Why Graham Mertz's game-winning TD was a 'big weight' off his shoulders
COLUMBIA, S.C. — After delivering the game-winning touchdown pass Saturday, Florida quarterback Graham Mertz needed a moment to gather himself.
South Carolina EDGE Jordan Strachan hit him late and was flagged for roughing the passer. Mertz took a shot on the play, but it didn’t keep him down long.
The redshirt junior got up and started jumping up and down as he reached the sideline, taking off his helmet and celebrating with teammates and coaches.
“A lot of emotion,” Mertz said after the game when asked how he felt in that moment. “I had a very similar situation (in the past).”
His 21-yard TD pass to senior receiver Ricky Pearsall had shades of ‘Doering’s got a touchdown!’ from 1993, which the Florida Football showcased on social media Monday.
But for Mertz, the game-winning score at South Carolina reminded him of a play from his Wisconsin career. The end result, however, was not the same as Saturday.
For the 2021 season opener, the No. 12 Badgers hosted No. 19 Penn State in a top-25 matchup. Wisconsin was trailing 16-10 in the final minute but had the ball.
On first-and-10 from the Penn State 25, Mertz dropped back to pass and had Badgers receiver Chimere Dike open in the end zone for a potential game-winning touchdown.
“Lower score — Penn State 2021 at home in Wisconsin. And I threw that ball about five yards over my receiver’s head,” Mertz said.
Mertz was flagged for intentional grounding on the next play and then threw an interception on third-and-long, sealing the win for the Nittany Lions.
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His missed TD throw to Dike and the sequence that followed had haunted Mertz for the past two years. He’ll no longer carry that burden after Saturday.
Mertz celebrated the score a little more than most. That one was personal.
“It’s a big weight off my shoulders,” he said. “A lot of emotion that came out of that at that point.”
Mertz breaks down his game-winning touchdown
Down by 10 points at South Carolina with just over nine minutes left, Mertz orchestrated back-to-back touchdown drives to rally the Gators in the fourth quarter.
On the game-winning series, he completed a 26-yard pass to Pearsall on fourth-and-10 and then freshman WR Eugene Wilson III made a 22-yard catch on a tip drill.
That set up the go-ahead score from Mertz, who pump faked to bait the safety before throwing a perfect pass to Pearsall. He finished with a career-high 423 yards and 3 TDs.
Mertz broke down his last touchdown play after the game.
“Cover one. We had a double in the field. I knew Ricky had a win route,” Mertz said. “I saw cover one earlier in the game. You turn on the tape, we had a play with Aidan [Mizell] running the vertical. Kind of very similar play (on Pearsall’s touchdown) and the safety overplayed it.
“So, we talked about on the sideline if we get that again. We didn’t know we were gonna call it there. But we rep that play a million times. Man coverage. I know this guy. I know what he’s thinking. We saw the same thing. And he made a great play. And he’s the best route runner I’ve ever seen.”
