GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Backup quarterback Marcel Reed accounted for three touchdowns in his first collegiate start and Texas A&M dominated Florida 33-20 on Saturday in what may have been coach Billy Napier’s final game with the Gators.
Reed, filling in for injured starter Conner Weigman, threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score as the Aggies won a road game for the first time in nearly three years. Texas A&M (2-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) had dropped 10 straight on the road.
This one will go down as a signature win for first-year coach Mike Elko and could end up being Napier’s swan song with the Gators (1-2, 0-1).
Florida looked inept on both sides of the ball and overmatched for the second time this season in the Swamp. The first one, against Miami, turned up the heat on Napier. The latest one could result in Napier getting the boot.
Napier fell to 12-16 in Gainesville, including 12 losses in his last 15 games against power-conference opponents. This was his seventh consecutive setback in those games, including four at home.
Napier is now 10-6 at Florida Field, giving him more losses in the Swamp in two-plus seasons than Steve Spurrier (68-5) and Urban Meyer (35-5) had in their highly successful stints in Gainesville.
If Florida does fire Napier, it would owe him roughly $27 million. His 28-game tenure would be the shortest in 100 years for the program; James Alward Van Fleet coached 19 games over the 1923-24 seasons, went 12-3-4 and then left to continue his miliary service and eventually became an Army general.
The low point for Napier may have come at halftime Saturday. As the teams were leaving the field, Napier was shown on big screens for a pre-taped, public service announcement to prevent drinking and driving. Napier was wildly booed during it. He was booed again as he ran into the locker room following a TV interview.
Florida showed some life to start the third quarter. Trailing 20-0, Graham Mertz connected with Elijhah Badger for a 14-yard score. But Reed answered two plays later, hitting Cyrus Allen on a wheel route for 73 yards.
On the ensuing possession, Bryce Anderson intercepted Mertz’s tipped pass and returned it 45 yards for a 33-7 lead. Anderson shushed the crowd as he neared the goal line. The Florida faithful had long started to empty the Swamp, clearly done with Napier.