Florida's Billy Napier -- 'No excuses' after blowout loss to Miami - ESPN

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Billy Napier called his team's 41-17 loss to Miami on Saturday «embarrassing,» offering no excuses while vowing to get the problems fixed.

Napier already faced scrutiny heading into his third season, after going 11-14 in his first two and failing to make a bowl game last year. That scrutiny is sure to grow after a performance in which the Gators were outcoached and outplayed.

«It's embarrassing, to be quite honest with you,» Napier said. «That's how I feel. That's how our kids feel. There's no excuses. Keep our mouths shut, show up and work. We have to do better. I do think that our players will show up and they will respond.»

Miami dominated in every area, rolling up 529 yards of offense while physically handling the Gators up front. Meanwhile, the Florida offense struggled for a majority of the day, then played the fourth quarter without starting quarterback Graham Mertz, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion.

Napier said Mertz is in concussion protocol and his status would be updated next week. Freshman DJ Lagway, the No. 8 player in the ESPN 300 in the class of 2024, came in and showed promise, leading a touchdown drive, but by then it was too late.

«I felt strongly that we would perform better,» Napier said. «But I'm not here to make excuses. We've got to get it fixed. We're going to get another opportunity next week, and we've got to play better and coach better.»

Fans started clearing out of the Swamp in the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, as the stadium was emptying, one fan could be heard shouting in the concourse, «Fire Billy!» Napier said he would have to make sure to guard his team from getting caught up in the negativity that comes with a loss to an