Road Warriors! Florida Gators beat South Carolina Gamecocks 41-39 with late rally

Twice the Florida Gators had played away from home this season. And twice, they’d been beaten up pretty badly.

But Saturday, the Gators solved their road woes in South Carolina thanks to an epic rally.

Final score: Florida 41, South Carolina 39.

The Gators improve to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are 2-4, 1-3.

For Florida, it’s a significant win because the schedule only gets more difficult ahead.

South Carolina led 37-27 with 9:11 left before Florida, behind by quarterback Graham Mertz (30 of 48, 423, 3 touchdowns) sparked the comeback. On the Gators’ go-ahead drive, Mertz completed a 26-yard pass on fourth down to Ricky Pearsall to keep Florida’s hopes alive. He later connected with Pearsall for the go-ahead touchdown, which covered 21 yards, with 47 seconds left.

A late interception helped seal the win.

You can read our recap below. …

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FOURTH QUARTER

-Florida just gave up a safety to help run out the clock (41-39, 0:03, 4Q)

-Gators defensive back Miguel Mitchel has intercepted South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler with 20 seconds left.

-Fllorida has gone ahead with 47 seconds left after an amazing drive that included a 4th-and-10 conversion. The Gators scored on a Graham Mertz pass completion to Ricky Pearsall for 21 yards. They earlier connected for 26 yards on fourth down to keep the drive alive. (41-37, 0:47, 4Q)

-Florida stays alive with a couple fourth-down conversions on a long touchdowns drive. Graham Mertz hit Arlis Boardingham for a 4-yard strike to cut into the Gamecocks lead. That drive covered 75 yards on 14 plays. It’s not over yet. (34-37, 4:40, 4Q)

-The Gamecocks now have a 10-point lead after a touchdown pass from Spencer Rattler to Joshua Simon for 33 yards. That was a 65-yard drive. South Carolina now has 449 yards. (27-37, 9:11, 4Q)

-A promising Florida drive went south with a third-down sack. Then, the Gamecocks blocked Trey Smack’s field goal attempt. That’s his first miss of the season.

-South Carolina just completed a 72-yard, 10-play drive and now leads by four after a touchdown pass of 3 yards from Spencer Rattler to Juju McDowell. (27-31, 14:55, 4Q)

THIRD QUARTER

-Trey Smack just connected on his fourth field goal. This time, from 54 yards to cap a drive that had great promise before an intentional grounding call went against the Gators. (27-24, 7:24, 3Q)

-South Carolina opened the second half with a 66-yard drive to tie it up with field goal. The Gators did a nice job keeping the Gamecocks out of the end zone. (24-24, 10:26, 3Q)

SECOND QUARTER

-Florida once again is ahead after a 28-yard field goal from Trey Smack. This 45-yard drive came after the Gators defense got a big third-down stop. (24-21, 0:03, 2Q)

-The back and forth continues. South Carolina just went 75 yards on six plays and tied it up on a 20-yard completion from Spencer Rattler to Mario Anderson. The Gamecocks now have 224 yards. (21-21, 4:57, 2Q)

-The Gators went back in front with a long drive of 82 yards. The touchdown came on a Graham Mertz 7-yard pass to Kahleil Jackson. Two players earlier, the two connected on a 45-yard bomb. (21-14, 8:13, 2Q)

-The Florida defense caught a break when a poor snap rolled through Spencer Rattler’s legs on third-and-6.

-A holding penalty hurt a solid drive, but Florida scored to cut into the Gamecocks lead on a 44-yard  Trey Smack field goal. The series covered 49 yards. Graham Mertz is now 9 of 15 for 121 yards. (13-14, 13:39, 2Q)

FIRST QUARTER

-South Carolina just tore up the Florida defense (again), this time with a 75-yard scoring drive. The Gamecocks gashed the Gators up front the whole way down the field and also completed a long pass. (10-14, 2:02, 1Q)

-Florida now has two drives and two scores. The Gators took the lead back on a 48-yard Trey Smack field goal. The drive covered 45 yards in eight plays. The big play: A Graham Mertz pass complete to Hayden Hansen for 16 yards. (10-7, 4:08, 1Q)

-South Carolina quickly answered Florida’s long scoring drive with one of its own. Spencer Rattler hit Trey Knox for a 6-yard touchdown toss. The drive covered 75 yards on seven plays and was kept alive by a pass interference penalty. (7-7, 7:49, 1Q)

-The Gators started strong and drove 66 yards in nine plays on their opening drive to go ahead by a touchdown. The points came on a 3-yard run by Trevor Etienne. Graham Mertz was 3-of-3 passing for 44 yards; Montrell Johnson had 13 rushing yards on three carries. (7-0 FLORIDA)

Florida Gators vs. South Carolina Gamecocks 

• Date: Saturday, October 14
• Time: 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) Columbia, South Carolina
• Channel: SEC Network
• Radio: ESPN Gainesville – WRUF | The Varsity Network | SiriusXM 136 or 201 | SiriusXM App
• Mobile: ESPN App

On The Call
Play-by-Play: Taylor Zarzour
Analyst: Matt Stinchcomb
Reporter: Alyssa Lang