{"id":1908,"date":"2025-09-07T10:03:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T10:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/florida-spit-usf-costly-penalty\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T10:03:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T10:03:51","slug":"florida-spit-usf-costly-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/florida-spit-usf-costly-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida player spits on USF opponent in costly sequence"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Late in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 6, 2025 game in Gainesville, Florida, Florida defensive tackle Brendan Bett spat in the face of South Florida offensive lineman Cole Skinner after a rushing play; Bett was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, ejected, and the 15-yard penalty set up a 20-yard game-winning field goal by USF\u2019s Nico Gramatica as time expired, handing South Florida an 18-16 victory.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Brendan Bett (No. 90) spat at Cole Skinner late in the fourth quarter of Florida vs. South Florida on Sept. 6, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Referees assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected Bett; South Florida gained 15 free yards.<\/li>\n<li>The penalty quickly put USF into position; kicker Nico Gramatica converted a 20-yard field goal to win 18-16 with 1:54 left.<\/li>\n<li>Florida coach Billy Napier called the action &#8220;unacceptable,&#8221; saying it compromised the team.<\/li>\n<li>The incident came days after a separate high-profile spit-related altercation in the NFL involving Jalen Carter and Dak Prescott.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Verified Facts<\/h3>\n<p>The sequence occurred late in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 6 game between the University of Florida Gators and the University of South Florida Bulls in Gainesville. Video circulating on social platforms showed Bett rise after a South Florida rushing play and project saliva toward Bulls lineman Cole Skinner, who shoved Bett before officials intervened.<\/p>\n<p>Officials threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct on Bett and ejected him. The 15-yard penalty advanced South Florida into field-goal range. On the next series, USF completed a 29-yard pass that helped set up kicker Nico Gramatica\u2019s 20-yard game-winning kick. The final score was 18-16 in favor of South Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Florida head coach Billy Napier addressed the incident after the game, calling the act &#8220;unacceptable&#8221; and saying it put the team at risk, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times. The Gators did not immediately announce additional discipline beyond the in-game ejection.<\/p>\n<p>Social video of the confrontation circulated on X (formerly Twitter) and was shared by multiple sports accounts; those posts show the sequence that led to the penalty and the game\u2019s decisive possession. Photographs from earlier in the season show Bett wearing No. 90 for the Gators.<\/p>\n<h3>Context &amp; Impact<\/h3>\n<p>The spit-and-ejection sequence directly affected the game\u2019s closing minutes by granting South Florida free yardage and momentum; within one play USF moved into field-goal position and then kicked the winning score. For Florida, the incident cost field position and a key defender in the final moments.<\/p>\n<p>Timing and optics matter: the episode came three days after a widely publicized exchange between NFL players Jalen Carter and Dak Prescott that also involved alleged spitting. That earlier incident drew league attention and media scrutiny, increasing public sensitivity to similar actions at all levels of football.<\/p>\n<p>Disciplinary consequences at the collegiate level can include suspensions and team penalties beyond ejection, depending on school and conference review. The immediate competitive impact here was clear; any further team or NCAA action will depend on Florida\u2019s internal review and conference policies.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s unacceptable. When a guy does something like that, he&#8217;s compromising the team. He&#8217;s putting himself before the team.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><cite>Billy Napier, Florida head coach (postgame, per Tampa Bay Times)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<aside>\n<details>\n<summary>Explainer: Why spitting is penalized<\/summary>\n<p>Spitting on an opponent is treated as unsportsmanlike conduct because it is a deliberate act of disrespect and can provoke retaliation. In-game, the penalty typically carries 15 yards and may result in ejection under rules that give officials discretion for flagrant behavior. Schools and conferences may also impose further discipline after review.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/aside>\n<h3>Unconfirmed<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>No public statement has confirmed whether Florida will impose additional suspension or fines beyond the in-game ejection.<\/li>\n<li>There is no official report yet linking Bett\u2019s action to any prior incidents involving other players; any motive beyond the on-field confrontation is unverified.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Bottom Line<\/h3>\n<p>The spitting incident by Brendan Bett changed the outcome of the Sept. 6 game by producing a penalty that set up South Florida\u2019s game-winning field goal. The episode highlights how individual misconduct can have immediate competitive costs and broader reputational consequences for players and programs.<\/p>\n<h3>Sources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tampa Bay Times<\/a> (postgame comments)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FanDuel\">FanDuel\/X<\/a> (video posts of the on-field sequence)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apnews.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a> (game coverage and images)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC Sports<\/a> (coverage of related NFL incident)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pro Football Talk<\/a> (quotes regarding the NFL incident)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NFL Network<\/a> (reported NFL review of the earlier Carter\/Prescott exchange)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Late in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 6, 2025 game in Gainesville, Florida, Florida defensive tackle Brendan Bett spat in the face of South Florida offensive lineman Cole Skinner after a rushing play; Bett was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, ejected, and the 15-yard penalty set up a 20-yard game-winning field goal by USF\u2019s Nico &#8230; <a title=\"Florida player spits on USF opponent in costly sequence\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/florida-spit-usf-costly-penalty\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Florida player spits on USF opponent in costly sequence\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Florida player spits on USF opponent, costing Gators a win | SportsDesk","rank_math_description":"Florida DT Brendan Bett was ejected for spitting on USF lineman Cole Skinner on Sept. 6, 2025; the 15-yard penalty led to a game-winning 20-yard field goal as USF beat the Gators 18-16.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Brendan Bett,Cole Skinner,Florida vs USF,unsportsmanlike conduct,Nico Gramatica","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}