Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier’s tenure with the program is back in jeopardy following a 20-10 road loss against No. 3 LSU in Week 3. Yes, it was a loss against a top-five-ranked SEC opponent on the road in prime time. However, Napier was hired for his ability to develop quarterbacks.
The Gators’ starting quarterback, DJ Lagway, just threw five interceptions against the Tigers. Florida’s defense kept them in the game, but a third-quarter pick-six thrown by Lagway sealed the loss.
In 2025, Florida ranks 80th in points scored per game, averaging 27.0, while ranked 26th in opponent points allowed at 12.7 per game. Without a stout defense, the Gators would likely still be 1-2, shutting out FCS school, LIU, 55-0 in Week 1. Yet the lack of offensive production would be more magnified.
As it stands, Napier, who led the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns to three double-digit win seasons during his four-year tenure, has yet to produce a nine-win campaign in Gainesville. It won’t get any easier for Napier’s team, as they head to Hard Rock Stadium to play No. 4 Miami (FL) in another prime-time matchup on the road in Week 4.
In fact, the Gators may have one of the most difficult schedules in the entirety of the FBS. Florida faces No. 4 Miami (FL), No. 8 Texas, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 5 Georgia, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 7 Florida State in seven of its final nine regular-season matchups.
There’s little chance Napier survives this gauntlet, especially with Lagway playing like he did against USF and LSU. Oddsmakers are currently setting Florida’s 2025 regular-season win total to 5.5, with juice on the under.
Despite Florida almost assuredly failing to finish the 2025 season as bowl-eligible, the Conference Championship weekend and 12-team College Football Playoff will kick off just in time for the launch of online sports betting in Missouri.
Missouri sportsbooks are expected to go live on December 1st, 2025. College football fans physically located in Missouri can claim various welcome offers after signing up with select promo codes to get hundreds in bonus bets and other generous rewards just in time for these high-stakes college football matchups.
Napier and Lagway can only take their season one game at a time. Unfortunately, the Gators’ opponents are loaded with talent. Winning in the SEC is never a certainty. Yet if Napier wants to keep his head coaching gig until the end of the season, he’ll need to scheme up a perfect game plan for Lagway to execute at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night.
We’ve seen Napier extend his tenure with Florida up to now, with timely wins since being hired in 2022. Last season, the Gators finished with a 3-0 record in the regular season, beating LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida State. This led to another dominant win in the Gasparilla Bowl over Tulane.
Losing on a walk-off field goal to USF put Florida behind schedule. They had plenty of chances to tie or take the lead in Baton Rouge, failing to finish drives, despite logging 366 yards of total offense.
Now, Napier has to face three consecutive top-10 opponents. This will likely lead to a 0-3 result, dropping Florida to 1-5 without a win over a Power 4 opponent. Unless the Gators record an outright win as significant underdogs in any of its three upcoming games through mid-October, Napier will likely be fired halfway through his fourth year as Florida’s head coach.
