The Florida Gators improved to 5-2 (3-1 SEC) after defeating South Carolina (2-4, 0-3 SEC) 41-39 behind 423 passing yards from QB Graham Mertz. The Orange and Blue picked up a much-needed road victory as they enter their bye week ahead of their week nine matchup with Georgia.
Gator Country provides you with five early takeaways from Florida’s week seven victory over the Gamecocks.
RESILENCY
The Florida Gators trailed by ten points with nine minutes and 11 seconds left in the game before completing a miraculous comeback against the Gamecocks. Billy Napier’s Gators hadn’t showed they were capable of taking a gut punch on the road in 2023, but they proved me wrong in week seven. After a slow start in the second half, the Gators’ offense found two touchdowns on their final two possessions to seal a 41-39 victory. Florida’s defense was abused for the majority of the game but came up with two huge stops on South Carolina’s final two possessions, including forcing the only turnover of the game on SC’s final offensive play. Florida’s entire team came together when they were needed most, which is something this Gators team should be proud of. Learning how to win on the road is a major step in the right direction for this program.
GRAHAM MERTZ = TOUGH AS NAILS
Florida’s QB Graham Mertz took multiple shots from South Carolina’s defense, many of which left him slow to get up. This didn’t stop Mertz from throwing for 423 yards and three touchdowns in the contest while tossing the game sealing TD to Ricky Pearsall with 47 seconds left. Mertz was sacked four times and was under constant pressure for the majority of the game.
DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES
An obvious takeaway from this game was Florida’s defensive struggles, who allowed 465 yards of offense and 39 points to a South Carolina offense that has been inconsistent at best this season.
Florida failed to create much pressure in the first half, despite bringing six pass rushers on a number of occasions. This made it very difficult for the Gators’ secondary, who had their worst game to date. The Gators didn’t force an incompletion until late in the second Q and got beat on single man coverage many times. WR Xaiver Legette was a problem for DB Jalen Kimber, who failed to locate the ball in the air against the big-bodied receiver on multiple occasions.
Florida struggled to wrap up and finish tackles on Saturday night, which has been a reoccurring problem since the Gators’ week three matchup against Tennessee.
Gator Nation had hoped Florida’s defensive performance against Kentucky was an outlier, but it appears that Austin Armstrong has a lot of work to do as Florida enters their bye week.
PASS CATCHING WEAPONS
A major concern entering the season was whether Florida would have an established pass catcher to work alongside veteran WR Ricky Pearsall in 2023. Well, the Gators have a variety of go to weapons, including freshmen WR Eugene Wilson and TE Arlis Boardingham.
Wilson continues to show us why he got all the buzz in fall camp, catching six passes for 83 yards while adding three rushes for 12 yards on the ground. Wilson has the potential to make a big play every time he gets the football, so I’m looking for him to get close to ten touches in every game.
Boardingham built off his career game against Vanderbilt in week six, totaling five receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown including a long of 24 yards against South Carolina. Boardingham is the receiving threat Florida has been missing since Kyle Pitts. The California native is a mismatch for opposing defenses and is only going to get better from here.
Ricky Pearsall continues to make a name for himself in 2023, recording 10 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown in week seven. Mertz has a lot of trust in the senior receiver, and that is evident on the gridiron.
TREY SMACK
Trey Smack connected on four of his five field goal attempts in the contest, with his only miss being a blocked field goal from 48 yards away. Smack made three field goals from over 44 yards, including a long of 54 yards in a contest. Smack not only made every kick that wasn’t blocked, but they had enough leg to be good from 10+ yards.
Without Smack’s efforts, the Gators don’t win this contest. In a perfect world you wouldn’t need your kicker to make four field goals, but this is college football in the SEC and having a trustworthy kicker can be the difference.
The sophomore kicker has settled into his role as the teams starting kicker after Adam Mihalek started the first three weeks of the 2023 season.