GAINESVILLE — Florida has a special teams problem, but it won’t be fully addressed until after the season.
Coach Billy Napier might not have to wait long.
Beginning at No. 18 LSU (6-3, 4-2 SEC), the Gators (5-4, 3-3) have three remaining regular-season games, each surely as an underdog with a razor-thin margin for error. Saturday’s trip to Baton Rouge, a Nov. 18 date at Missouri and Nov. 25 visit from Florida State are games when special teams could be the difference — ultimately between a winning or losing season.
Napier said the Gators will push to improve, yet significant changes are not forthcoming amid continued special-teams miscues.
“All those things are end-of-year approaches,” he said Monday. “Now’s not the time to do that. You may be taking notes along the way. But from a process standpoint, we try to continue to get better.”
Nothing thus far has stemmed the problem.
The third phase of the game cost the Gators yet again during an overtime loss to Arkansas — winless in the SEC prior to last Saturday’s 39-36 decision in the Swamp.
The unit did help erase an early two-touchdown deficit thanks to a pair of Ricky Pearsall punt returns into Razorbacks’ territory. Yet UF’s special teams later botched an extra point with a bad snap and hold, a lost point that effectively would have a prevented overtime.
Then with a chance to win the game, sophomore kicker Trey Smack, 13 of 14 on field goals at the time, missed from 44 yards — an attempt extended 5 yards by an illegal-substitution penalty. The flag followed sideline chaos leading the field-goal unit to rush the field while the offense aimed to spike the the football once the game clock resumed.
“Ultimately we made a mistake there,” Napier said. “It’s something that we can do better. It’s my job to get it done better.”
The 44-year-old coach insisted Florida’s special-teams play against Arkansas featured more good than bad.
“If you take away a PAT and a field goal, we’re probably sitting here saying that’s the best performance of the year,” he said. “We created some significant returns in the game. We covered kicks. We’re doing a good job of winning more one-on-ones. We’ve got some returnable kicks.
“We controlled the vertical field position in the game.”
Napier failed to mention UF lined up with 10 men during an Arkansas field-goal attempt.
“We had a player injured on the possession, the play right before, and ultimately that’s what contributed to that,” Napier said. “The backup wasn’t quite on the same page.”
Getting on the same page has been a recurring problem.
The Gators have now lined up without the right number of players seven times over the course of five games in 2023, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports.
“We can do it better,” Napier said. “It’s pretty simple. Get 11 out there.
“Pretty simple.”
Yet continued mishaps on special teams are going to make it difficult for the Gators to avoid the program’s first losing regular season since 2017.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
