It looks like Billy Napier’s maiden voyage as the Florida Gators’ head coach is going to end in Sin City. (Photo Credit: Florida Gators)
The Florida Gators have their bowl destination and opponent set- and both are quite unique.
Florida is set to make the cross-country journey to the American southwest about 2,000 miles away to face the Oregon State Beavers in the Las Vegas Bowl, setting up a couple of firsts. The Gators have never played in the Las Vegas Bowl, which is due in large part to the bowl game not usually having an SEC tie-in. The Gators have also never played Oregon State in football.
The Las Vegas Bowl will kick off on Saturday, December 17th at 7:30pm from the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium. The game will air on ABC. The news of the matchup was first reported by Brett McMurphy.
Though the Gators and Beavers don’t exactly have a history together, the two teams do share an intriguing connection. Former Florida outside linebacker Andrew Chatfield transferred to Oregon State after last season, and now has a key role on the Beavers’ defense. That defense ranks 31st in the country with 342.3 yards per game allowed.
The Beavers stumbled in back-to-back weeks against USC and Utah- the two combatants in the Pac-12 Championship Game- but found a groove after that, winning six of their final seven games of the year. Most notably, Jonathan Smith’s Beavers pulled off an upset of then-9th ranked Oregon, giving Oregon State its second win in three tries against the Ducks. Before that three-game stretch, Oregon had beaten Oregon State eleven out of the previous twelve times.
Ordinarily, this would be a highly intriguing matchup. But the Florida Gators are likely going to be hit by a wave of opt-outs for this game- a wave that’s already begun with receiver Justin Shorter’s decision to begin preparations for the NFL Draft. Still: it’s worth noting that Florida did beat the Utah team that beat Oregon State to start the season, so even if half the Gator roster plays in this one, it could make for a fun measuring stick in a game that ultimately doesn’t mean anything.
And this trip will come with some pretty heavy costs for the Gators, too.
With the game twelve days away from tomorrow, there’s absolutely no way Florida can fit in its full allotment of fifteen extra practices. Teams view these extra practices as precious opportunities to get a head start on the ensuing season. Thinking through the logistics of this, Florida would probably lose at least a third of them with only eleven available days.
The Gators will also be playing on the weekend right before the Early Signing Period begins. That means Florida will not be able to host any high school recruits the weekend before Signing Day. Typically, the teams who get the last official visit in for a recruit on the fence is deemed to have the advantage to land him; by not having the staff physically in Gainesville, Florida will be forfeiting its ability to be the last place that any high school recruit on the fence will visit.
Of course, you’d prefer more than zero extra practices to zero extra practices. Something is better than nothing. You can also best believe that Napier and his staff won’t cease to recruit while they’re on the road. And you’d like to think that Napier and his staff are good enough recruiters to work around this roadblock, as annoying as it is.
So for the Florida Gators, as inconvenient of a bowl location as it may be, the Las Vegas Bowl will serve as a good chance for younger players to show what they’re made of- and in the meanwhile, all the best to Napier & Co. as they do their best to recruit prospective incoming athletes from 2,000 miles away.
