Billy Napier on the game-winning drive from Graham Mertz: 'Kid's got grit'

Florida used some late-game heroics from quarterback Graham Mertz to overcome South Carolina on Saturday on the road. With the Gators down by a field goal, Mertz led them 75 yards down the field to throw the game-winning touchdown to Ricky Pearsall in an eventual 41-39 victory.

Mertz came up big a number of times down the stretch, including completing fourth-and-10 on that same drive. That allowed him to later hit Pearsall over the middle, finding the receiver near the back of the end zone for the go-ahead grab.

It was an impressive clutch display for the Gators QB, who earned some praise of coach Billy Napier in a postgame interview with SEC Network.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of Graham Mertz,” Napier said. “The amount of work to start 32 games at Wisconsin. To show up at Florida to start over. The work ethic applying all the things he learned at Wisconsin. The leadership he’s shown. What a competitor.

“Are you kidding me? That was incredible. Kid’s got grit, man. He’s fun to coach. You show up every day excited to be around the guy. He’s what the University of Florida football should be.”

Mertz finished the day 30-of-48 passing for 423 yards and three touchdowns, two of which came during the fourth quarter. The Gators at one point found themselves trailing the Gamecocks 37-27, but Mertz answered an earlier South Carolina touchdown with a connection with Arlis Boardingham to cut the deficit to three prior to his game-winning drive.

Pearsall finished the game as his top receiver with 10 catches for 166 yards and the game-winning score.

Florida’s defense also came up with a big stop after the touchdown from Mertz. The Gators intercepted Spencer Rattler on the ensuing drive to take over possession of the ball. They later took a safety, but it ultimately didn’t matter as they hung on for the victory.

“This group of players is special,” Napier said. “We had our best week of practice. We’re going up. There’s a lot of young players out there making plays. We played together. They never gave up on each other throughout the entire game. I’m proud of our staff.

“We’ve been through a lot to go on the road and win a game like this. The intangibles of this team, the character of this team. We’ve got good people. We’re building something. Better days are ahead. It’s always good to go and open the day with a win like that.”

With the win, Florida improved to 3-1 in SEC play and now heads into a bye week before getting No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 28.