With Florida State’s 2024 football season in danger of becoming a complete disaster after only two games, coach Mike Norvell knows he need to find answers quickly.

‘I’m sick to how this season started. Tonight, I failed in preparing the team to go out and respond,’ Norvell said after Monday night’s 28-13 loss to Boston College that dropped the defending ACC champions to 0-2, with both losses coming to conference opponents.

‘You’ve got a football team that nobody envisioned ever being where we are and having disappointment, having failure, but I do believe in what this team can do,’ Norvell said. 

Not much has gone right for the Seminoles so far this season.

New quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has struggled to get going and even had fans calling for his benching during Monday’s loss to BC. And on defense, the Seminoles gave up 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, with former FSU running back Treshaun Ward recording 138 total yards and a receiving score.

It was all too reminiscent of how Georgia Tech had its way with FSU in the season opener.

‘There’s going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that,’ Norvell said. ‘When we perform the way we just did, that’s all part of it. But for our football team, you’ve got to stay together, and you’ve got to make sure that you’re there for each other. We’ve been knocked down. We know how to get up, but we’ve got to go do that.’

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NEW YORK — The last time Jessica Pegula lost in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, she was greeted the next morning by a headline in the Times of London that underscored just how misunderstood her career has been.

“Six quarterfinals, six defeats: Jessica Pegula needs dynamic that family billions can’t buy.”

Beyond the general cruelty and unfairness that can be typical of the British tabloids, it was just plain weird. Yes, her parents Terry and Kim Pegula own the Buffalo Bills. Yes, being the daughter of a billionaire affords a tennis player a certain level of security that others do not have when they’re barely making a living and often losing money in low-level tournaments.

But you don’t become one of the best tennis players in the world because your family has wealth. And you don’t win or lose Grand Slams because you were born into privilege.

If Pegula’s tennis career has been about anything, it’s been taking the hard road to the top and earning – yes, earning – everything she’s got.

It hasn’t been easy. She didn’t break into the top-100 until her seventh year on tour, didn’t establish herself as one of the top players in the world until age 27 and didn’t become a so-called Grand Slam disappointment until close to her 30th birthday.

But after six quarterfinal losses, Pegula has another chance to break through, at the U.S. Open. After a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory Monday over Diana Shnaider, Pegula is back in the quarters with an opportunity to yet again rewrite the narrative on her career and advance closer to a Slam title than she ever has. She will play top seed Iga Swiatek on Wednesday.

“There’s so many variables day to day, but I think I’ll just try to draw on that experience and how maybe I’ve handled it in the past and what I’m looking to try to do mentally different this time,” she said. “I’m just happy that I can give myself another opportunity.”

When Pegula lost that Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2023, some criticism was perhaps warranted. She led Marketa Vondrousova 4-1 in the third set and seemed to be in complete control before everything went wrong. Vondrousova won five games in a row to take the match and then won the title a few days later.

But in the big picture, it’s worth remembering that Pegula was never considered a contender to make the second week of Grand Slams until 2021. Then she made six in the span of three years and the expectations were suddenly much different. Then the questions turned to why she kept losing them.

Pegula’s analysis of why she kept hitting her head on that ceiling led her to make significant changes at the start of this year. After a disappointing second-round exit in the Australian Open, she parted ways with longtime coach David Witt, who had been with her since the beginning of the rise. Then, almost as soon as she was getting into the groove with a new coaching team, Pegula suffered a rib injury and missed the entire European clay season.

All of it left Pegula questioning whether the pursuit of something greater had taken her down the wrong path.

“I was definitely questioning everything at that point,” she said. “I kind of lost some confidence, but I think in the past I’ve shown that every time I got injured or was out for awhile or something happened I was always able to bounce back. I just put all my eggs in that basket and was able to work on some things with a coaching change and find a bit of a balance there too.”

It’s fair to say Pegula is back to where she was before – and maybe even better.

After a second-round exit at the Olympics, she immediately came back and defended her title at the Canadian Open, then reached the final in Cincinnati before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Pegula has carried that form into the U.S. Open, where she’s reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. And regardless of what happens from here, Pegula will leave New York as the top-ranked American woman.

“I think I knew coming into the hard courts that I’m comfortable here and can definitely find my form again and was able to luckily do that,” she said. “I can’t say I knew that was going to happen, but I would say I believed in that process and believed I could work hard and get back to where I was and here we are. Looking back on those tough moments, I definitely don’t know if I had quite that belief I have right now, but I’m happy to look back to where I was and be very proud I was able to get through some tough moments at the beginning of the year.”

One of the most endearing things about Pegula’s personality and her game is that – despite a family background that makes her an easy target for criticism – there is zero sense of entitlement. She took the long route to the top of women’s tennis and wasn’t satisfied just to be in the top 10 when she got there.

She’s even taking the everyman’s journey to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, riding public transit rather than taking her courtesy car. With Pegula, it’s always unfair to assume anything just because she happens to be the daughter of a billionaire.

“People think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around in a private limo and fly private everywhere,” Pegula said. “I’m definitely not like that. People can think what they want, but it’s kind of funny. People are like, ‘Oh she probably has this and that and that.’ No, not at all. Maybe I should. I don’t know, is that what you want me to do? It’s a little annoying because I don’t even know anyone that lives like that.”

As one of the best tennis players in the world, she deserves to be judged strictly on her performance. If she falls short in yet another quarterfinal, it’ll be strictly because of what happened that day between the lines. And if we have learned anything about Pegula’s time in the spotlight, she won’t stop trying to improve until she finally breaks through.

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When the NFL rolled out this season’s schedule in May with the usual pomp and drama, Arthur Smith glanced at the fresh slate and took it like a good joke. 

Months after he was dumped as the Atlanta Falcons’ coach, Smith is pegged to head back to the ATL to make his debut Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator. 

And why not? Revenge games can be good for the soul. 

The Steelers open the campaign with Smith’s return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, then in Week 2 his new quarterback, Russell Wilson, has a date in Denver. 

“I kind of just laughed,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports following a training camp practice in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. “Because I had a feeling they’d probably do something like that. They put us in Atlanta and Denver. I mean, the NFL is the greatest reality show going. 

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“But you’ve got to play the game at some point. They know what they’re doing when they make the schedule.” 

While the NFL uses computers to help compile the schedule, clearly there’s a human element involved. 

“It’s also who puts in the info for the algorithms, too,” Smith said. “Funny how that works.” 

After three consecutive 7-10 seasons prompted Falcons owner Arthur Blank to cut the cord with the first-time coach, later replacing him with Raheem Morris, Smith was lured to perhaps the perfect landing spot to prove his worth. The Steelers, who fired coordinator Matt Canada during midseason in 2023, have built an identity with a physical brand of football that seems to match Smith’s coaching profile. 

Then there are those other connections that suggest he’s a good fit for Mike Tomlin’s staff. During the 10 years of climbing the ladder with the Tennessee Titans, Smith worked alongside a notable lineup of former Steelers.  

His first boss with the Titans? Mike Munchak, who was previously Pittsburgh’s O-line coach. Then it was Ken Whisenhunt, former Pittsburgh coordinator. Then Mike Mularkey, former Steelers tight end and offensive coordinator, ran the Titans. And finally, Mike Vrabel, who broke into the NFL as a Steelers linebacker, gave Smith his shot to coordinate the Titans offense starting in 2019. Deshea Townsend, who won two Super Bowls as a Steelers cornerback, also crossed Smith’s path as a Titans assistant. 

“I’ve got too many good mentors,” Smith said. “I hate name-dropping, but in my experience I’ve had a lot of people who either played or coached in Pittsburgh at different times over the years, and everyone swore by this place.  

“If you love the history of this game, it’s a historic franchise,” Smith added. “I’ve gotten to know Mike (Tomlin) a little bit over the years. When he called, I was like, ‘Hell. Yeah. This is where I want to be.’ “ 

Smith is the fifth full-time offensive coordinator of Tomlin’s era, which begins its 18th season. Surely, after the offense struggled last year, with the woes including the growing pains of young, since-departed quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers are banking on Smith to have the type of impact he enjoyed while running the Titans offense in 2020. Tennessee ranked second in the NFL for yards and fourth for scoring that year, which set up Smith’s shot with the Falcons. 

Sure, it was a no-brainer for Smith to build his Titans unit around bruising running back Derrick Henry. Power rushing was the ticket, with Henry smashing and dashing through the zone-blocking schemes for a career-high 2,027 yards in 2020. 

It’s also notable that Smith flipped his script during his first year in Atlanta, building the offense around the arm of Matt Ryan. As a result, Atlanta ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing in 2021. The next year, Smith went back to a bread-and-butter rushing attack, and the Falcons ranked third in the league. 

“The run stats were there, but how we did it (in 2022) was completely different than how I did it in Tennessee,” Smith reflected, mindful of the heavy emphasis on zone-read schemes. “Overall, there’s a physicality that you’re trying to bring. But it doesn’t have to be 1 yard and a cloud of dust all the time. Sometimes, that gets lost.” 

Still, it figures that the offense that Smith is building with Pittsburgh won’t be effective without a reliable running game featuring running backs Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and even X-factor Cordarrelle Patterson. It’s a basic foundational principle that Wilson raves about, with play-action passes and quick timing throws flowing off the run game. 

“Conceptually, Arthur Smith and I are so aligned in what we want to do and how we want to go about it,” Wilson, trying to revive his career after struggling with two coaches during two years in Denver, told USA TODAY Sports. “That relationship is everything. The bond that we have is really great. I’m looking forward to getting out there and doing my thang.” 

Similarly, Patterson swears by Smith. Although he has largely made his mark as a dynamic kickoff returner, Patterson demonstrated at times during his first 11 NFL seasons that he can be lethal as a versatile weapon on offense. Smith found an ideal role for Patterson in 2021 and ’22, using him as a physical running back – while also deploying him all over the offense and as a receiver. 

Visions of such a substantial role on an offense that also includes emerging receiver George Pickens and reliable tight end Pat Freiermuth represent a key reason Patterson followed Smith to Pittsburgh. 

Count Patterson among those reading between the lines of the Week 1 matchup. 

“It’s crazy, man, that it worked out like that,” Patterson told USA TODAY Sports. “You know they try to say the NFL is scripted. But it is what it is. I don’t make the schedule.” 

Smith, 42, drew a lot of heat last season (especially) for not producing a consistently prolific offense, despite the presence of first-round talents Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson. The bigger issue, though, was quarterback play. Smith rolled largely with young signal-caller Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick in 2022 who struggled with turnover issues. 

“Anytime you self-reflect on things, it’s, ‘If I had known this, what would you do differently?’ “ Smith said. “Again, you just look at yourself. Don’t blame others. Be grateful that you ever got a shot. That’s how I look at it. We brought some great people in, made some great friends. It didn’t go the way you wanted, but another door opened.” 

And through that door is Wilson, a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback who is similarly eager to distance himself from the setbacks absorbed on the previous stop. In the wings is Justin Fields, the rising young quarterback who will inspire Smith and Tomlin to consider creating opportunities with special packages as a change-up…or perhaps more. 

There’s also a new type of pressure. While Tomlin has, remarkably, never had a losing campaign as the Steelers’ coach, the franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. 

In Smith’s best-case scenario, success in Pittsburgh might position him for another shot as a head coach. But first things first. He characterized his new alignment with Tomlin as an essential opportunity for development. 

“Mike’s 10 years older than me,” Smith said. “I can learn and grow from him. Just kind of recharge.” 

He knows. His outlook has changed significantly, having had Tomlin’s role for a short time in Atlanta. 

“I look at things completely different now,” he said. “I’ve got way more empathy for decisions he’s got to make. You learn. My perspective’s completely different. And you get to go back to the basics. You find that joy again. I’m having more fun being a coach. Taking a step back and re-setting, that’s awesome.” 

Smith downplayed carrying any personal motivation attached to the upcoming trip to Atlanta. 

“It’s not going to be about me,” he maintained. “It’ll be good to see the players I know. I brought a lot of those guys in. But life goes on. They’ve got a whole new regime, different schemes.” 

But still. A victory against the Falcons would probably be a lot sweeter for Smith. 

“It’s just like when you’re playing against family,” Smith allowed. “It’s competition and you want to win. But I’ve got a lot of great friends on the other side.” 

Which is why, no joke, the NFL got it so right in sending the Steelers to Atlanta right off the bat. 

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani’s life is dramatically different since he changed uniforms, putting up historic numbers for a marquee franchise, playing in his first playoff race, and now for the first time Tuesday will be entering the same stadium where he became an international sensation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are opening a two-game series against Ohtani’s former employers, the Los Angeles Angels, and playing at Angel Stadium for the first time since he departed for a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract, the richest in North American sports.

The Angels and their fans can only watch in envy when Ohtani comes in, playing for the team with the best record in baseball, and putting up numbers no hitter has ever accumulated before in baseball history with 44 homers and 46 stolen bases.

Even the most diehard Angels fans can’t boo Ohtani, or even blame him, for leaving for the crosstown rival Dodgers.

“For me, it’s a special place,’ said Ohtani, who stole three bases in the Dodgers’ 11-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. “I spent a lot of time at Anaheim Stadium. … I’m just really looking forward to being able to spend some time at a ballpark that I spent most of my career.’

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The Angels, of course, could have kept him.

Ohtani even gave the Angels a last chance to match the Dodgers’ offer.

The call was made from Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, to Angels owner Arte Moreno in the waning days of negotiations.

If the Angels matched, Ohtani would still be wearing an Angels uniform.

The Angels passed.

Ohtani — a human money-making machine for the Dodgers and overwhelming favorite to win the National League MVP award — has no hard feelings.

Matter of fact, he’s grateful.

If the Angels had matched the offer, he wouldn’t be experiencing the greatest ride of his life, with his popularity in Los Angeles nearing Magic Johnson proportions.

Was he surprised the Angels passed?

“Not really,’ said Ohtani, through his interpreter, who also had the same offer from the Toronto Blue Jays. “I’m just thankful and grateful for the teams that ended up offering the contract because that’s a reflection of what they think about me. I’m grateful for the teams that evaluated me highly.’’

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So, if the Angels matched, would he definitely be playing for them the rest of his career?

“Hard to tell,’’ Ohtani said. “Obviously, the offer did not come to fruition. So it’s really a situation where it was more of a ‘if-they-did situation.’ So, I really can’t speak to that.’’

When asked why the Angels didn’t have more success with him playing alongside Mike Trout, particularly with him also pitching and winning two MVP awards, he blamed himself as much as anyone, citing injuries. He pitched in only two games over two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, and missed 55 games the last two seasons.

“There were seasons where we played well as a team,’ Ohtani said, “but there were also seasons where I didn’t really play at all. And if I did in those situations, maybe the results would have been different.’

While the Angels will be sitting home for the 10th consecutive year without a playoff berth, the Dodgers now are on the brink of their 12th NL West title in 13 years, winning three of four games in the series against the Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers (83-55) have a six-game lead over the D-backs (77-61) in the NL West with just 24 games remaining, but with their victory Monday, they also captured the season series and tiebreaker advantage, essentially giving them a seven-game advantage.

The San Diego Padres (79-61) are still five games out in the NL West, but this race is close to being officially over, with Ohtani about to experience the playoffs for the first time in his MLB career.

“Personally, it’s my first time being able to experience this spot in the standings,’ Ohtani said, “and being able to play against other division rivals who are trying to take the spot as well. So, personally, yes, it’s very exciting.’’

The Dodgers, winners of 17 of the last 23 games, capturing five consecutive series, are rolling these days with no signs of stopping, putting on an offensive clinic in the four-game series against the Diamondbacks. They hit .338 and scored 32 runs, along with eight home runs, including seven by Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

The Dodgers and D-backs threw haymakers and bludgeoned one another all weekend, scoring a combined 67 runs in front of 186,000 spectators, but when the series ended, it was the Dodgers who were standing.

“Obviously, you can see the urgency with both clubs, how they play,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “and for us to win three games, and up six games against these guys, we took care of business. …

“You look at the last few weeks, we’ve had a lot of talented teams that are playing for potential postseason spots, a lot of really good pitching, teams managing against us like it’s the postseason, and we responded.

“The big players, the big stars, performed.’’

Freeman had a monster series, hitting .600 with four homers and 10 RBI.

Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez had a five-hit game Monday.

Right fielder Mookie Betts homered with three RBI.

Starter Jack Flaherty, who could be the Dodgers’ ace in the postseason, gave up one run and struck out seven.

But Roberts still is antsy about his rotation. He has no idea whether three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw will pitch again this season or when Tyler Glasnow or Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return. He said before the game that he felt more confident about last year’s rotation entering the playoffs than the current state of this one.

Still, ready or not, here come the Dodgers.

“I’m in playoff mode, and I know our guys are too,’ Roberts said. ‘It’s going to be a long playoff season for us.’’

Why, after being swept out of the Division Series by the Diamondbacks a year ago, and knocked out by the Padres two years ago, maybe Ohtani will make the difference.

He spent his life waiting for a chance to be on baseball’s biggest stage. And in four weeks, it finally will arrive, with a pitstop at his old stomping grounds.

“It’s going to be somewhat emotional for him,’’ Roberts said. “But emotions are relative to the person, and I think he’s going to be just fine going back there and still helping us win a ballgame.

“I mean, there’s nothing that he hasn’t had to deal with that he hasn’t passed with flying colors.’

The spotlight will certainly be on Ohtani. His 44 home runs and 46 stolen bases in the same season has never been accomplished, stealing 25 bases without being caught.

“I love his aggressive mindset,’’ Roberts said. “Those stolen bases are creating situational opportunities. … He’s just a team player. He wants to win.’’

And, yes, he’d love have that magical 50-50 season on his resume entering the postseason, too.

“He’s on a mission,’’ Roberts said, “and 50-50 seems very likely.’’

Yep, so does another NL West title for the Dodgers.

Who knows, perhaps there will be another first-round matchup against the Diamondbacks, who the Dodgers privately believe might be the most dangerous team standing in their way of a World Series berth.

So, do the Dodgers now have at least a psychological edge if they play the D-backs again in the playoffs?

“I’d love to say yes,’’ Roberts said, “but it didn’t work out last year.’’

October lurks, only this time, it will include Ohtani.

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Amid a chorus of boos and groans, Florida State football walked away from its home opener against Boston College with a loss, dropping to 0-2 for the first time since 2021.

Boston College won 28-13 as quarterback Thomas Castellanos and the Boston College offense dominated against another lackluster performance from the Florida State defense.

The loss snapped a nine-game home winning streak for the Seminoles.

FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled to get going and had fans calling for his benching with ‘We want Brock’ chants filling the air at Doak Campbell Stadium on more than one occasion Monday night.

Uiagalelei went 21-for-42, throwing one touchdown and an interception. Castellanos went 10-for-16, throwing two touchdowns and he added 85 rushing yards on 19 carries, scoring one touchdown.

Boston College scored twice in the second quarter, with Castellanos running for one and throwing for another. The first scoring drive came after a 14-play, 71-yard drive that took 9:18 off the clock. BC outgained FSU 172 yards to 8 yards at one point in the first half.

A late push for a comeback came when Uiagalelei found wide receiver Kentron Poitier for a score to cut the deficit to 21-13. But, the defense’s inability to get a stop allowed Boston College to score on a short rush from running back Kye Robichaux, making it 28-13, which was the final score.

Here are three takeaways from FSU football’s 28-13 loss to Boston College.

Rudderless FSU offense, DJ Uiagalelei can’t crack Boston College’s defense

Following an uninspiring offensive performance against Georgia Tech in Week 0, FSU’s offense hoped for a response against Boston College.

What they got instead was a rudderless display as the Seminoles failed to create explosive plays for much of the game.

Uiagalelei struggled as he missed throws and failed to find receivers consistently. The times when he did find his man it was dropped too often, which ended with a 21-for-42 display.

Toward the end of the first half, the Seminoles went on a 13-play, 70-yard drive, getting the ball to the four-yard line and on the doorstep of the endzone. Following three straight incompletions, one deflected and two overthrown, FSU instead settled for a field goal to end the first half without a touchdown.

The drive and inability to find the endzone summed up the offense’s performance against Boston College.

In the second half, it wasn’t much better. The first drive ended in an interception thrown by Uiagalelei on a fourth-down attempt by FSU on its own 45.

Poitiers touchdown drive started poorly, with a trick play on third down getting the Seminoles a sliver of momentum. The wide receiver then caught a ball, breaking three tackles from Eagles defenders and getting into the endzone.

It was the only score of the second half for FSU.

Lackluster Seminoles defense struggles to contain the run

Coming into the Boston College game, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller knew his team needed to defend the run better.

While that fact was known, the Seminoles failed to make Fuller’s desire to defend the run better a reality. The Eagles rushed for 263 yards, scoring two times on the ground with former FSU player Treshaun Ward a thorn in the side of the defense.

Ward recorded 77 yards rushing on 12 carries while also adding 61 receiving yards on three receptions for one touchdown.

When Boston College did go to the air, they still had success, recording 106 yards receiving and blowing open coverages on multiple occasions throughout the game.

There was a stretch in the first half where Ward ran the same route on three separate third down plays, he was wide open each time. A dropped pass on the first route and a no-throw from Castellanos on the second were the warning signs a big play could happen.

That big play moment did happen. A 42-yard third-down catch and run from Ward set the Eagles up for a touchdown four plays later.

The Eagles averaged 5.4 yards per play, with 10.6 yards per reception and 5.1 yards per carry.

FSU’s inability to stop a run allowed the Eagles to do whatever it wanted, similar to how Georgia Tech controlled the game against the Seminoles in week zero.

It is the second straight game where poor tackling, missed assignments and slow reaction plagued the Seminoles’ defense as it couldn’t keep up with its opponent’s ground game.

Ineffective game plan, inability to change cost the Seminoles

A run-heavy offense struggled to find gaps and create scoring opportunities for the Seminoles in week zero against Georgia Tech, and in week one, a pass-first approach resulted in an angry Doak Campbell Stadium.

Uiagalelei struggled to find his receivers to start the game, with the Seminoles throwing the ball 21 times in the first half while only running the ball six times. At times, the fans were booing and chanting ‘We want Brock’ before the ball was even snapped, and those calls got even louder when the play resulted in an incompletion.

While the pass-first approach seemingly wasn’t working as Boston College was prepared for it with heavy coverage packages, Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell continued to let Uiagalelei throw the football. FSU finished the game with just Xx rushing attempts, with a handful of those coming on Uiagalelei scrambles as the offensive line offered him little protection.

It was a stark contrast to the Georgia Tech game where Norvell continued to push running the football. The lack of changes to the game plan allowed Boston College to predict the Seminoles’ play on more than one occasion.

Defensively, the Seminoles struggled with tackling and setting the edge, despite making it a focus during game preparation. There were too many moments when defenders were caught flat-footed and unable to stop a rumbling Boston College running back.

The game plan remained the same for all four quarters, and the 28-13 loss was the result.

Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.

Florida football coach Billy Napier began his press conference by again taking accountability for UF’s 41-17 season-opening loss to Miami at The Swamp.

‘Our fans showed up and did a great job,’ Napier said. ‘We need to do our part so that they could have been more of a factor in the game. Certainly, we contributed to that.’

The loss was the sixth straight for the Florida Gators dating back to the 2023 season and dropped Napier to 11-15 in year three as Florida’s coach. It brought an onslaught of criticism on social media throughout the weekend. Napier said while the criticism is justified, the focus for Florida players and coaches needs to return to the field.

‘We got to go to work on the football part,’ Napier said. ‘I think we got to become a more consistent team and we have to execute better. If we can focus on those things and not necessarily what some guy in his basement is saying in rural central Florida on social media, then we got a chance to get better, right? I think that’s the key.

‘Sometimes you deserve criticism. I think that’s one of those things I would say I have no excuses, right? We got to go get it fixed.’

Florida entered the matchup against Miami with 14 returning starters and Napier stressed during the offseason that ‘all systems were in place’ for Florida to enjoy future success. Florida was outgained 529-261 in yardage against the Hurricanes and trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.

‘The reality here is that execution wins,’ Napier said. ‘We did not do enough to be competitive in the game. We got to go do it when it counts. That’s reality.’

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NFL teams have worked all preseason to hit their stride in time for the kickoff of Week 1.

They’ll all be looking to dethrone the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who once again look like they’ll be among the NFL’s elite. However, there are still far too many unknowns before we can even think about what the playoff picture might look like. (Then again, that won’t stop us from trying to predict how the 2024 season will unfold anyway.)

One of the greatest variables this season will be injuries, and not all of the NFL’s 32 teams will go into their season-openers 100% healthy.

Here’s a look at some of the most notable Week 1 injury concerns:

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey tweaked his calf during camp in early August and didn’t play in any of the Niners’ preseason games. However, he’s been practicing on a regular basis and should be good to go on Monday night vs. the Jets.

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QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Herbert was diagnosed with a plantar fascia injury in his foot in late July and was in a walking boot for two weeks. He has gradually been ramping up his activity and should be fine to start Sunday, despite his questionable designation.

TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Andrews was involved in a car accident Aug. 14, but the Ravens said he was not injured. Still, he did not participate in practices for two weeks before returning to action last Friday. That will give him a full week of on-field work before Baltimore’s opener against Kansas City on Thursday.

WR Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

‘Hollywood’ sustained an injury to his shoulder area Aug. 10 and coach Andy Reid said he doesn’t expect Brown to be available for the opener Thursday. The Chiefs chose not to put him on injured reserve to start the season, an indication they expect him back by Week 4. In the meantime, Kansas City did sign veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster for depth.

WR Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers placed Pearsall on the reserve/NFI list — meaning he will miss at least the first four games of the regular season — as the rookie recovers from a gunshot wound to his chest.

Pearsall already had been dealing with a shoulder injury that had limited his participation in training camp.

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