'God smiled down on the Florida Gators' on Saturday

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•10/15/23•

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Wednesday night, Billy Napier told reporters that his wife, Ali, had informed him that she read legendary head coach Steve Spurrier had weighed in on his Florida Gators offense. Spurrier said he thought the Gators should be throwing the ball down the field more. On Saturday, it was Napier’s turn to quote Spurrier.

It might not quite be the Immaculate Reception but when Graham Mertz’s pass bounced off of Rickey Pearsall’s hands and just happened to hit freshman Eugene Wilson in stride, it felt like someone above was looking down.

“Coach Spurrier used to say, ‘God smiled on the Gators’,” Napier said quoting Spurrier. “Well, when we threw that slant to Ricky and it got tipped up in the air and Tre Wilson caught it and kept running, I would say God smiled on the Gators today.”

The pass wasn’t great. It wasn’t even good.

“It was a bad ball,” Mertz said after the game. “I threw it behind Rick. It could have gone another direction.”

To be fair, that pass might have been one of the worst on the night for Mertz, who threw 48 times, and completed 30 for a career-high 423 yards and three scores. The pass should have been in front of Pearsall, who had a beat on his defender and could have run with it. Instead, the pass was behind and tipped. A tipped ball has led to both of Mertz’s interceptions on the season.

Not on this night.

“Hey man. Sometimes it takes luck,” Pearsall said. “But really, honestly, shoutout to 3 (Wilson) because that is a difficult catch, especially being a hot ball like that and tipping it and being that close together and snatching. Not only that, he got yards after that.”

The completion to Wilson picked up 22 yards and extended the drive which ended up being the go-ahead drive for the Gators. And to Mertz’s credit, his pass to Pearsall in the endzone to take the lead was a dime.

Eugene Wilson makes an impact for Florida Gators

Florida’s offense hadn’t been explosive, imaginative, or exciting for long stretches. Eugene Wilson changes that. The 5-11, 170-pound true freshmen is electric. On Saturday, Wilson lined up in the slot, outside at receiver, and in the backfield. He allows Napier and the Gators to open up their offense.

“We’re trying to get the guy touches. And I think when you’re a matchup team, you’re a man-to-man, bracket team, not to get too technical but you know, where he’s at is important. So, moving him around I think is an important part of the game,” Napier said of Wilson after the win over South Carolina. “So, we’re getting there from a skill standpoint, to where we’ve got a number of players that can create matchup issues for you. He’s definitely on that list.”

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