"Florida team is even worse than the Swamp Kings documentary" - CFB fans roast Gators football for a humiliating defeat against Utah in Week 1
The Florida Gators started their 2023 campaign with a disappointing defeat. Many felt that there might be a chance for Wisconsin transfer, Graham Mertz, and coach, Billy Napier, to capitalize on Utah's starting quarterback Cam Rising's absence. But that was not the way the story panned out in their season opener.
With Rising still rehabilitating from his injury, backup QBs Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson put on a splendid show for fans of Utah. The team had a strong defensive hold, while Barnes led the offense to a 24-11 win.
The game was also a reminder of why the Utah Utes were back-to-back Pac-12 champions in 2021 and 2022.
The Florida Gators, who once possessed a Heisman-winning quarterback in Tim Tebow, are finding it difficult to even make it to the top 10 of the SEC rankings.
Following the defeat, fans have taken to social media to troll the Gators over their disappointing performance.
One fan even called their 2023 roster worse than the Netflix documentary 'Swamp Kings', which was heavily criticized.
Here are some of the other reactions:
Some fans even called out the poor performance of the offensive line and their starting quarterback Graham Mertz, who transferred from Wisconsin.
Starting the season with a loss is definitely a challenge for Napier and his team. The Florida Gators have had poor stats the past two years, finishing both seasons with a 6-7 record. So it will be interesting to see how the team responds.
Looking back at when Tim Tebow made a promise to Florida Gators fans after losing a game
Back in 2008, Florida won both the SEC championship and the national championship. Their season ended with a 13-1 record, their only loss coming at the hands of Ole Miss.
But this was enough for then-quarterback Tim Tebow to make a promise to the fans that he and his team would work even harder after the defeat.
“I just want to say one thing to the fans and everybody in Gator Nation. I’m sorry. Extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal. It’s something Florida’s never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this.
“You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season. You’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.”
Tim Tebow stuck to his promise. After their loss to Ole Miss, Florida went on to win every game they played in was a brilliant example of the commitment of the players to the team.
Considering the time and situation that they are in now, maybe it is time for the Gators to take a dive down memory lane and gather up some motivation to revive the program's lost glory.