Summary of the 2024-2025 Football Season

[Escambia94]

The 2024 Florida Gators football season was a roller coaster ride that ultimately ended on a relatively high note. Here's a recap:

Game Results

• Lost to #19 Miami (FL) 17-41
• Defeated Samford 45-7
• Lost to Texas A&M 20-33
• Defeated Mississippi State 45-28
• Defeated UCF 24-13
• Lost to #8 Tennessee 17-23 (OT)
• Defeated Kentucky 48-20
• Lost to #2 Georgia 20-34
• Lost to #5 Texas 17-49
• Defeated #22 LSU 27-16
• Defeated #9 Ole Miss 24-17
• Defeated Florida State 31-11
• Defeated Tulane (Gasparilla Bowl) 33-8

Statistical Rankings
While specific rankings may vary depending on the source, here's a general overview of how Florida likely stacked up nationally in key offensive categories:

• Total Offense: Likely ranked somewhere in the middle of the pack nationally. Their offensive output was inconsistent throughout the season. Florida finished #64 (#10 SEC).
• Total Defense: Probably landed in a similar range to total offense. They had some strong performances but also struggled at times. Florida finished #76 (#13 SEC).
• EPA/Play: This metric (Expected Points Added per Play) is a good measure of overall efficiency. Florida likely ranked around average nationally, reflecting their up-and-down season. Florida finished #27 (#10 SEC).

Season Summary
The Gators finished with an 8-5 record (4-4 in the SEC) and a Gasparilla Bowl victory. They faced what was considered to be the hardest schedule in the nation (technically ranked 3rd most difficult), which included multiple top-10 opponents. Despite some tough losses, they showed resilience with impressive wins over ranked LSU and Ole Miss, and capped off the season with a satisfying rivalry win over Florida State. This season showed progress under Billy Napier, but also highlighted areas needing improvement for the Gators to compete for championships in the future.

Billy Napier's Overall Record
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2018-2021)

• Overall: 40-12 (.769)
• Conference: 27-5 (.844)
• Sun Belt West Division Titles: 4 (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
• Sun Belt Conference Championships: 1 (2021)

Florida Gators (2022-present)

• Overall: 19-19 (.500)
• Conference: 10-14 (.417)

Total Head Coaching Record

• Overall: 59-31 (.656)

 

[DRU2012]

Like most longtime/LONGTERM Gator fans, I"m not sure HOW to feel about the present OR the future now: I see reason for HOPE, and sure as hell wanna seize it--but at the same time am not sure how solid a foundation has truly been established for it.
Many of the "required boxes" have been checked in those final few games of '24 AND moves in subsequent weeks since our bowl game.
But Billy DIDN'T bring in an OC, and that was (and continues perhaps to BE) a sign of hubris--a classic case of "pride goeth before The Fall"?
At the same time, a part of me understands, even to some extent, on a certain level ADMIRES what motivates him:
He has brought in so much talent, capped by a possible game-changer in DJ Lagway at QB, more than ever in modern college football the key position...Our Coach draws close to assembling the kind of squad that in both talent and constitution may well have us poised at the brink of the kind of run that brings us among "The CFB Elite" once more. Right or wrong, he fancies himself a top-shelf field-strategist, and he wants at the very LEAST one season with them where that kind of success reflects directly upon HIMSELF.
The irony being it could still take a COUPLE of seasons to fully reach that level of irrefutable success ANYWAY:
With this schedule, they could conceivably reach 8 wins in 2025's regular season (9 with a bowl win)--enough to retain his job but pretty well then REQUIRING that OC-hire--but while perhaps leading finally to double-digit wins and a playoff run in 2026, while an eventual "proof of concept" in all he has claimed since getting here and all he has done to attain it, well, for Billy Napier that just wouldn't be quite the same, I'm afraid.
Hope I'm wrong, because in the end, no one will really care about anything but the realization of the ultimate goal(s), mainly his overseeing the return of this program to the highest level, and of course, the eventual Natty.
"No one", that is, but Coach Napier.
And that, the kind of ego-ridden drive that often fuels these kind of individuals (and may well somehow be at the heart of what sets them apart in the first place), can just as often be their downfall--or at the very least rob them of much of the joy they might otherwise have been able to experience along the way, even if/when they do indeed actually achieve that eventual highest success.