Graham Mertz Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Florida-Tennessee game ends with near brawl after big hit

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/16/23

The Florida Gators 29-16 upset win over the No. 11 ranked Tennessee Volunteers nearly ended up in a full-scale brawl after Florida quarterback Graham Mertz was hit in the closing seconds of the game.

With Florida in complete control of the game and the clock ticking down to its final seconds, the Gators had a fourth-and-long situation. Instead of sending the punt team out on the field Florida attempted to have Mertz run around in the backfield to run as much time off the clock as possible before taking a knee.

As he went to take a knee he was hit by Tennessee defensive lineman Omari Thomas.

Mertz's Florida teammates did not appreciate it and immediately started squaring off.

Florida-Tennessee is BACK pic.twitter.com/fe8wpG0dEf
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 17, 2023

On one hand, Mertz is running around and until his knee hits the ground he is still eligible to be hit.

But given the amount of time remaining and the score, everybody knew the game was over. That was clearly a moment of frustration from Thomas, who saw an opportunity to deliver a legal-but-big hit and send some sort of message.

Not a good message, mind you, but definitely a message.

When both teams are good this is one of the fiercest rivalries in the SEC and we definitely got a taste of that with the way this game ended.

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