Carter’s Corner: I’ll Plant a Flag in Honor of 2024 Gators

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An hour after Bobby Bowden Field had cleared and Doak Campbell Stadium stood empty, the hole remained. The truth is, there was more than one cavity on the Florida State logo at midfield.

Almost as quickly as Florida edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted a Florida flag following the Gators’ 31-11 takedown of the Seminoles on Saturday night, 6-foot-4, 315-pound FSU senior offensive lineman Jeremiah Byers protested. Other Seminoles followed. About the same time Gumbs lodged his flag, reserve offensive lineman Clem Hayden staked one nearby.

Soon, a full-blown fracas was underway, which took a couple of minutes to settle down. FSU coach Mike Norvell showed his dislike by unplanting one of the flags and tossing it away, drawing the ire of Gators general manager Jacob LaFrance. When Gators head coach Billy Napier came by to shake hands, Norvell voiced his displeasure.

Meanwhile, Napier voiced his displeasure to his team in the locker room.

“He was like, ‘There is no place for this. We’re not that type of program,’ ” running back Montrell Johnson Jr. said. “It’s football, and we’re trying to become a winning program, and winning programs don’t do that.”

A few minutes later, Napier shared his irritation with the media.

“Before we get going here, obviously what happened there at the end of the game is not who we would want to be as a program,” Napier said. “And it’s embarrassing to me, and it’s a distraction from a really well-played football game.

“So, I want to apologize on behalf of the entire organization, just in terms of how we represented the university there. We shouldn’t have done that. We won’t do that going forward, and there’ll be consequences for all involved.”

Now that we’ve covered the postgame party — the Gators celebrated with cigars in the locker room and barbecue on the bus ride home — let’s plant another flag.

This victory banner is in honor of the 2024 Gators. Although their 20-point win Saturday will not be remembered as a signature performance in the storied rivalry, it nonetheless deserves praise in the story of Florida’s tumultuous regular season.

Florida’s first win over the Seminoles since 2021 and first in Tallahassee in six years clinched a winning record. That is a first for Napier in his three seasons. It’s the first winning record for the Gators…