Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett was ejected during the fourth quarter of a 18-16 loss to South Florida Saturday after appearing to spit on Bulls’ offensive lineman Cole Skinner. The incident occurred with a little more than two minutes remaining during USF’s drive toward a game-winning field goal.
The 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Bett, a redshirt sophomore, gave the Bulls an automatic first down, advancing the ball to the USF 39. The play was preceded by a defensive pass interference call that got the Bulls some breathing room after starting the drive on their own 11 yard line.
The Bulls then immediately hit a 29-yard completion to get into field goal range. Later in the drive, USF kicker Nico Gramatica hit a 20-yard chip-shot field goal for the upset victory against No. 13 Florida. The Bulls had already notched a ranked win to their résumé after thumping No. 25 Boise State in the opener last week.
The defeat put the Gators at 1-1 and brought Billy Napier’s record in his fourth season to 20-20.
Florida faces a brutal stretch after the loss with road games against No. 3 LSU and No. 5 Miami, followed by a home matchup against No. 7 Texas and a visit to No. 19 Texas A&M.
Bett joined the Gators in the spring after transferring from Baylor. He saw action in Florida’s season opener against LIU, recording three tackles, including one for loss, over 15 snaps.
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Discipline penalties haunt Gators
Florida’s loss to USF brought back memories of a similar late-game meltdown under Dan Mullen in December 2020. In that 37-34 loss to LSU, Gators cornerback Marco Wilson threw a receiver’s shoe downfield, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave the Tigers a first down and set up a game-winning 57-yard field goal to knock off then No. 6 Florida.
Saturday’s ejection of Bett and 15-yard penalty against USF once again hurt the Gators in a critical moment, underscoring ongoing discipline issues that continue to plague the program.
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