With no one left to blame, it seems like Billy Napier is going after the fans, or at least the imaginary internet version.

Two days after Florida lost 41-17 at home to Miami in its season-opener, Napier appeared to take the blame for his team’s performance. But he couldn’t resist getting in a shot at the cliché “guy in his mom’s basement” who might be criticizing his team unfairly despite not knowing anything about football.

“I think, ultimately, a loss early can be a blessing if you don’t waste it,” Napier said, via Awful Announcing. “…One thing I can say is that we have a group that’s working hard. I do think that we have character. We have to go to work on the football part. And I think we have 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.

“I think that’s the key, but sometimes you deserve criticism. And I think that’s one of those things I’d say I have no excuses. We gotta go get it fixed.”

Never mind the fact that few homes in Florida have basements, Napier is now 11-15 through two seasons and one game as head coach of the Gators. Florida has lost six games dating to last season, though a game on Saturday vs. FCS opponent Samford is a chance to snap that slide.

Florida is 2-10 vs. ranked teams under Napier, with one of those victories coming vs. No. 13 Utah in his first game as Gators head coach in 2022. Napier — an Alabama assistant under Nick Saban from 2013-16 — said he argued at the time that his team was not as good as it looked in that game, but also is not as bad as it appeared vs. Miami.

“It is probably one of the bigger challenges you have as a head coach in terms of turning the page,” Napier said. “How do you filter the results? How do you evaluate the game? Especially when it’s negative. And I would tell you one of the other bigger challenges when you do win, but maybe you were sloppy and didn’t play well; that’s another big challenge.

“They’re all happy-go-lucky, but the reality is, look, I can remember standing up here after we beat Utah in the first year, telling you guys, ‘Look, I know everybody thinks we’re gonna win the Super Bowl this year, but we have things that we have to clean up as a team.’”

After facing Samford, Florida closes out the first half of the 2023 schedule against Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Central Florida and Tennessee. After a home game with Kentucky Oct. 19 comes a killer November slate vs. Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State.

Napier would be owed a buyout of $26 million if he’s fired this season, which is a steep number after Florida paid Dan Mullen $12 million to go away in 2021. However, if the Gators collapse to 4-8 or worse in 2024, it’s hard to see Napier surviving for a fourth season.