Napier: Gators ‘Not Good Enough’ vs. Top-Ranked Bulldogs

JACKSONVILLE — If the task was not clear enough on an overcast and foggy day at TIAA Bank Stadium, the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs wasted little time clarifying the challenge.

For the Gators to pull off the upset, they would have to play their best game under first-year head coach Billy Napier. The Bulldogs then announced their intentions by taking a three-touchdown lead less than 18 minutes into the game.

The game was not technically over, but it felt that way early in Georgia’s 42-20 victory Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 75,868. Florida rallied to trim Georgia’s lead to 28-20 late in the third quarter on quarterback Anthony Richardson’s 78-yard scoring pass to Xzavier Henderson, but in the end, the comeback was nothing more than a mirage.

Georgia is No. 1 and the reigning national champions for a reason. And the Gators are 4-4 for different reasons.

“Not good enough,” Napier said afterward. “Got to coach better, got to lead better, players need to play better. Simple enough.”

The Gators didn’t particularly do anything at a high level consistently Saturday, which is a recipe for a 22-point loss when you are playing the nation’s top-ranked team.

The Gators had 371 yards of total offense. Georgia racked up 555 yards, its most ever in the rivalry.

Florida scored on two of four trips into the red zone. Georgia finished 4-for-4.

The Gators did force three turnovers and scored 10 points off those Bulldogs’ miscues, but Georgia led 28-3 at halftime and barely broke a sweat.

You get the idea. Georgia is the better team, which showed in the 100th edition of one of the great rivalries in college football. A series that has turned in the Bulldogs’ favor under head coach Kirby Smart. Georgia won for the fifth time in the last six meetings and has outscored the Gators 206-112 over that span.

“That’s the No. 1 team in the country,” UF defensive tackle Tyreak Sapp said. “They have every right to that.”

The afternoon started promising for the Gators, who forced the Bulldogs to punt on the game’s opening drive. However, after a three-and-out on their opening series, the Gators punted right back to the Bulldogs.

From there, the Bulldogs took over, scoring on their next two drives. First, tailback Daijun Edwards plunged in from the 1 to cap an eight-play, 66-yard drive. Next, running back Kenny McIntosh scored on a 4-yard run following another three-and-out by the Gators to put Georgia ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was much…