COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Gators trailed by three points against South Carolina and needed to drive 75 yards down the field to win the game with no timeouts left.
Redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz faced a 4th-and-10. He evaded a defender to find senior receiver Ricky Pearsall for a first down. Mertz’s heroics were far from over, though.
Mertz found Pearsall in Gamecocks territory, but the pass was dropped. However, luck was on UF’s side as freshman receiver Eugene Wilson III found himself in the right spot and caught the ball for a first down.
The Gamecocks then brought pressure, but Mertz stood tall. Facing a defender barreling down on him, he threw it up to Pearsall, who rose up against a defender and caught it for the game-winning touchdown to give UF its first road win of the season.
“I know this guy,” Mertz said about Pearsall. “We saw the same thing, and he made a great play. Greatest route runner I’ve ever seen.”
The Florida Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4, 1-3 SEC) 41--39 Saturday afternoon in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gators totaled 494 total yards in the game.
“We came here today to prove something,” said UF head coach Billy Napier. “What a way to win a football game.”
Mertz finished the game with 423 passing yards and three touchdown passes and went 30-for-48. This is a new career high for passing yards in a game for the Wisconsin transfer.
“He’s at the center of today for sure, very impressed with him as a person and a leader,” Napier said about Mertz. “I just thought he was fantastic. Never flinched”
The Gators moved down the field with no issue on the first drive of the game. Junior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. took it up the gut for 11 yards on the first play.
Redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz found redshirt freshman Arlis Boardingham down the field for 24 yards to quickly get UF in Gamecock territory. Two Mertz completions later got UF to 1st-and-Goal.
Sophomore running back Trevor Etienne barrelled it up the middle for a three-yard rushing touchdown to give UF an early 7-0 lead — a drive Napier noted the team needed earlier in the week.
The Gamecocks quickly answered Florida’s score on the very next drive. UF initially forced a three-and-out, but a pass interference call on UF redshirt junior Jalen Kimber extended the drive.
South Carolina running back Mario Anderson gashed the Gators for a 30-yard rush to get into UF territory. The Gamecocks continued to drive the ball down the field and made it 1st-and-Goal.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler capped off the drive by finding tight end Trey Knox wide open in the back of the end zone for the tying touchdown.
The Gators moved the ball down the field again after Mertz found redshirt freshman Hayden Hansen in the middle of the field for 16 yards to get to midfield. The Gamecocks committed back-to-back penalties to get UF past midfield.
Florida failed to convert a 3rd-and-3 after Mertz's pass to Johnson was dropped, and the Gators settled for a 48-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Trey Smack to make it 10-7.
The Gamecocks responded to UF’s score in just four plays. Rattler aired it out to wide receiver Nyck Harbor who separated himself from Kimber for a 55-yard catch.
Running back Juju McDowell later took it up the middle nearly untouched for a 17-yard touchdown to give South Carolina a 14-10 lead late in the first quarter.
The Gators moved down the field, but a holding penalty that made it 3rd-and-20 at the Gamecocks’ 40-yard line stifled Florida’s drive. Mertz found Pearsall open in the middle of the field, but he was short of the first down.
Smack nailed a 44-yard field goal to make it 14-13.
The Gators stifled the offensive affair and forced the first punt of the game. The snap flew past Rattler on third down, and he rushed back to fall on it, which forced a 4th-and-19.
Florida took just five plays to drive 82 yards and retake the lead. Etienne exploded down the sideline for 28-yards. Mertz aired it out and found redshirt sophomore receiver Kahleil Jackson who dove out and made a grab for a 45-yard pass.
Mertz then found Jackson again streaking to the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. The Gators went for a 2-point conversion after the initial extra point attempt drew an offside call. Etienne lined up in the wildcat and rolled out to find a wide-open Hansen to put UF up 21-14.
Rattler responded with a strike to wide receiver Xavier Legette who sprinted down the sideline for 41 yards. A few players later, he found Anderson on a screen pass, who took it down the sideline and hurdled a UF defender en route to the endzone to tie it 21-21.
The Gators finally got home against Rattler late in the first half as junior edge rusher Princely Umanmielen took him down for a sack to force a punt.
Mertz pushed Florida down the field, and the Gators managed a field goal just before halftime to go up 24-21 at the break.
The Gamecocks tied it at 24 apiece to open the second half. Rattler stood tall in the pocket and found Legette for 46 yards as he was drilled by a UF defender. The Florida defense stood tall, though, and forced a field goal after Rattler got sacked on 3rd-and-goal.
The Gators looked to Smack again to retake the lead. After failing to convert a third-and-long, Smack came onto the field and drilled a 54-yard field goal — matching his career high — to put UF up 27-24.
Rattler once again answered the Gators' score late in the third quarter. He rushed for 26 yards to get them past midfield. On a third down, he found Knox for 26 yards and a 1st-and-Goal to end the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Rattler rolled out and found McDowell for his third passing touchdown of the game to put the Gamecocks up 31-27.
The Gators looked to answer South Carolina’s touchdown with a score of their own. UF faced a 3rd-and-5 past midfield, but the Gamecocks defense swarmed Mertz and sacked him.
Smack’s fourth field goal attempt got blocked, keeping Florida down by four. The Gamecocks capitalized on their defensive play as Rattler found tight end Joshua Simon for a 33-yard touchdown — Rattler’s fourth of the day.
After South Carolina’s touchdown, Pearsall saw fans Gator chomping, he said, and used it to fire the team up as his mentality stayed set on winning the game
“We’re going to go down there and win it,” he said. “ I said, ‘Okay guys look in the stands right now they’re Gator chomping. Take that as disrespect.’”
With their backs against the wall, Florida drove down the field and got a much-needed touchdown. Florida faced a 4th-and-11 at midfield. Mertz found his check down, Boardingham, who worked up field for a first down.
He then flipped it to Etienne on a run to convert another crucial third down.
Mertz rolled out on 2nd-and-Goal and found Boardingham on a pass. The tight end juggled the ball but caught it for the touchdown to make it 37-34 South Carolina with four minutes left in the game.
The Gators' defense came up big to give their offense one more chance to win the game. After a roughing the passer call, UF stood tall on two straight Gamecock rush attempts for no gain.
Florida pressured Rattler, who dumped it to Legette for two yards, and the Gamecocks punted it with 2:50 left in the game.
The Gators faced a fourth down after three straight Mertz’s incompletions. On fourth down, Mertz evaded pressure and found Pearsall at midfield for a first down.
Luck was on UF’s side later as Mertz’s pass was dropped by Pearsall, but freshman receiver Eugene Wilson swooped in and caught it for a first down.
Mertz capped off his heroic play with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Pearsall. The senior receiver rose up over a defender and caught the touchdown to put UF up 41-37 with 0:47 left in the game.
“We’ve been through a lot of adversity,” Mertz said. “Deep down, it was just make the next play, lead the guys, how do you keep everybody engaged.”
Napier was proud of his team’s ability to stay composed and not just stay on schedule but be ahead of schedule when UF needed to score, he added.
“That’s the thing that's impressive,” Napier said. “We didn't do it just once, we did it twice.”
Pearsall finished the game with 10 receptions for 166 yards and one touchdown. The senior receiver emphasized how important it was to push the ball downfield through the air.
“It felt really good,” Pearsall said. “I think we needed that. It's gonna bring confidence to the [wide receiver] room.”
The Gamecocks tried to answer in the final moments, but Rattler faced pressure and lobbed up a pass hoping a Gamecocks receiver would bring it down. However, UF freshman safety Miguel Mitchell jumped out and intercepted the ball.
Florida opted for an intentional safety to avoid any chance of a late return touchdown and secured the victory.
The Gators will head into their bye week before taking on rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs, at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28.
Contact Jackson Reyes at jacksonreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @JacksnReyes.
Jackson Reyes is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2023 Sports Editor. He previously served as Digital Managing Editor and was a reporter and assistant editor on the sports desk. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, long walks on the beach and watching Bo Nix.
