Gators beat Charlotte 22-7, but it isn't pretty
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For a program in re-build mode, every victory is significant. So from the win-is-a-win perspective, Saturday’s 22-7 Florida Gators decision over Charlotte at The Swamp certainly was far better than the alternative.
But by no means was this a masterpiece.
Far from it.
After starting hot, the Gators got sloppy on both sides of the ball and the game was closer than many anticipated. After all, Florida was a 28-point favorite.
When the Gators lost a fumble on their first possession of the second half, Charlotte (1-3) had a chance to make things real interesting. But then, the Gators got a big stop and the 49ers missed a long field goal.
And the partisan home crowd, announced at 89,053, breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Florida never took complete control after that. But Charlotte never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, either.
With the victory, Florida (3-1, 1-0 in the SEC) has its first three-game winning streak since the 2020 season, when the Gators posted six-straight SEC victories from Oct. 31–Dec. 5. But while last week’s 29-16 win over No. 11 Tennessee in this same stadium was oh-so-satisfying, this was anything but.
Yet, it didn’t start that way. In fact, after the first 15 minutes Florida had massive edges in total yards (225-30) and first downs (13-1) in building a 10-0 lead. The route seemed to be on.
Then, the Gators offense went flat. And Charlotte produced a touchdown drive of 75 yards. By the half, it was 16-7.
For Florida, placekicker Trey Smack probably was the star. He made five field goals (36, 54, 23, 27, and 23 yards) on five attempts. Florida was mediocre at best in the red zone and needed him.
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Florida quarterback Graham Mertz entered Saturday’s game having completed 70 percent of his passes or better in all three game. He finished 18 of 21 for 225 yards and one touchdown while facing a good bit of pressure at times.
The Gators running game, which had success one week earlier vs. the Vols, was nothing special Saturday. Montrell Johnson led Florida with 63 yards on 15 carries. Al told, Florida rushed for 137 yards on 4.2 yards a carry.
To its credit, the Florida defense helped Charlotte to 163 yards.
Could the Gators have been caught looking ahead to next week’s game at Kentucky. Or … is this simply who they are — a flawed team that must play focused 60 minutes each week.
After four weeks, many questions remain.
But again … a win is a win is a win.
SOME NOTES FROM THE GAME ….
-The Gators have won 17 of their last 19 regular-season non-conference games since the start of the 2018 season.
-The was first-ever meeting between Florida and Charlotte. Florida is a combined 18-3 against Charlotte across five sports: football (1-0) baseball (2-0), men’s basketball (4-2), soccer (1-0), women’s basketball (8-1) and softball (17-3).
-Florida now is 358-113-13 all-time at The Swamp, holding the second-highest home winning percentage in the country since 1990 with a 177-34 record (83.8%).
![A touchdown is celebrated with fireworks in the first half at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 17, 2022. [Cyndi Chambers/Gainesville Sun] Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs Usf Bulls](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/08/27214921/Untitled-design-4-4.png)
