Florida Gators

THE QUICK SLANT
Orange 10, Blue 7  

WHAT HAPPENED: Sophomore Trey Smack kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired to give his Orange team a 10-7 victory in Thursday night's Orange & Blue Spring Game at Spurrier/Florida Field. Smack's game-winner provided some excitement for an otherwise lackluster evening that was dominated by two defenses that overshadowed and overwhelmed quarterbacks Graham Mertz and Jack Miller III. The QB duel between Mertz, the Wisconsin transfer, and Miller, who started for Anthony Richardson and struggled (like the rest of the Gators) in UF's Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State in December, was a virtual standoff -- much like the outcome nearly was. Both quarterbacks played for both teams; both were under pressure most of the game, as the defenses combined for nine (touch) sacks. Mertz finished 18 of 29 for 244 yards and a touchdown, while Miller hit 10 of 19 throws for 144 yards and a score. Miller, as it turned out, was the winning QB of record. The Orange forced a punt with 25 seconds to go that ended in a touchback. On first down and with 18 seconds remaining, tailback Montrell Johnson Jr. hit the left side for a 38-yard run to the Blue 42. On second down, Miller found Johnson working from the slot for a 13-yard gain to the Blue 29, with a timeout called with one second left. Enter Smack, who earlier missed field goals from 24 and 47 yards but piped his third attempt, capping a three-play, 51-yard drive, with his Orange teammates pouring onto the field. After a mostly uninspiring first quarter, with the two teams combining to average 1.8 yards on 25 plays, the second quarter brought the only TDs of the game. Miller wrapped a 12-play, 82-yard drive by rolling to his right and finding redshirt sophomore wideout Marcus Burke, working left to right in the back of the end zone, for a 16-yard touchdown pass and 7-0 Orange lead. The first score of the game came one play after redshirt senior tailback Cam Carroll reeled off a 12-yard run, hurdling cornerback Javion Toombs along the way for one of the highlight plays of the night. The Blue had a chance to cut into the margin, but Smack hit the left upright on a 24-yard field goal attempt. Two possessions later, though, and working against the clock, Mertz completed a 31-yard strike to senior wideout Ricky Pearsall on a third-and-21 to the Orange 18. After a quick-out to redshirt sophomore wideout Kahleil Jackson moved the ball to the 10 with 21 seconds to go in the half, Mertz beat a blitz with a 10-yard scoring strike to the slanting Jackson that tied the game with 13 seconds. That's the way things stood until the game's final second ticked away. The Orange finished with 307 yards of total offense (only 54 on the ground) to just 198 for the Blue (a mere 48 rushing). 
WHAT IT MEANS: This was a scrimmage, but in uniforms and under the lights, so call it a dress rehearsal. There wasn't much on-field action to get excited about. Good thing the opening night of this show is still a couple months away.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The defense. Both sides. Shoutouts to Orange redshirt freshman linebacker Deuce Spurlock II and Blue sophomore safety Shemar James and redshirt junior cornerback Jalen Kimber, their teams' leading tacklers. Spurlock finished with eight stops and a QB hurry, while James had six tackles and a sack to Kimber's six tackles, including five solos and a pass breakup.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Seventeen points in a spring game. That's half as many points as last year's O&B when Richardson's Blue team posted a 34-0 shutout victory.

UP NEXT: The offseason, which (of course) has little to do with being "off," though NCAA rules require an eight-week hiatus ("Discretionary Period," which is Phase 4 of Coach Billy Napier's eight-phase "Journey) before re-starting training (Phase 5). That will be the time Associate Head Coach Mark Hocke and his strength/conditioning staff will do some of their most pivotal work as Napier's second season rolls on, with fall practice beginning in early August and the Gators opening the 2023 season Aug. 31 at Utah. The game will be played on a Thursday night and mark one of the most anticipated of the Week 1 schedule, with the Gators and reigning Pac-12 champion Utes butting heads in a rematch of their 2022 opener, won by UF 29-26 at the "Swamp."