Explaining Billy Napier's Late Timeout Against Texas

A wacky rule nearly cost Florida in its upset over Texas but give credit to Gators head coach Billy Napier for understanding the situation.

Florida head coach Billy Napier explained his decision to call a late timeout while up against Texas. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- It looked like the Florida Gators, holding a 29-21 lead, were about to run out the clock against No. 9 Texas.

On 2nd-and-4 at their own 25-yard line after the two-minute warning, and with Texas out of timeouts, Florida handed the ball off to Jadan Baugh for a one-yard gain. Rather than the clock continuing to run, it stopped, and confusion ensued.

Left tackle Austin Barber's helmet fell off, which would have forced him to miss the next third-down play. To keep him in, head coach Billy Napier called a timeout, and the head referee announced a 10-second runoff, one that Florida needed, would not happen as a result of the timeout.

That chaos turned into anger, with most of the criticism aimed towards Napier, who had prior incidents in game-clock mismanagement and poorly timed timeouts. Texas was eventually given another chance to send the game into overtime after Florida failed to convert on third down.

Fortunately for Florida, the defense eventually sealed the win, sacking Texas quarterback Arch Manning in the final seconds, and as it turns out, Napier's timeout was the right decision.

NCAA Rules Book 2025, Section 3, Article 10 details what happens when a player's helmet falls off.

To start, the clock automatically stops every time after a player's helmet falls off at the end of the down, and that player must leave the game for the next play. With the game clock being under two minutes at the time of Barber's helmet falling off, a 10-second runoff would apply if the opposing team allows it.

Texas declined the runoff. Another rule explains that if there is not a 10-second runoff, the clock does not start until the next snap.

With that in mind, Napier decided to burn Florida's second timeout to allow Barber to return to the game.

"The clock stops because our helmet came off, right, so we wanted to get our best tackle back in the game. We wanted to talk as a group about the 3rd-down play," Napier explained. "That's ultimately why we did it."

So, while the timeout seemed like another mismanagement by Napier, the fourth-year head coach ended up making the right decision in this instance.

Still, one cannot ignore the magnitude of this stretch of the game as Texas ultimately had one final offensive possession. Ironically enough, Manning lost his helmet on a sack on the first play of that possession, which resulted in him missing a play and Florida accepting a 10-second runoff.

While Manning's backup, Matthew Caldwell, completed a 26-yard pass on the next play, which also included a 15-yard facemask penalty on Florida, Manning was eventually sacked, and the Gators took home a win.

"It's a special group, man, and they're good football players, but that's the easy part," Napier said on Florida's final defensive stand. "I think the leadership over there and the ability to continue to show up and do their part for the team -- and look, knowing the circumstance, knowing the struggle on the other side, for them to challenge the group, for them to maintain their character, for them to continue to work, and they practice that way. They've got a maturity about them."

Florida hits the road next week for a night game at No. 5 Texas A&M, looking to get revenge on another SEC program the Gators fell to last season.