The Florida Gators and No. 14 Utah Utes meet up in Week 1 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN. This is a rematch of last year’s season open in Gainesville, FL, one that the Gators won 29-26. The Utes’ attempt to to win the game in the final seconds came up short when quarterback Cameron Rising was picked off in the end zone.
Florida (0-0, 0-0 SEC) is entering Year 2 of the Billy Napier era and he has to walk a fine line between steadily adding building blocks to his program and showing enough improvement to keep impatient boosters off his back. With Anthony Richardson now in the NFL, the team will lean on Wisconsin transfer quarterback Graham Mertz to lead them into this game and the season. Also, it may be a bit jarring for viewers to watch Florida play in this environment. The last time the Gators played a true non-conference road game outside of the state of Florida was in 1991, where they lost to Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
Utah (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) is the two-time defending Pac-12 championship and would love to pick up one final trophy before bolting to the Big 12 next season. The team lost some important pieces like first-round NFL Draft pick Dalton Kincaid at tight end. The question mark heading into this contest is the status of returning starting quarterback Cameron Rising, who tore his ACL during the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. It looks like he’ll be out, and Bryson Barnes should be the starter.
Florida vs. Utah
Date: Thursday, August 31
Start time: 8 p.m.
TV channel: ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Utah -4.5
Total: 44
Moneyline: Utah -198, Florida +164