Billy Napier can save his Florida job by ending Tennessee's playoff dreams in Neyland

The odds are stacked against him, but I do commend Billy Napier's efforts to delay the inevitable. It seems like a foregone conclusion that he will no longer be the head coach of the Florida Gators after this college season. But what if I told you there was a way for him to not only keep his job, but to ruin a potentially special season for a bitter rival in the process? What if Florida were to upset Tennessee?

If this SEC rivalry game were to be played in The Swamp, I would be all over this. The Vols have the most miserable time playing in Gainesville. Their continued struggles vs. rivals Alabama, Florida and Georgia have prevented the Volunteers from getting to the College Football Playoff under Josh Heupel. Now that they just suffered their first loss of the season at Arkansas, they cannot play tight.

As for Napier and Florida, it serves them to play fun and loose the rest of the way, just like the Head Ball Coach always intended. Napier is not Steve Spurrier, mostly because no one is. However, I think three wins in a row over Mississippi State, UCF and potentially Tennessee would get Florida to 4-2 on the year and firmly remove Napier from the hot seat. He needs two more wins, but this would be big!

More importantly, back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Florida would end Tennessee's playoff hopes.

Billy Napier has the chance to save his job with an upset bid at Tennessee

Entering the season, Napier was sitting on arguably the hottest seat in the country. While Dave Aranda appears to be cooked over in Waco, Sam Pittman is not only surviving, he is thriving in Fayetteville. Yessir! The Boss Hog has the Razorbacks at 4-2, fresh off a huge home upset of, you guessed it, Tennessee! The Vols look beatable in SEC play, so I am giving the Gators a real shot here.

Look, Florida's three wins are over the worst team in the Power Four in Mississippi State, a paper dragon in little brother UCF and FCS Samford. Tennessee at least has a decisive win over Oklahoma in Norman, although the NC State win does nothing for anyone anymore, as the Wolfpack are frauds. But if you sneak one past Tennessee, maybe, just maybe, the hot seat now belongs to Josh Heupel?

I do not think it would be that swift of a transition, but Heupel would be falling out of favor very quickly. We have seen Rocky Top turn on folks in the blink of an eye. Heupel has been in the good graces of Eastern Tennessee for a while now, but Vol Nation is still chasing the peak years of the Phillip Fulmer era. Another loss to Florida, especially after a loss to Arkansas, might completely flip the script here.

Tennessee is favored by nearly three scores, so yes, a home loss to Florida would be so catastrophic.