College Football Week 3 games, ranked: Florida vs. LSU is an opportunity for Billy Napier

Billy Napier finds himself in a familiar situation as Week Three of the college football season begins.

A year ago, after the Gators lost to rival Georgia for the fourth straight season, athletic director Scott Strickland issued a public vote of confidence in Napier, Florida’s head coach, after starting the season with a 4-4 record. The Gators fell the next week too, against Texas, but then ended the season on a four-game winning streak. Quarterback DJ Lagway was sharp and exciting, and a lot of folks in Gainesville entered this season optimistic about their future with Napier.

Then last Saturday happened, where the then-ranked Gators lost at home to South Florida for the first time ever. And Napier’s seat went from warm to boiling hot.

Napier is 20-20 overall as he enters the third game of his fourth season leading the Gators. That’s not a record fans expected him to have when Florida handed him a seven-year, $51.8 million deal back in 2021.

But what lies ahead of Napier is a real chance to coach his way out of this. Up first is a road game at No. 3 LSU. Will hearts change if Napier’s team secures an upset on a Saturday in Death Valley?

Perhaps, but even more opportunities are ahead. Next week, the Gators play at Miami, and then host a Texas team that doesn’t exactly look like the juggernaut many expected the Longhorns to be when they opened the year as the preseason No. 1. And then there’s a road trip to College Station to face a ranked Texas A&M team.

There’s a bye week between the games against Miami and Texas. If Florida performs poorly against the Tigers and Hurricanes, Florida could cut their losses and be first-to-market on the coaching carousel. But boy, that would be costly.

Napier’s buyout is 85 percent of his remaining contract, which would be $19.38 million after this season. And 50 percent of that, about $9.7 million, is due within 30 days of his firing.

Florida could find the money to pull the plug on Napier’s tenure if it really wanted to, but that’s the question: Does Florida really want to pony up that money to embark on what would be their fifth head coaching search since the end of the Urban Meyer era? Judging by the mood on social media, it sure seems like Florida fans want to.

That decision, however, is up to Strickland. But it’s getting more and more difficult for him to defend Napier after the series of coaching blunders that led to the loss to USF. Because when your team loses to an in-state Group of Five opponent at home in the fourth year of your head coach’s tenure, you can’t put the blame on anything or anyone but him.

Florida at LSU — which might be Napier’s last stand — on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC is worth watching. And so are these games:

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET — ABC

One of three ranked-on-ranked matchups this week, this game should serve as the first real measuring stick for two SEC contenders. The Vols have a neutral site win over Syracuse and then beat down ETSU this past weekend, while Georgia (Paul Finebaum caller voice) ain’t played nobody. Both teams are 2-0 but there’s a lot of unknown here.

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET — The CW

According to Awful Announcing, the record for the most-watched sporting event on The CW belongs to this year’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Daytona, drawing 1.8 million viewers. There’s a good chance that this game, a ranked-on-ranked matchup with real stakes between the Bulls and Canes, can break it. After notching wins over Boise State and Florida to open the season, USF is in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five bid into the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Miami looks like the early favorite in the ACC. A win here for either team only solidifies their positioning.

Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET — ESPN

While Deion Sanders pushed back on the reporting of ESPN’s Pete Thamel this week regarding his quarterback decision, it does seem like Coach Prime has found the answer under-center. Ryan Staub shined last week against Delaware, completing 7-of-10 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. But, emphasis here, that came against Delaware — competing in its first season of FBS football. How Staub fares on the road against Willie Fritz’s Cougars, who are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2018, remains to be seen. Houston’s defense has looked sharp and has picked off three passes this season while allowing just nine points in its first two games.

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET — ESPN+

UTSA is 0-2 but features the nation’s leading rusher in senior Robert Henry, a Mississippi native who has rumbled for 336 yards this season. The Roadrunners should put a tally in the win column this week, but Incarnate Word shouldn’t be overlooked. The Cardinals almost always have a talented quarterback, producing three FCS All-Americans at the position since 2021, including Cam Ward and Zach Calzada.

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET — ESPN

BACKYARD BRAWL!
I’m not sure how good Pitt and West Virginia actually are this season. The Panthers seem like they’ll be a middle-of-the-pack ACC team again, while the Mountaineers are readjusting to life with Rich Rodriguez and just got upset by Ohio. Still, this is one of the best rivalries in college football, consisting of two teams who really hate each other.

For more on this rivalry, please read this.