Florida
Florida played its best game of the season against Georgia, and it’s still over for Billy Napier
How coaches salaries and the NIL bill affects college football
Dan Wolken breaks down the annual college football coaches compensation package to discuss salaries and how the NIL bill affects them.
Sports Pulse
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Don’t put this on an injured quarterback. Don’t give Billy Napier that excuse.
What played out here at the World’s Largest Cocktail Party could’ve been just about any other week, in any of the three dysfunctional and discombobulated seasons under Napier.
This one just included a possible season-ending injury to Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, the last hope to turn the mistake-filled train of misery.
But it’s over now. There’s no coming back from this.
Not from the 34-20 loss to Georgia, a game the No. 2-ranked team in the nation — the king of college football since 2021 — was begging to give away. Not from another loss full of coaching mistakes, including, yep, another special teams disaster.
Not from a bizarre and incomprehensible play call with the game on the line, not from a season now careening toward another ugly end.
Not because of Lagway’s untimely injury, and not because backup Aidan Warner was put in an untenable situation against the Boogeyman of college football.
“We had our team in position to win the game,” Napier said.
Until the Gators weren’t. Until the same confounding issues that have plagued Napier’s teams showed up again.
Look, this thing isn’t easy. With a healthy Lagway, Florida may have gotten its biggest win under Napier and the momentum could’ve taken the Gators to a big second half of the season — and Napier to 2025 and another season to figure it out.
But coaching college football is a brutal undertaking, one that ends in unemployment for nearly every coach. No matter how close you are to turning it around.
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At some point, a coach is evaluated on the totality of his tenure, not a game of what-if, or what could’ve been if this player or that player (or a handful of defensive backs) didn’t get hurt. There’s nothing fair about coaching football when you’re making $8 million annually to do so.
It’s over for Napier at Florida because by the time this season wraps later this month, Florida will have played a brutal stretch of games against Texas, LSU and Ole Miss with a third-string, walk-on quarterback. Even if the Gators beat a pitiful Florida State team, that would make Napier 16-21 in three seasons in Gainesville.
It’s over now because in big time college football, you’re either doing everything you can to get better, or you’re accepting your losing fate.
The Gators have lost 18 of 33 games under Napier, and a majority of the previous 17 losses were with a quarterback who was a top-five pick in the NFL draft (Anthony Richardson), and a quarterback who had a career season (Graham Mertz). Don’t allow that Lagway excuse.
Florida is now 1-10 in rivalry games (Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee), and 2-13 vs. ranked teams under Napier. If this game weren’t a big enough kick in the gut, consider the Tennessee debacle last month.
At the end of the first half, Florida had a field goal negated when it was penalized for too many players on the field. Those three points were the difference in a game the Gators eventually lost in overtime.
Mike Leach used to have a sign hanging in his office everywhere he coached, positioned perfectly so every assistant coach could see it every time they walked into the room.
You’re either coaching it, or you’re allowing it.
This is where we are with the Florida administration. You’re either expecting excellence, or you’re allowing mediocrity.
You’re either expecting your head coach — whose offense had a clear advantage running the ball against Georgia, and was wearing down the Bulldogs’ defense — to run the ball, or you’re allowing him to put the game in the hands of Warner with four minutes to play and trailing by seven.
The play call, on the first play of the drive: a naked bootleg.
The result: an interception.
This is much more than a poor play call. Any coach in that situation, whose team has successfully run the ball against eight- and nine-man boxes all game long, simply can’t put the game in the hands of a walk-on quarterback. It’s coaching malpractice.
It’s not fair to the Warner, who transferred from Yale and just this week started taking meaningful practice snaps, and was staring down the barrel at Georgia rush ends Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams — and told to make a play at the biggest point in the game.
It’s not fair to a defense that got three interceptions from Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, and consistently got off the field on third down. It’s not fair to an offensive line — finally developing some consistency over the last month of the season and dominating the line of scrimmage — to take the game out of their hands.
It’s not fair to running backs Jacobi Jackson and Jaden Baugh, who combined to rush for 138 yards on 29 carries (4.8 yards per carry) while running hard against those eight- and nine-man boxes.
There’s nothing fair about coaching college football. You either win, or you’re eventually fired. No matter how you parse it.
“For the first time since I’ve been the head coach here we showed up and we believed we could beat that team,” Napier said.
You either expecting excellence, or accepting mediocrity.
Florida
South Florida faith leaders call for Miami mental health center to finally open
Florida
SNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
Florida
GALLERY: Barrett-Jackson ‘Super Saturday’ takes over South Florida Fairgrounds
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
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With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
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