JACKSONVILLE — Before Billy Napier took charge of the Gators, his mantra of “scared money don’t make money” resonated with the Florida fan base. “I believe it will help me justify all the times I go for it on fourth down and fail to convert,” Napier stated at that time.
However, Saturday’s 43-20 defeat to No. 1 Georgia will put that philosophy to the test. Forty-seven years after the infamous “Fourth and Dumb,” Napier made another audacious decision that sealed his team’s fate.
Let’s call it Fourth and Done.
While the actual play, Trevor Etienne’s stuffed run, wasn’t the sole reason for Florida’s loss to their northern rivals for the third time in a row, there was no recovering from it. Not against these dominant Bulldogs, who might not be as strong as during their back-to-back national title-winning seasons but still outclass the Gators in every aspect.
“We knew it was going to be a game of momentum…” quarterback Graham Mertz acknowledged. “It definitely shifted the momentum.”
The tide may have turned on the previous play at EverBank Stadium. Florida was trailing 10-7 when Mertz connected with Kahleil Jackson for a third-down conversion that was eventually overturned after a replay review. This set up fourth and less than a yard at the Florida 34.
Napier believed going for it was the right move. “I think 1 (yard) was a go,” he said.
So he took the risk. Just as Georgia anticipated.
“I told (the Bulldogs), my gut feeling is that this game will come down to short-yardage situations,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart.
Napier’s decision-making aligns with the daring play calls he became known for during his successful tenure at Louisiana, where he achieved a record of 40-12 and won a Sun Belt Conference title. These choices are not impulsive; they are meticulously researched and evaluated during the offseason. They are an integral part of his coaching style, for better or worse. Mississippi was the only SEC team with more fourth-down attempts (20) than the Gators (17) before Saturday’s game. However, Florida’s success rate (46.7%) ranked seventh.
Instead of attempting a straightforward rush up the middle, Napier opted for deception. This strategy made sense considering Florida’s inferiority due to years of being out-recruited by Georgia. It was also a decision aimed at keeping up with Georgia’s top-10 scoring offense.
“We believed, ultimately, that at that point in the game, we needed to reach a specific point total to have a chance of winning,” Napier explained.
Mertz lined up in the pistol formation behind center and made a forward motion towards the line. It appeared to be a sneak, but it wasn’t. The snap went through Mertz’s legs to Etienne in the backfield, who had the option to either run left or pass, as he had successfully done with a two-point conversion against South Carolina.
“We felt we had a good play,” Napier said. “I think we were close there.”
However, being close was not enough against a defense comprised of highly talented players. Five-star linebacker Smael Mondon stormed off the edge, collided with Etienne, and brought him down for a 3-yard loss.
Three plays later, Daijun Edwards ran 20 yards untouched for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 17-7 lead. The Gators were out of the game.
Before Etienne’s stuffed run, Georgia had outgained Florida 137-100. After that, the Bulldogs outgained the Gators 349-239. These numbers alone don’t fully capture the momentum shift in the game. Florida’s subsequent five drives resulted in a lost fumble (leading to a Georgia touchdown), a blocked punt for a safety, a three-and-out, and two more punts.
Napier’s unsuccessful gamble drew immediate comparisons to Doug Dickey’s ill-fated decision for Florida in 1976, now famously known as “Fourth and Dumb.” Dickey attempted a fourth-and-less-than-1 conversion at his own 29 while leading by a touchdown in the third quarter.
“I went for it because I figured we couldn’t stop Georgia,” Dickey later admitted.
This sentiment doesn’t seem far off from what Napier expressed on Saturday regarding the necessity of reaching a high point total to have a chance at victory.
However, this comparison is incomplete. Georgia only scored 21 consecutive points after Dickey’s misstep, while Napier’s team allowed 26 unanswered points.
Georgia scored 36 unanswered points against Florida, including a touchdown from Ladd McConkey.
There was also ample time for the Gators to recover from one play call, but they failed to do so. When Napier summed up the loss, he didn’t even mention that particular play. He attributed the blocked punt and fumble as the “two crucial mistakes” that doomed Florida in the first half.
However, both of these errors stemmed from the risky call Napier made earlier.
The fourth-down failure sealed the Gators’ fate.
**Note:** The content has been rewritten in a manner that preserves the original meaning and includes HTML tags.