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Billy Napier jokes about College GameDay crossbar miss: ‘Nearly pulled it off’
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Billy Napier gave Florida fans another gift on Saturday, as the Gators continued their late-season push with yet another upset of a ranked team at The Swamp.
But long before Florida took down Ole Miss, 24-17, to get to 6-5 overall and back to .500 at 4-4 in the SEC, Napier nearly pulled off another trick without the help of any of his players. The embattled head coach who’s won over some Gators fans as the season has gone along appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay, which was doing its weekly Saturday morning pregame show from Columbus, site of the Indiana-Ohio State game.
Napier, wearing a suit mind you, was challenged by ESPN analyst Pat McAfee, who believed that Napier could hit the crossbar with a throw. Napier, after taking off his jacket, fired the ball just inside the 25-yard line with McAfee screaming, “One million dollars he hits the crossbar right now!”
Well, Napier was closer than you would expect someone to come while wearing a dress shirt and tie.
https://twitter.com/CollegeGameDay/status/1860360234264318037
“I don’t think I’ve thrown a football in 6 months, and I’m still sore from one throw. Nearly pulled it off,” said Napier on Monday about the throw seen around the country.
#Gators coach Billy Napier on just missing the crossbar during ESPN's "College GameDay" …
"I don't think I've thrown a football in 6 months, and I'm still sore from one throw. Nearly pulled it off."
— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) November 25, 2024
Well, Napier didn’t quite hit the crossbar in the morning, but his team nailed it in the afternoon, toppling the Rebels to keep the late-season good times rolling in Gainesville. Napier and the Gators will try to get to 7 wins on Saturday when they visit rival Florida State.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
