Subscribe
Follow Us
For two of the three traditional powerhouse programs in the Sunshine State, the 2024 college football season has not been too kind. While the Miami Hurricanes control their own destiny to the College Football Playoff, the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles are both at risk of missing out on the postseason. If they did, it would be the first time since 1978 that these two programs didn't participate in the postseason in the same year.
However, in Gainesville, there seems to be a renewed sense of optimism, and former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer can feel it.
While offering praise for Billy Napier and the Florida Gators, Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles caught a stray at the hands of the three-time National Championship winning head coach.
“I’m going to tell you something, I’m a fan of coach Napier, and here’s why,” Urban Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “I don’t know him, I met him once or twice. They’ve been obviously really struggling, but the one thing they have not done like the team in Tallahassee is quit. They have continued to fight.”
Now it would be easy to accuse Urban Meyer of an anti-Florida State bias given his tenure as the head coach of the Gators. It would make sense if there were residual bad blood. However, before the 2024 season began, Meyer showed he could put that aside when he had nothing but praise for the Seminoles and their head coach Mike Norvell.
Article Continues Below
“I think Mike Norvell is one of the most underrated coaches. They were awful in 2020. I'm an old Gator, so I looked at that like, How did Florida State get so bad? But look what this coach has done. I really think he's one of the top coaches in America. I think they'll be there, standing in the top 10. I might even have them a little higher at the end of the season.” Meyer said.
Clearly a lot has changed since Meyer said this back in August, but that's college football for ya. Things can change in the blink of an eye. Think about it, in Gainesville, a whole lot changed overnight after the Gators scored an upset win over LSU last Saturday. While Florida had already publicly committed to Napier beyond 2024, it took that victory over the Tigers to swing public perception his way.
Now on the heels of what is arguably the biggest win in the Billy Napier era, Urban Meyer believes that Napier could potentially lead Florida to an upset victory for a second straight week, this time over the Ole Miss Rebels.
“I see things, I hear things obviously and I still know a lot of people down there. The Swamp was electric. I think Ole Miss is walking into a hornet’s nest here,” Meyer said. “I don’t know if they’re good enough to beat Ole Miss, but I’m going to take Florida and the points. It started at 9.5, I believe it’s at 10 (now). I’m not sure, Vegas might know something. But I call for this to be a one-score game.”
