Florida spitting penalty critical in South Florida’s 18-16 upset of No. 13 Gators

There’s a strong early favorite in the throng of College Football Playoff hopefuls from the Group of 5.

There’s a rising name in the coaching ranks.

There’s a seat that’s quickly heating up again.

South Florida 18, No. 13 Florida 16 in The Swamp is a result with that kind of reach. Especially considering the devastating lack of discipline the Gators (1-1) showed late: defensive lineman Brendan Bett spitting in the face of a USF lineman and getting a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and ejection with 2:04 left. That came two days after Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Carter — a product of Florida’s primary rival, Georgia — was ejected before the first snap for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

“I haven’t had that conversation with him yet,” Florida coach Billy Napier told reporters after the game of Bett. “And, um, we’ll take a good look at it, but it’s unacceptable. I think we’ve got a lot of players in that room as well that have that same belief, that it’s unacceptable. When a guy does something like that, he’s compromising the team. He’s putting himself before the team.”

The penalty moved USF (2-0) up to its own 39-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Byrum Brown got a quick pass out to Alvon Isaac, who took it 29 yards to the Florida 32. The Bulls pounded the football from there, setting up Nico Gramatica for the 20-yard game winner as time expired.

It’s South Florida’s first win over Florida in four tries and first road win over a ranked opponent since a 2011 win at Notre Dame. The last time the Bulls beat two ranked opponents in the same month was September 2007, the season they climbed to No. 2 in the nation.

This year’s Bulls count as the only team in college football with two ranked wins, having started with a 34-7 home win over then-No. 25 Boise State. South Florida’s treacherous early schedule continues with a trip to No. 5 Miami in a week. That willingness to be challenged, in tandem with the performance to date — by USF’s swarming defense, in particular — should be enough to capture the attention of the CFP selection committee already.

And Alex Golesh, the former Tennessee offensive coordinator who went 7-6 in each of his first two seasons at USF, is a safe bet to be mentioned in connection with vacated jobs at the Power 4 level if this team continues to play at the level it has demonstrated through two weeks.

How about … Florida?

Napier was thought to be sitting on the hottest of seats at points in the 2024 season, but a strong finish calmed things down and appeared to set him up for a shot at a strong 2025, with gifted sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway in command of his offense.

Napier is now 20-20 in his tenure with the Gators. And though Lagway (22-for-33, 222 yards, one touchdown, one interception) had his moments Saturday, the Gators were outgained 391-355 and were just 4-for-12 on third down.

“There’s no excuse here — I’m not up here to make excuses,” said Napier, who didn’t directly answer when asked if he’s the right man to lead the Florida program, but did say he believes the Gators won’t splinter.

He was also asked if coaching should be blamed for the miscues that helped turn the game.

“I think the players make mistakes, that’s part of the game,” Napier said. “But I do think that ultimately it’s my responsibility. So I think it is coaching.”

USF’s Brown was the best quarterback on the field, finishing 23-for-36 for 263 yards with a touchdown and no picks through the air and adding 66 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

Still, without Bett’s costly lack of judgment, USF might not have been in position to earn the enormous upset.

(Photo of Byrum Brown: Matt Pendleton / Imagn Images)

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