2023 Florida Football Postgame Notes
Florida 41, South Carolina 39
Williams-Brice Stadium – Columbia, South Carolina
THE OPENING DRIVE
● The Gators completed the first 10-point 4th quarter comeback since their 11-point comeback
against Kentucky on Sept. 24, 2019
● QB Graham Mertz set a career high with 423 Passing yards and tied season high in passing
touchdowns (3)
o This is the first 400-yard passing performance by a Gator QB since Anthony Richardson on
November 19, 2022 against
o This is the first 400-yard passing game by a Florida QB against South Carolina
● WR Ricky Pearsall eclipsed 2,000 career receiving yards, becoming the fifth current FBS player to
accomplish the feat.
● With tonight’s victory, the Gators improved to 31-10-3 (.739) in the all-time series vs. South Carolina
and 13-8-1 (.614) in Columbia.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
● The Gators completed the first 10-point 4th quarter comeback since their 11-point comeback
against Kentucky on Sept. 24, 2019
o This is the first 10-point 4th quarter comeback against South Carolina since Nov. 12, 2018
o This is the first 10-point 4th quarter comeback on the road since Sept.23,2017 at Kentucky
● This is the 28th time Florida has reached 300 passing yards in the team’s last 71 games and the sixth
time to accomplish the feat since 2022.
● The Gators eclipsed 400 yards for the tenth time since the start of 2022.
o Florida amassed 400-plus total yards for the 27th time in its last 43 games including 40 of the
last 62 contests.
● By totaling 29 more yards than South Carolina, the Gators have out-gained their opponents in 12 of
the last 20 games dating back to last season.
● Florida scored 30 points for the tenth time since 2022.
o The Gators scored 30-plus points for the 42nd time in their last 71 games, including scoring
30-plus in 29 of the team’s last 47 games.
● The Gators scored a touchdown on the opening drive for the second consecutive game.
● QB Graham Mertz set a career high with 423 Passing yards and tied season high in passing
touchdowns (3)
o This is the first 400-yard passing performance by a Gator QB since Anthony Richardson on
November 19, 2022 against Vanderbilt (400)
o This is the first 400-yard passing game by a Florida QB against South Carolina
● QB Graham Mertz has thrown a touchdown pass in 23 of his last 26 games.
● Johnson Jr. and Etienne have combined for at least one touchdown in 16 of 20 games together,
scoring 25 total TDs (rushing TDs in 15 of 20 games).
● WR Ricky Pearsall recorded a reception in his 35th-consecutive game, tied for the eighth-longest
streak in the FBS.
● WR Ricky Pearsall eclipsed 2,000 career receiving yards, becoming the fifth current FBS player to
accomplish the feat.
● WR Ricky Pearsall had 100-plus receiving yards for the fifth time in his career.
● TE Hayden Hansen set career highs in Receptions (2), Reception Yards (27), and Longest Reception
(16)
● WR Kahleil Jackson set a career high in receiving yards (52), including a career high 45 yard long,
and recorded his first career touchdown
● WR Eugene Wilson III caught a career long 30 yard reception
● WR Ricky Pearsall set his career high with 10 receptions, and set his career high with 166 receiving
yards.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
● The Gators recorded 2 sacks in tonight’s game.
o Since the start of 2021, Florida has out-sacked its opponents by a plus-20 margin.
o Florida’s 190 sacks since 2018 season ranks second in the SEC and tenth nationally – trailing
only Clemson (249), Pittsburgh (245), Alabama (232), Penn State (209), Miami (197),
Marshall (197), Ohio State (196), Oklahoma State (196) and Notre Dame (189).
● Since 1996, the Gators are sixth nationally in interceptions with 411 and lead the SEC with the next
closest team, Alabama, 12 picks behind.
● With 2 takeaways vs. South Carolina, Florida’s defense has now produced 104 turnovers since 2018,
which ranks fourth in the SEC and tied-for-40th in the FBS.
o The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 15 of 20 games in the Napier era.
● CB Aaron Gates made his collegiate debut
● EDGE Jack Pyburn recorded his first career TFL
● DL Tyreak Sapp tied his career high with one TFL (vs Tennessee, 9/16/23)
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
● K Trey Smack Tied career high with 54-yard field goal (vs Charlotte, 9/23/23)
● DL Tyreak Sapp returned his first career kick for 16 yards
Explosive Plays
● Arlis Boardingham: 24-yard reception, 1st quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr.: 11-yard rush, 1st quarter
● Hayden Hansen: 16-yard reception, 1st quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 23-yard reception, 1st quarter
● Trevor Etienne: 28-yard rush, 2nd quarter
● Kahleil Jackson: 45-yard reception, 2nd quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 26-yard reception, 2nd quarter
● Eugene Wilson III: 30-yard reception, 3rd quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr.: 20-yard rush, 4th quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr.: 10-yard rush, 4th quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 17-yard reception, 4th quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 19-yard reception, 4th quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 26-yard reception, 4th quarter
● Eugene Wilson III: 22-yard reception, 4th quarter
● Ricky Pearsall: 21-yard touchdown reception, 4th quarter
● Montrell Johnson Jr.: 11-yard rush, 4th quarter
Series Updates
● Tonight’s game represented the 44th all-time meeting between Florida and South Carolina including
the 22nd in Columbia.
● With tonight’s victory, the Gators improved to 31-10-3 (.739) in the all-time series vs. South Carolina
and 13-8-1 (.614) in Columbia.
● Florida has won 26 of the last 33 matchups versus the Gamecocks since 1964 and 11 of the last 16 in
Columbia dating back to 1993.
● HC Billy Napier improves to 2-0 against South Carolina HC Shane Beamer in their second meeting
as head coaches.
● The Rivalry saw it’s first 400-passing yard performance
THE STREAK
● Florida has scored in 443-consecutive games — which is an NCAA record and 54 games longer
than any other college football team in history.
o The Gators broke Michigan’s record of 365-consecutive games (1984-2014) against LSU on
Oct. 7, 2017.
o The last time Florida was shut out was on Oct. 29, 1988 vs. Auburn (L, 16-0).
GAME DETAILS
● Florida Game Captains: #23 Jaydon Hill, #94 Tyreak Sapp, #7 Trevor Etienne, and #66 Jake
Slaughter
● Coin Toss: South Carolina won the toss and deferred; Florida received and defended the North
end zone.
● Attendance: 79,247
2023 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Billy Napier, Florida Head Coach
Florida 41, South Carolina 39
October 14, 2023
Opening statement…
“We’ve got a group of kids. We’ve got a staff that goes about their business the right way. It’s a fun
group to coach. It’s fun to come to work every day. We’ve been through some battles. I think
sometimes, those though things that you go through in life, and the game of football, I think,
resembles life as much as anything. It prepares you for something that’s ahead. I think the character
of this group, their ability to sort through winning and losing and look each other in the eye, to have
some integrity, to take ownership in the things that they could do better at the player level, at the
staff level. We’ve struggled on the road and certainly tonight was one heck of a football game. I do
think some of the toughness that we’ve built, some of the resolve that we’ve built, the relationships,
this group has done nothing but get closer. I think it’s almost galvanized the group. We came here
today to prove something and what a way to win a football game. A lot of credit to South Carolina.
Their team showed up and competed. I thought in particular on offense they did a lot of great things,
caused issues for us. We needed every play all the way down to the end to find a way to win. There
was a lot of situational football in the game. I’m just really proud of the teams resolve. There’s a lot of
times out their tonight where they could’ve folded their cards and we didn’t do that. Some incredible
plays. Some incredible extra effort plays… Hats off to South Carolina. What a football game. What a
venue. Certainly, proud of our team and the character that they showed. We’re going to enjoy this
thing. It’s important that we keep our humility. We have lots to do to improve as a team. Individual
players can improve, parts of our staff can improve, and we need to play better going forward.
There are definitely things we can get better at.”
On Graham Mertz…
“Some unbelievable plays in the game. Graham Mertz in particular. You can’t help but respect the
competitive spirit of the kid, the toughness, the decision making. I just thought he was fantastic. Never
flinched. I get to be around the guy every day. I know how much the guy has worked going all the
way back to the very beginning of the process. This young man came here on a mission and had a
plan. He’s worked. He’s a product of his work. For him to operate the way he does in our system in
the first year, the level of comprehension, the high level of decision making that’s happening out
there. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the kid. I think we’re starting to play better around him,
that’s what I would say. We’re starting to play a little bit better up front. The two freshmen tight ends
are growing up. We’re getting some play from some receivers. I think ultimately, we’re capable. We
can score. I think at times we haven’t been able to execute consistently, but he’s at the center
today for sure. Very impressed with him as a person and as a leader.”
On Ricky Pearsall and Graham Mertz…
“I hugged both of them in the locker room and said, ‘Hey man this is why you come to Florida, getting
the opportunity to play in that type of venue, in this league in critical moments.’ Ricky is another guy
who is a product of a lot of hard work. Those two guys are pace setters. They set the tone. When they
walk in the building everyday it’s like hey, those two guys, they know how to work. They’re tough.
They’re students of the game. They work hard from a self-discipline standpoint. They are leaders.
They’re good examples. They both got character. They’re special. Fun to coach, man.”
On the fourth quarter comeback…
“When we were down ten it’s when it was like really thick in there. It’s two scores, there’s about nine
minutes left. It became very evident that we’ve got to put one together and we’ve got to get a
stop. We had to burn one of our timeouts on a fourth down play, third down play I should say. So, we
had two timeouts, and the clock is ticking. That’s the thing that is impressive. We didn’t do it just once
we did it twice. We made plays on schedule then made some plays off schedule. I think that’s
probably the most impressive part about it.”
On the offensive line play…
“I think ultimately our team is the best when our offensive line is playing at a really high level.
Ultimately, that’s how we got this job. That’s how we’ve had success moving the ball, even since
we’ve been at Florida. When we can have balance, when we can play with physicality, when we
can rush the ball, it makes all the complimentary plays better. I do think our offensive line last week,
the Vanderbilt week, and this week at practice has been our best two weeks and I think we are
starting to get some continuity. We’ve got guys stepping up, guys are improving as players. Jake
Slaughter can’t compliment him enough. He’s had a good couple of weeks here.”
On the playmakers…
“The tight ends, they are both freshman. I think they’re improving. [Eugene Wilson III] is unique. He
presents you opportunities to be creative and get him plays. He made some incredible plays out
there today. One of the plays that I think was awesome in the game. Coach Spurrier used to say,
‘God smiled on the Gators.’ When we threw that slant to Ricky and it got tipped up in the air and Trey
Wilson caught it and kept running, I would say ‘God smiled on the Gators today.’”
2023 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Florida, Student-Athletes
Florida 41, South Carolina 39
October 14, 2023
6 Shemar James, Sophomore, Inside Linebacker
On the win…
“It meant a lot. Just coming into somebody else’s home and coming out with a big win, especially on
Homecoming, it felt amazing when the clock struck zero.”
On their preparations…
“Most definitely. Just like Coach Napier says, ‘Practice habits enough to gameday reality.’ We came
out and practiced hard Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It payed off tonight.”
On the comeback…
“They were rolling in the beginning a little bit, but at the end of the game we got that big stop to get
our offense back on the field. The went and they scored, That was amazing. We kind of started a little
bit slow, a little bit timid and got some heart crushing penalties on third down, but at the end of the
day we still came in and that was a W.”
On Spencer Rattler…
“Spencer Rattler, he’s a great quarterback, great player, great leader for this team. It’s kind of hard
to defend a quarterback when you let him sit back there and make his decisions.”
15 Graham Mertz, Redshirt-Junior, Quarterback
On Eugene Wilson III’s tip drill catch…
“Crazy heads-up play. It was a bad ball. I threw it behind Ricky [Pearsall] and it could’ve gone in
another direction. I owe a bunch of credit to [Eugene Wilson III] there. That was a huge play.”
On starting hot and this week’s preparations…
“One thing I’m extremely proud about, like you said, is the week of prep. I think it’s across the board.
The urgency from the coaching staff to the support staff to the players. Across the board there was a
sense of just complete urgency. Like everything we do we are starting fast whether it’s a workout,
whether that’s film, whether that’s a team meeting, across the board I think that translated to tonight
and I’m really thankful for that.”
On the comeback…
“The last drive was a little wild. When you’re first, second, third down don’t go right and then fourth
down I knew they were bringing some pressure. I knew I had man coverage. I knew Ricky, slot C,
came out of it. Credit to all the coaches. We rep that all the time. We talk about all the time when
you get a defender in trail mode and his head is facing the receiver you can’t catch a ball behind
your head. So, I gave Ricky a chance to make a play and he does what he always does and just
made a great play.”
1 Ricky Pearsall, Senior, Wide Receiver
On Eugene Wilson III’s tip drill catch…
“Sometimes it takes luck. Really honestly, shoutout to [Eugene Wilson III] that is a really difficult catch,
especially being around a hot ball like that and tipping it and being that close together. Just
snatching it, not only that, he got yards after the catch.”
On the importance of the win…
“It was really important for us, especially being a road game. We needed a road win. We’ve been
emphasizing it this entire week. Starting fast, putting the pressure on them right away. I’m just proud of
the guys for doing that. I just remember coming into this stadium right away and looking at everyone
in their eyes. They looked ready. That was one of the first times I’ve really seen everyone in the locker
room just locked in and ready. I think that just starts at practice. We had a lot of energy throughout
this week. Just proud of everyone.”
On the deep ball…
“It felt really good. As a receiver, it felt really good. I think we needed that. It’s going to bring
confidence to the room. All of our guys in that room are capable, man. They’re all skilled. You just
have to have that mentality to go up and get the ball so I’m proud of the guys.”
