College Football HQ

College football world reacts after Florida's shocking loss to USF

USF became the first college football team to beat two Top 25 ranked opponents just two weeks into the season after a stunning win at Florida on Saturday.
James Parks|
Billy Napier is on the hot seat now after his No. 13 ranked Florida Gators dropped a stunning loss against USF at home.
Billy Napier is on the hot seat now after his No. 13 ranked Florida Gators dropped a stunning loss against USF at home. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Florida GatorsSouth Florida Bulls

Gainesville was Upset City on Saturday, as No. 13 Florida dropped a stunning loss at home to unranked USF on a walk-off field goal.

Alex Golesh’s team did it again, just a week after dominating College Football Playoff team Boise State at home, the Bulls went into the Swamp and gave the Gators the same treatment in a 18-16 victory off a last-second kick.

Both teams kicked field goals to start the game, and Florida took a narrow 9-6 lead into halftime, leaving the home fans a little queasy at how close the game had been played.

That feeling got worse when USF took a lead in the third quarter as Byrum Brown connected with Keshaun Singleton on a 66-yard touchdown bomb for a 13-9 lead.

USF then advanced its lead on a safety following a Florida special teams mistake when a snap flew over the punter’s head and out of the end zone.

Florida answered when quarterback DJ Lagway hit Tre Wilson on a 4-yard scoring play and USF then missed a field goal, but the Gators went three-and-out.

From there, the Bulls had 2:25 to get into scoring position, exactly enough time to put Nico Gramatica in position to kick the game-winner from just 20 yards out.

With that, Billy Napier finds himself on the hot seat once again as Florida is 1-1, while USF is suddenly the team to beat in the Group of Five this season.

Here’s how the college football world reacted to the most shocking upset in Week 2.

The game-winner

The USF offense needed just over two minutes to navigate the Gators defense and matriculate the ball down the field to put Gramatica into scoring position to take down Florida in the Swamp.

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The aftermath

Florida gave Billy Napier a big vote of confidence heading into the 2025 season after his team performed so well to finish last year, but the early returns are starting to resemble 2024.

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So many questions

It was a litany of errors from the Gators coaching staff, especially late in the game when there was still a chance to hold on.

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A brilliant start

USF didn't just beat Boise State in the opener; the Bulls dominated the Broncos on their home field and made an early statement that the College Football Playoff selectors should be looking in their direction when considering the best Group of Five team in 2025.

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Playoff in their future?

Boise State was the consensus pick to represent the non-Power conferences in the College Football Playoff, but USF and the American Conference have completely changed that narrative.

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Another challenge upcoming for USF

USF is a very strong 2-0 coming out of the Swamp, but the schedule gets even tougher next time out, as the Bulls hit the road against No. 5 Miami next weekend.

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An up-and-comer

Alex Golesh has turned out two 7-6 seasons during his brief tenure at USF, but his first time out included the single-best turnaround in FBS that season

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USF has done what no other team has

No other team in college football has defeated two opponents ranked in the AP poll yet this season, and USF just needed two games to achieve that feat. Can they do it a third time against the Hurricanes?

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Message board bros chime in

Message boards were never known for being too reasonable, and this is likely one of the few G-rated comments left online from Florida fans who are more than a little restless right now.

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It didn't end well

Maybe no other coach in college football is under more pressure than Billy Napier, but it's all self-inflicted when looking at several of his decisions in this game.

Is he done?

Napier isn't quite done a Florida just yet, but when looking ahead at his team's schedule, it may not be hyperbole to suggest that he's coaching his last few games at the school.

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Facing the music

Predictably, the Gators' embattled head coach was asked about his future with the school, but it's safe to say that Napier is facing something more than mere criticism at this point.

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It won't get easier

Florida came into this season playing what looked like one of the hardest schedules in college football, and that remains true looking ahead to its future opponents.

Just two of those future teams are not ranked and even Florida State looks a lot better this season after its signature upset over Alabama.

Napier has a chance to change the narrative against this slate, but few expect him to get through this gauntlet unscathed.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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