penalties?

A: I think the holding penalty was definitely a penalty. We grabbed the guy. I think the OPI, I think it will be up for debate. We’ll see what that looks like when we turn it in. I think the guy’s running a route. Those are huge plays in the game because they allow the opponent to hang around. So, we’re in the red area a couple different times. We have two touchdowns called back. We have false-start penalties in the red area. We’re forced to kick field goals. We got nine points to show for it at the half. We can sit here and talk about all of these technical things, but it’s not good enough. We’ve got work to do. You guys know it. I know it. Anybody that watched it knows it. We got to take ownership of it.

 

USF took its first lead on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Keshaun Singleton on a play that UF cornerback Dijon Johnson and nickel back (STAR) Sharif Denson appeared to be out of position …

Q. What did you see on that play in particular?

A: That the ball’s in the air. I think we’ve got two players breaking on the ball. I think there’s opportunity there. I think ultimately there, there’s a quick substitution. We’ve got to get our call in. That was the biggest issue, is we didn’t necessarily have a call. They snapped it as quickly as possible. In general, there’s an opportunity to make a play on the ball. We misjudged the ball a little bit. Ultimately, I think that’s the thing that you’re going to evaluate.

Q: Do you think you’re the right person for this job in your fourth season, considering some common mistakes continue to happen?

A: I’m more concerned with doing my job to help lead these young men. That’s a big-picture question, and I think right now it’s more about today. It’s more about what we do tomorrow, and I think that’s what we’ve got to get consumed with. I’m consumed with doing the best job I can do for the players, leading the staff, and getting the football fixed because ultimately that’s going to decide how far we go around here.

Q. Any concerns about a loss like this fracturing the locker room?

A: We won’t have that issue. We won’t have that problem. This group, they won’t splinter. There’s too much good in that room. That’s not the issue.