Billi Napier’s early retirement idea did not hit the extreme button last week, as the Florida Gators were on a bye. But with the Gators being back with an in-state game against UCF at the Swamp, the catastrophe will seemingly be back. Now, the question is what a 45-28 victory against Mississippi State couldn’t do to the faltered head coach Billy Napier, will a massive win at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium do? Regardless of the answer, you are guaranteed an engaging Saturday evening, especially with a fan-favorite sportscaster duo taking charge of the mic.

UCF wiped out the Gators 20-7 in the second half and prevented them from even taking a single score after a third-quarter touchdown during their last meet in the Gasparilla Bowl back in 2021. Three years later, the tension will rightfully be higher between the two in-state foes. On the top, the brownie point of such a striking game will be the sensational voice covering of Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play) and Matt Stinchcomb (analyst). Tori Petry will do his part as the sideline reporter. With their demonstrated history of calling the big games over the year with minute precision and on-point emotion, the commentary box is likely to turn the eyes, actually, the ears.

UCF got the upper hand in 13 straight games against teams from the state of Florida. They bagged a lot of records in their favor and were on a tear with a strong 3-0 start before facing a bump with Coach Prime. They will look to bring everything to the table that went wrong against Colorado, seemingly closing the Napier era of the Gators.

Will Billy Napier have a career-saving game against UCF?

Florida will have a do-or-die attempt to bang on against UCF, taking the edge of the heavy load of criticism that Napier has been carrying for a while. The path is clear. As the veteran coach explains, they will look to carry on the MSU win momentum, but this time with a more precise effort on both sides of the ball.

”They’re excited to play, we’re excited to be back in front of our fans, obviously, night game here, it has a chance to be electric against an in-state opponent that’ll bring their fair share of people as well. We’re looking forward to competing with these guys.”, says the 45-year-old beleaguered coach whose fate with the Gators will largely depend on a Saturday’s home performance.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if a loss to the Knights would lead to the immediate walkout of Napier from the head coach chair. After a lot of back and forth, the Gators’ regents might hold UCF on a deciding point about Napier.