Florida Notes |
Utah Notes |
Florida-Utah Game Day
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The home-and-home series between the schools was announced in September 2019.
The announcement generated buzz because Florida and Utah have played only once, in 1977, and both programs have undergone major upgrades in national recognition since that long-ago afternoon at Florida Field. The first of those games has arrived, with the Gators set to host the No. 7 Utes on Saturday night at sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
While some things have remained the same since the series was finalized — for one,
Kyle Whittingham remains head coach at Utah — much has happened to alter college football (transfer portal, NIL, additional realignment) and the direction of the Florida program (goodbye
Dan Mullen, hello
Billy Napier).
Still, both schools and, more importantly, their fans are getting exactly the kind of game they wanted — a marquee matchup between Power 5 programs under the lights and on national television.
This is a season opener with teeth.
Besides the abundant storylines and intriguing matchup, Florida fans get their first glimpse at a Napier-coached Gators team. Napier has transformed the football program in his nine months on the job and built momentum on the recruiting trail to create hope for a bright future. The present figures to be a challenge.
Napier took over a team that finished 6-7 in Mullen's final season and returns many of the same players. The most notable one is third-year sophomore quarterback
Anthony Richardson, a marquee talent whose time has arrived to show what he can do.
The Gators and Richardson should discover plenty about themselves on Saturday night against a Utah team that many believe could become the first Pac-12 team to earn a College Football Playoff berth since Washington in 2016. Utah will learn if the preseason hype it has received is overblown.
If college football is your game, this is a game that gets your blood flowing.
For more on Saturday's game between the Gators and Utes, here is the 2022 season debut ofÂ
The Opening Kickoff:
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THREE STORYLINES
- This unique matchup features plenty of angles, but the most prominent one is the debut of Billy Napier as Florida's head coach. Once the youngest FBS offensive coordinator at Clemson more than a decade ago, Napier has climbed the coaching ladder to take over one of the biggest brands in college football. Napier went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana and waited on the right opportunity to take his next step. He has rebooted the program in his short time at UF and fans finally get a glimpse of his inaugural team on Saturday night.
- Napier's debut isn't the only one Florida fans are eager to see. Third-year sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson will make his first career home start. A dynamic mixture of size, speed and athleticism, the Gators' fortunes in 2022 will rely heavily on Richardson's play. Richardson will be tested right away against the reigning Pac-12 champion Utes.
- The Gators are unranked and somewhat of a mystery in Year 1 under Napier. Utah is led by veteran head coach Kyle Whittingham, in his 18th season. Many think this could be his best team and a potential College Football Playoff entrant. Whittingham faced a Napier-led offense in 2017 when Napier was offensive coordinator for a season at Arizona State. The Sun Devils played well offensively and defensively, defeating the Utes 30-10 on the road. That won't mean much on Saturday night, but there is a familiarity there with Napier holding the winning card from their matchup five seasons ago.
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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCHÂ
- Richardson tops the list for Gators fans, but don't forget about Utah quarterback Cameron Rising. The former Texas signee transferred to Utah and won the starter's job in 2020 before suffering a season-ending injury in the opener. He regained the job in the third game a season ago and the Utes averaged 38 points a game in his starts. He threw for 2,493 yards and 20 touchdowns to lead Utah to the Pac-12 title.
- Gators outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. earned five-star status in high school and started his career at Georgia. When his time in Athens fizzled, he transferred to UF and has slowly worked his way toward a potential breakout season. Cox said in the spring he wants to break the school's single-season sack record (13 by Alex Brown in 1999). He will have a chance to get started when Rising drops back to pass.
- Richardson will need help for the Gators to pull off a victory, and look for sophomore running back Montrell Johnson Jr. to get an opportunity to carry some of the load. Johnson rushed for more than 800 yards and 12 touchdowns as a true freshman at Louisiana. When Napier came to Florida, Johnson followed and provides UF a tough down-hill runner with breakaway speed on the edge.
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FIVE DIGITS
43 – Years since a first-year Gators head coach lost his first game.
Charley Pell lost at Houston, 14-10, on the way to an 0-10-1 debut season in 1979.
44 – Years since the Gators have been an underdog in their home opener. Utah is a 3-point favorite. Florida was a 6.5-point underdog to 3-0 Mississippi State in 1978 home opener and won 34-0.
14 – Combined touchdown receptions for Utah tight ends
Brant Kuithe (6) and
Dalton Kincaid (8) last season.
13 – Years since Utah has faced a team from the Southeastern Conference, a 31-17 win over Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Former Gators offensive coordinator
Brian Johnson was Utah's quarterback in that victory. Overall, Utah is 1-6 all-time against SEC opponents.
3,763 – Career FBS snaps gained for Gators through transfers added in offseason according to
Pro Football Focus database.
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INJURY REPORTÂ
GATORS — OUT: TE
Arlis Boardingham (upper body), QB
Jack Miller III (thumb), CB
Jaydon Hill (lower body), OL
David Conner (upper body).Â
UTAH — None reported.
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NOTES FILE
- This is second all-time meeting between the schools. Florida defeated Utah 38-29 on Homecoming in 1977.
- The Gators have won 32 consecutive home openers, the longest active streak in the FBS. Florida's last loss in a home opener was a 24-19 defeat to Ole Miss in 1989.
- This is the first game in the radio booth for Sean Kelley, who replaced Mick Hubert as the new "Voice of the Gators."
- The Gators are 7-4-1 all-time against schools currently in the Pac-12, their last game against a Pac-12 opponent a 34-7 loss to Washington in the 1989 Freedom Bowl.
- Napier enters his first game at Florida with a personal 12-game win streak, having won his final dozen games at Louisiana last season.
- The seventh-ranked Utes tie the 1969 Houston Cougars as the highest-ranked season-opening opponent in Gators football history.
- Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is tied with Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy as the second-longest tenured active head coach behind Iowa's Kirk Ferentz (24th season).
- Former Gators linebacker Mohamoud Diabate returns to The Swamp as a member of the Utes. Diabate transferred after making 89 tackles at UF a season ago.
- Utah running back Tavion Thomas rushed for 1,108 yards and 21 TDs a season ago as the Utes went 10-1 in games it outrushed their opponent.
- Sixth-year senior linebacker Ventrell Miller, who missed 11 games due to an arm injury in 2021, has 166 career tackles to top Florida's defense. Â
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THEY SAID IT
- "It's a great memory. Hopefully, we'll have another great memory here Saturday night." — Gators head coach Billy Napier on his debut at Louisiana four years ago
- "We have a chip on our shoulder this year. We want to prove ourselves. We're coming for everything. We're hungry, and we're talking about it." — Gators punter Jeremy Crawshaw on team's mindset after 6-7 season
- "They are there and there's no hiding from them. We have to meet them head on, we have to understand we're getting a lot of national attention, and we have to be mature enough to handle them, handle our business, and not think we have all the answers, that we've arrived. I think we all understand that we do have high expectations this season." — Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham on lofty preseason projections
- "If you're looking at size, arm strength, mobility, speed, you put it all together, it's Anthony Richardson. He just doesn't have the experience level you want." — College football analyst Phil Steele on Utah radio this week
- "Everybody was crazy with Kadarius Toney and how he can stop and do all that stuff. He's Kadarius Toney at the quarterback position." — Gators tight end Dante Zanders on teammate Richardson's athleticism
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THEY WROTEÂ IT
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BOTTOM LINE
As far as season openers go, this one is a winner already. No. 7-ranked Utah is the first top-10 team to visit Florida Field to open the season in 53 years. That one turned out pretty well for the Gators, who defeated Houston — No. 1 in
Playboy magazine's poll and seventh in the AP — behind the Super Sophomore combo of quarterback
John Reaves and receiver
Carlos Alvarez. If the Gators come out victorious on Saturday night, maybe they'll have another chapter to add to the program's lore like the "Super Sophs" of yesteryear. This is an intriguing game for many reasons, most notably because it's Napier's debut. Most pundits favor Utah to win, but nearly all of them have the Gators keeping it close. I can see it going either way truthfully. But because the Gators are at home and the crowd is going to be jacked, close games in such settings usually favor the home team. That's why I'm picking Florida to kick off the Napier era with a signature win — likely with some help from the Utes.
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