Late interception rescues Gators, and perhaps Napier’s job - for now

The final sounds in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday are probably most emblematic of what happened.

Florida beat Mississippi State 23-21 in the gut-wrenching fashion it has become used to under coach Billy Napier. The wins, almost as much as the losses, have always come in fights. And this time, it took a last-second interception by defensive tackle Michai Boireau when the Bulldogs were already in field-goal range.

The postgame reception was mixed. Florida’s alma mater rang loud over Gainesville. Players cheered and hugged as if at a reception — or maybe a funeral. The loudest roar came as the Gators’ 349-pound part-time ballerina walked toward the tunnel. But the screech of a state cop’s screech to “make a hole” overpowered Boireau’s welcome twofold. It was especially loud as Napier followed, and the boos rained.

Napier’s and Boireau’s simultaneous entries were undoubtedly intentional after the evening’s events. “Fire Billy,” chants roared from across the crowd at multiple points. The Gators (3-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) had nearly given up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, all while Napier needed a win more than ever after USA Today reported that boosters met with athletic director Scott Stricklin this week, urging change. He got it with a victory, but the fashion in which it occurred won’t alleviate any of the tension.

“I’m going to enjoy this one tonight. … I’ll wake up tomorrow and we’ll worry about what’s next. I’m going to go take a deep breath, get something good to eat, prop my feet up on the house, hug the kids,” Napier said while showing some emotion, offering a brief plea. “I love the game of football. I love the game.”

Florida’s victory leaned on the Gators’ typical contributors, with running back Jadan Baugh rushing for 150 yards on 23 carries. Vernell Brown III, one half of UF’s tandem of freshman receivers, tallied 95 yards. He left with an AC joint sprain, which should elicit some concern, but no more than quarterback DJ Lagway walking back any progression he had made this season. After consecutive weeks with more than 240 yards and multiple touchdowns, he threw a pair of head-scratching interceptions, including one as Florida looked to run out the clock in the first half.

His defense saved him, as is Florida’s formula of late. Despite sporting a stitched-together secondary of true freshmen and walk-ons — the product of five injured starting defensive backs — the Gators tallied three sacks and the defining interception. Even then, they benefited from MSU quarterback Blake Shapen missing two deep throws to Brenen Thompson.

But traces of what might kill Napier still shone through. Florida held its way out of a 60-yard rushing score by Baugh, which it has done four times this season, and had 12 players line up for a two-point attempt that would’ve offered a 21-7 lead if executed. The latter has been such a consistent issue under Napier that UF got a kindergartenesque chart where players stand on one of 11 dots before trotting onto the field. Even then, the Gators have still been penalized multiple times this year for having too many players on the field.

“Keeping your composure is everything. Dealing with something like that, getting a holding call,” Baugh explained of Florida’s mind-set, despite the organizational struggles. “Keeping [our] heads together, pushing past it, finishing the right way.”

Apart from the penalties, Napier’s personnel and playcalling decisions have faced such scrutiny in recent weeks that College GameDay and iPhone 17 commercials now mock the coach. Yet, with under two minutes left against Mississippi State (4-3, 0-3), he chose to have Lagway throw on third-and-1 instead of handing the ball to Baugh. The result: sighs from the home side of The Swamp — because the parents and diehards have watched this charade longer than they would like.

Which brings us to the crux of the problem: nothing, even amid national pressure, ever seems to evolve in Florida under Napier. The stagnant offense of his death grip dragged its way into a final-drive game, eerily similar to when Florida faced USF weeks ago, kicking off this saga. (For whatever it’s worth, that was the last time UF scored in the fourth quarter prior to Saturday.)

The only difference was Boireau’s heroics.

“‘I can get up and give you a kiss, ‘“ Lagway said to Boireau on the sideline. In his eyes, the young performers such as Boireau are the very reason Napier should stay: “It’s a testament to Coach Napier’s program and how he develops us.”

Because, as nothing changes for Florida, so does its players’ support of their lead man.

So what do you do?

The coach who continues to escape the axe did so again. Albeit, he took nearly all 3,600 seconds of the game to do so. And, even then, an improbable interception was the necessary finisher.

“I’m built for it. I’m made for it. I chose the coaching profession,” Napier said, as Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out” played somewhere in the distance, just as it did during warmups. “Never going to make everybody happy.”

But Saturday was about moving the right people. Needing to show promise, Napier may have come up a step short amid all the noise.