GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Miami coach Mario Cristobal and Florida counterpart Billy Napier will be in the spotlight — under interrogation lamps, really — as much as quarterbacks Cam Ward and Graham Mertz when the No. 19 Hurricanes play at the Swamp on Saturday.
The close friends and former Alabama assistants enter their third seasons trying to erase whatever negativity carried over from last year’s late-season slides and regain support from frustrated fanbases.
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It’s not a must-win scenario for either. But it sure seems like a can’t-falter situation.
“For me, it’s about our players, it’s about this staff,” Napier said. “That’s the cool thing about football. I can remember growing up as the son of a high school coach. When the season’s over and the playoffs are finished, the state champion holds the trophy up, we’re back to 0-0.
“There’s a new team in the weight room, on the practice field, then you have the same ambition and the same goals. … This game is the start of the story of the 2024 Gators.”
Napier wants it to be a best seller. He expects it to be a much better read that the first two books.
Napier is 11-14 so far in Gainesville, including 1-8 against rivals Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee and 0-2 against longtime league doormat Kentucky. His tenure has been rife with dysfunction that ranges from clock-management mistakes to basic fundamentals like having 11 men on the field for every play.
The Gators dropped five in a row to end 2023 and missed a bowl for the third time since 1990. Napier responded by layering nearly every aspect of his program.
He hired a new defensive coordinator, a new special teams coach, a new strength and conditioning coach, added a co-offensive coordinator and even replaced the team nutritionist. He also turned to the transfer portal to add more playmakers around Mertz and rebuild a defense that was among the worst in the Southeastern Conference in 2023.
“This is a game where we can put that on full display, put it on tape,” linebacker Shemar James said. “Show the country we’re here to take over in 2024.”
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, looked poised to compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference crown in Cristobal’s second year. But then they squandered a seemingly sure victory against Georgia Tech — few have forgotten “Mario Kneel the Ball” — and lost four of five down the stretch.
Cristobal is 12-13 at his alma mater. Like Napier, he turned to the transfer portal for help, landing Ward (Washington State), running back Damien Martinez (Oregon State) and receiver Sam Brown (Houston). The trio, along with one of the best defensive fronts in the league, could make the Canes contenders again.
There might not be a better opportunity to showcase all those anticipated improvements than in the Swamp amid the renewal of a once-heated rivalry.
“While all the noise, the juice, the hype is going on around us, the most important thing for us is the work, making sure every single day that we’re focused on winning that particular day so we can get better and go get it done," Cristobal said.
Swamp mystique
Ward was 4-7 on the road in two years at Washington State and has dropped five in a row away from home. His first test with the Canes comes in one of college football’s most daunting venues. The Swamp has rattled a number of first-time visitors, including Tennessee’s Joe Milton (2023), Missouri’s Brady Cook (2022), Auburn’s Bo Nix (2019), LSU’s Joe Burrow (2018), Missouri’s Drew Lock (2016) and South Carolina’s Connor Shaw (2012).
“Playing there is not an easy thing to do,” Ward said. “We’re up for a challenge and we’ve got to rise to the occasion.”
Teammates reunite
The matchup includes two starters from last year’s national championship game. Miami safety Mishael Powell and Florida safety Asa Turner were teammates at Washington for five years before landing in the Sunshine State. Any trash talk?
“Just a little bit,” Turner said. “It’s going to be a good experience.”
Streak at stake
Florida has won 33 consecutive home openers, an NCAA-leading streak that started after losing to Ole Miss in 1989. It's been mostly cupcakes since, although Oklahoma State (1990), Kentucky (1992), No. 23 Tennessee (2017), Ole Miss (2020) and No. 7 Utah (2022) are on the list.
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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Coral Gables contributed to this report.
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