Urban Meyer has slammed Florida State’s football program, accusing them of “quitting” during a season that can only be described as a catastrophic downturn.

The Seminoles, who are at the bottom of the ACC with a dismal 1-9 record, have fallen from grace after a perfect 13-0 run last year was cut short by an injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis. Since Travis’ ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, FSU’s fortunes have plummeted, missing out on the College Football Playoff and suffering a humiliating 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, with key players sitting out.

Despite starting this season with high hopes, ranked No. 10 in the AP preseason poll, Mike Norvell’s squad has been in freefall, losing six consecutive games. Meyer, who led FSU’s archrival, Florida, to national titles in 2007 and 2009, contrasted FSU’s performance with that of the 5-5 Gators under Billy Napier, praising their continued effort despite challenges.

“I’m going to tell you something, I’m a fan of coach Napier, and here’s why,” Meyer told ‘The Triple Option’ podcast. “I don’t know him, I met him once or twice.

“They’ve been obviously really struggling, but the one thing they have not done like the team in Tallahassee is quit. They have continued to fight.”

Florida might not boast the championship pedigree it once did, now lingering in the lower echelons of the SEC, but they recently snatched a compelling victory, trumping LSU 27-16 on their home turf. The Gators play host to No. 9 Ole Miss come Saturday, and Meyer is hinting at a possible upset.

Meyer has hailed the job being done by Billy Napier

Meyer has hailed the job being done by Billy Napier ( 

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Getty Images)

“I hear comments made by their excellent quarterback DJ Lagway,” Meyer said. “I see things, I hear things obviously and I still know a lot of people down there. The Swamp was electric. I think Ole Miss is walking into a hornet’s nest here.

“I think a team when you break the rock like that [against LSU] and you win a big game, which everybody’s been waiting for them to do, the one thing about Gainesville, Florida, now is you find a way to start winning, that place is a monster. I think [it’s] the best home field; when they’re hot. When they’re not, it’s average like a lot of places.

“But when that place is cooking, and they’ll be cooking for Lane Kiffin and them, I don’t know if they’re good enough to beat Ole Miss, but I’m going to take Florida and the points. It started at 9.5, I believe it’s at 10 [now]. I’m not sure, Vegas might know something. But I call for this to be a one-score game.”