Facing a 4th-and-11, Florida redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz’s check-down receiver wasn’t his first option. Mertz was swarmed by Gamecock defenders and seemingly made a desperation throw by trusting his freshman tight end to reach the first down marker while trailing 37-27 with 7:14 remaining.
Despite the circumstances, Mertz didn’t hesitate when he saw Arlis Boardingham hovering along the right side of the line of scrimmage.
Boardingham made it past two swarming Gamecock defenders and earned the first down. Seven plays later, the redshirt freshman tipped a pass to himself along the goal line and walked in for a touchdown, closing the first of two fourth-quarter touchdown drives in the final five minutes of play.
A strike to senior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with 47 ticks left in the game sealed Florida’s comeback victory.
The Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) came back down 10 and defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4, 1-3 SEC) 41-39 Oct. 14 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. UF won its first road game of the season.
“What a way to win a football game,” said Florida head coach Billy Napier. “We needed every play all the way down to the end to win it.”
Mertz, who transferred to Florida Dec. 19 after four seasons at Wisconsin, had arguably the most impressive performance of his career. The junior was 30-for-48 and threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns.
“I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life — I’m not really consumed by the stats,” Mertz said. “Stats are good, but it's not my main focus. I just want to help this team win.”
The Wisconsin transfer proved to be an efficient quarterback option for the Gators through six games. However, questions remained if he would be able to lead the offense when it called his name — particularly on deep throws.
Despite completing 80% of his passes, Mertz has failed to hit his receivers on deep, longer routes. It was crucial for the Gators to dial up the deep ball against a South Carolina defense that ranked among one of the worst teams in the Southeastern Conference in passing defense and points allowed per game. And, that’s exactly what Mertz did.
Mertz completed six of nine passes 10-20 yards past the line of scrimmage for 102 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. Against the blitz, he was even more effective and threw two touchdowns on a 56% conversion rate.
The middle of the field also became a focal point for the Gators’ offense. South Carolina’s defense tends to lean toward covering outside zones, which opened up Mertz to go 13-20 for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the middle zones.
“I just thought he was fantastic,” Napier said. “I know how much the guy's worked all the way going back to the beginning of the process. This is a young man that came here on a mission and had a plan, and he's worked.”
Pearsall — who finished the game as Mertz’s leading target with 10 receptions for 166 yards and the go-ahead touchdown — added to his coach’s sentiment when he was asked about his career performance.
“I just want to thank God,” Pearsall said moments before he looked over and directed credit toward Mertz. “And again, with this guy right here.”
Florida’s receivers helped take much of the leeway off Mertz on his career night.
In addition to Pearsall’s performance, freshman receiver Eugene “Tre” Wilson III caught six passes for 83 yards. He made a miraculous grab on the final drive of the game off a pass intended for Pearsall, which tipped off his hands and landed into Wilson’s arms in stride.
“I owe a bunch of credit to Tre there just making a huge play,” Mertz said.
Sophomore receiver Kahleil Jackson caught two passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, and Boardingham recorded his second consecutive game with a touchdown catch. He has 154 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his last two games.
“We're getting some play from some receivers and, ultimately, we're capable,” Napier said.
Florida’s first half of the season has come to a close, and the Gators are scheduled to have next week off.
“As far as guys’ bodies, everybody’s banged up,” Mertz said. “So it’ll be good to get your body back.”
The Gators’ next matchup will be against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at TIAA Bank Stadium.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
