GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Steve Spurrier set the standard for what is expected of the Florida Gators on their home field. So much so that they named the stadium after him. The Urban Meyer years piggy-backed on Spurrier's dominance in the "Swamp," but the kind of deafening classics that echo into the North Florida night have been few and far between over the last decade-plus.

That's what made the return of that electric orange-and-blue environment Saturday night such a thrill ride, and the victory over seventh-ranked and defending Pac-12 Conference champion Utah quite a statement of a start to the Billy Napier era. 

Not to mention the highly anticipated unleashing of quarterback Anthony Richardson. 

Richardson, the super sophomore and Heisman Trophy hopeful, rushed for three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:25 to play, but the outcome was in doubt — grave doubt for the home team — until UF senior linebacker Amari Burney made a diving interception of Utah quarterback Cameron Rising's pass into the end zone with 17 seconds left to preserve the victory, UF's first over a ranked opponent to start the season in 53 years, and send Spurrier/Florida Field into a deafening state of ecstasy. 

Burney's play came after Rising, a first-team all-league selection in 2021, marched the Utes 69 yards in 10 plays and needed just 58 seconds to do it. With a game-tying field goal basically in his pocket, Rising faced a second-and-goal at the Florida 6 when, going for the win, he looked to force a throw into the middle of the end zone for tight end Dalton Kincaid. Kincaid fell down, the pass was low and Burney dove to get it, tucking his arms under the ball and securing it as the crowd boomed with approval. 

"Someone had to make a play," Burney said. "It happened to be me."

It was at that moment that Napier turned to one of his assistants and said (shouted, actually), "Can you believe they pay us to do this?" 

In the new world of college football they pay players now, also, with Richardson being one of UF's most-sought student athletes for Name, Image and Likeness. No one is wondering why. 
 

HOW 'BOUT THEM GATORS BABY?! 🐊 pic.twitter.com/GTWWkQZ6PF

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 4, 2022

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Richardson completed 17 of 24 passes for a career-best 168 yards, but he made his biggest plays with his legs, rushing 11 times for 106 yards, with scoring runs of 2, 45 and 2. The Gainesville product played a turnover-free game and looked in utter command throughout what was just the second start of his career and the first on his home field, as the Gators rolled up 451 yards of total offense, converted seven of 12 third downs and scored touchdowns on all three of their red-zone possessions. 

Not only did he meet expectations, Richardson set new ones for both he and his team, which surely will vault into the Associated Press Top 25 poll next week. 

He's just getting started.

"I was a little jittery," Richardson said. 

Napier probably was too, but at 43 and with a career path that tracked through both Clemson and Alabama he'd been in a bunch of big-time games before. Napier, who came to UF after 40 wins over four seasons and a Sun Belt Conference championship at the University of Louisiana, became the first coach in Florida's 117 seasons of football to defeat a ranked opponent in his first game. The Gators (1-0), who open their Southeastern Conference season next week at home against Kentucky (1-0), beat a ranked foe in an opener for the first time since 1982 (and for only the second time ever).  "Pretty good football there, huh?" Napier said afterward, going out of his way to thank the crowd for taking the atmosphere to the next level. "We said at the beginning that it was going to take a team effort to get this done, to build and create momentum, to create positive energy on the outside. They made a difference tonight. They impacted the game."

Between the lines, it was a Florida ground game that cranked out 283 yards — behind an excellent performance from an offensive line that also did not surrender a sack — with transfer sophomore tailback Montrell Johnson Jr., who followed Napier from UL, carrying 12 times for 75 yards and a score, freshman Trevor Etienne chipping in 64 on just five carries, and redshirt sophomore Nay'Quan Wright good for 39 yards on 10 attempts. The Gators averaged 7.3 yards on the ground, with Richardson at 9.6 per. 

The Utes (0-1), playing their first game in the eastern time zone since opening the 2008 season at Michigan, played awfully well, given the distance traveled and surroundings. Rising completed 22 of 32 passes for 216 yards and added another 91 on the ground on just seven carries. Tailback Tavion Thomas ran 23 times for 115 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Brant Kuithe caught nine passes for 105 yards and a score. 

Utah played turnover-free football until its final offensive snap and was forced to leave town with a loss against a program that was coming off a 6-7 season — just the third losing record of the last 41 years — and looking at a rebuild. 

That was the assumption, at least. 

"The cupboard wasn't bare here when Dan Mullen left," said Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, giving a shoutout to Napier's predecessor. "They have some great players, especially the quarterback. If they can keep him healthy, they are going to win a lot of games."

Richardson and the offense got the home crowd's attention early, erasing a penalty on the opening kickoff that started on the UF 8 by rolling to the Utah 32 in just five plays. On the sixth, Johnson fumbled after a 4-yard run and Utes defensive end Jonah Elliss picked up the loose ball and returned it 47 yards to the Florida 25. 

Rising needed five plays to put the visitors in front 7-0, hitting Kuithe for a 7-yard scoring toss less than four minutes into the game. 

After a couple empty possessions by each team, the Gators got the ball back at their own 37 and rolled to an impressive drive — overcoming a holding penalty — that tied the game. The big play was a 23-yard strike from Richardson to Ricky Pearsall, the transfer from Arizona State, on third-and-15, moving UF to the Utah 35. Seven plays later, the Gators faced a fourth-and-2 at the 15, with Napier calling a timeout and calling his offense over to talk about it. 

Back out the unit came, with Richardson bootlegging and hitting Johnson on a rollout that went for 13 yards to the Utah 2. On the next play, Richardson faked and kept for a 2-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7-all with 39 seconds to go in the period. 

When the quarter ended, Florida had 166 yards and nine first downs to Utah's 39 and three, with the difference in the game that costly early turnover. 

The Utes soon regained the lead, benefiting from a generous completed-pass call (they hurried to the line and got the snap off before officials could review) for a 12-yard gain into UF territory. They settled for a 43-yard field goal from Jordan Noyes and 10-7 lead with 10:26 left in the half. 

Rising was able to stretch the lead to 13-7 before halftime when Florida had to punt from its end zone and the Utes started a drive at the UF 38. On fourth-and-3 from the 8, Utah called a timeout, talked it over and sent the offense back out. The ploy was a ruse, though, as Rising tried to draw the Gators' defense offsides. Last year's team (the 11th-most penalties team in the country) may have fell for it. This one didn't. Utah took a delay of game penalty and Noyes booted a 31-yard field goal for a 13-7 edge with 3:18 left before intermission. 

Plenty of time for "AR."  Richardson hit Xzavier Henderson for 13 yards, then Pearsall for 14 to midfield. After a 5-yard run by Wright, Richardson on second down saw the entire Utah defense drawn to the right side of the field by Gators offensive action. There was no one on the left side. Richardson scampered 45 yards, making one defender miss, to give UF a 14-13 lead that stood when the two teams went to the locker room. 

The Utes had their chance — a big one — to open the second half, marching from their 28 to the Florida 1, with a big 17-yard Rising-to-Micah Bernard completion on third-and-6 along the way. A first-down run by Thomas went for eight yards, but second down netted a 2-yard loss on a hit by safety Trey Dean III. The next snap got the two yards back, leaving Rising with a fourth-and-goal at the 1. 

The Utes went for this one. The handoff went to Thomas, the preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year after rushing for 1,108 yards and 21 TDs rushing last season. He was smothered going into the line, lost control of the ball and fell short of the end zone for a huge goal-line stand that kept the Gators ahead by a point. 

"We just executed," junior defensive lineman Gervon Dexter said. 

Utah wasn't denied their next time. Though the Gators gained field position by moving to the 50 and pinning the Utes at their 11, Rising answered in a big way. A 37-yard bullet completion to Kuithe, who beat Dean up the middle seam, got his unit to midfield. A 5-yard run by Thomas on third-and-3 and 26-yard gain on a keeper by Rising set up a first-and-goal at the UF 7 and Thomas scored on the very next play to give Utah a 19-14 lead. The Utes' attempt at a two-point conversion was unsuccessful with 12 seconds to go in the third period.  Florida's next drive bridged the quarters, with a 16-yard completion to Pearsall (4 catches, 67 yards) ending the third and an 11-yard run by Johnson to start the fourth. A 16-yard run off right tackle on third-and-1 was followed by a 9-yard yard from Richardson, then a 14-yard scoring jaunt by Johnson, as the Gators retook the lead. Not only that, they hit the two-point conversion — a nifty fake pass and pivot by Richardson, who found Ja'Quavion Fraziars alone in the back of the end zone — for a 22-19 lead with 12:48 remaining. 

Just over six minutes later, the Utes were back up 26-22 after Rising rolled them 73 yards over 11 plays, with three converted third downs, the last a third-and-goal at the 4, with Thomas running through a couple would-be tacklers. 

That turned matters back over to Richardson, who looked nothing like a relatively untested quarterback with just one career start on his resume. His final drive started with a conversation on third-and-4, then got serious when Etienne busted up the middle for a 21-yard gain that included a fumble and own-recovery at the end of the play. Four plays later, after a timeout, Napier called Richardson's number on a fourth-and-2 keeper that went for nine yards to the Utah 17. A 10-yard run by Johnson got the ball inside the 5 and Richardson finished things off on second down, though leaving plenty of time for Rising to ruin Napier's debut. 

He nearly did, but it was Burney, not Rising, who was mobbed by his teammates in the waning seconds. The Swamp was alive again and Gators everywhere were celebrating one of the biggest victories in years. 

"Everything I heard about this place was true," Johnson said. 

Almost felt like it was worth the wait. 

"A lot of people were doubting us. That's just how the world works," Richardson said. "Some people love you, some people don't. We just fought through that and won the game."

A lot of people loved it.