In a rematch of last year’s season-opening contest for both the Florida Gators and Utah Utes, our Florida vs. Utah prediction sheds light at which side you should back in 2023. While there was hope for the Gators to enter the 2022 season, this year feels different as the seat for head coach Billy Napier heated up this offseason.
A win against the Utes would be a powerful statement for Napier and Co., can you expect them to get it done?
Florida vs. Utah Betting and DFS Preview
- Spread
Utah -6.5 - Moneyline
Utah -250, Florida +220 - Over/Under
45 total points - Game time
8 p.m. ET - Location
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT - Predicted Weather at Kick
93 degrees, sunny, 11-13 mph winds - How to Watch
FuboTV, ESPN
Looking to bet on the game? Use our widget below to easily place your bet if it is legal in your state.
[tallysight url=”https://tallysight.com/new/widget/tile/cfb/org:college-football-network/entity:utah-utes/variant:2/autopilot:game?id=ee75bb25-a1aa-4334-8919-f33c63191376″]
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
All values below come from FanDuel’s multi-team entries for the weekend. Looking to sign up for FanDuel? New customers bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Click here for more details.
Florida Depth Chart | Utah Depth Chart
- QB Cameron Rising, Utah ($9,500)*
- QB Graham Mertz, Florida ($7,000)
- QB Bryson Barnes, Utah ($6,000)
- RB Ja’Quinden Jackson, Utah ($8,300)
- RB Montrell Johnson Jr., Florida ($7,800)
- RB Micah Bernard, Utah ($6,500)
- RB Trevor Etienne, Florida ($5,800)
- RB Chris Curry, Utah ($5,500)
- RB Jaylon Glover, Utah ($5,100)
- WR Devaughn Vele, Utah ($7,100)
- WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida ($6,600)
- WR Money Parks, Utah ($6,100)
- WR Caleb Douglas, Florida ($5,700)
- WR Makai Cope, Utah ($5,500)
- WR Marcus Burke, Florida ($5,400)
- WR Emery Simmons, Utah ($5,200)
- WR Mycah Pittman, Utah ($5,100)
- TE Brant Kuithe, Utah ($6,900)*
- TE Thomas Yassmin, Utah ($5,300)
- TE Dante Zanders, Florida ($5,100)
FanDuel is still listing both Cameron Rising and Brant Kuithe with heavy values, almost as if they’re expecting them to play, or for you to make a mistake. It has been leaked that both Rising and Kuithe are expected to be out for the season-opening game against the Gators, forcing Thomas Yassmin and Bryson Barnes into the lineup.
Barnes, a former walk-on signal-caller, played spot duty over the past few years in relief of Rising, most notably tossing an impressive throw on a touchdown against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. However, when he was turned to as the starter against Washington State a season ago, the game plan changed significantly.
The Utes offense went very vanilla and simple with Barnes in charge against the Cougars. He threw for just 175 yards on 27 attempts but did chip away with 51 yards on the ground. Barnes is an interesting option, but at the current value for Yassmin, he’s even more intriguing.
With Barnes in the lineup against Washington State, Utah tight ends hauled in 11 of 17 receptions and Yassmin should see a heavy target share in the place of Kuithe. Hope for the best, save your cash, snag Yassmin and put your top-end cash elsewhere in your multi-game lineups.
Elsewhere, with a healthy Rising, the Utes’ offense is a run-first attack. With Barnes in the lineup, you can expect even more carries for Ja’Quinden Jackson and Co. Snag Jackson and watch the Utah offense wear down this Gator defense.
For the Gators, it’s slim pickins until we know what Graham Mertz looks like as a passer in this offense. The Utes are typically known for their defense and 2023 should be no different. Montrell Johnson Jr. is an intriguing option if you can manage but there are better running back options on Thursday night.
Prediction for Florida vs. Utah
In Gainseville a season ago, the Utes dramatically lost a close game but enter this season’s clash as a touchdown favorite. Sure, traveling up to SLC is difficult for any team, but especially a Florida team that may struggle as the game goes on with the altitude and perhaps their minds back on their home state after Hurricane Idalia just ripped through the area.
We’ll remove the mental aspect from our analysis here, however, and focus solely on the facts: Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is one of the best to ever do it while Florida’s Napier may be coaching for his job midway through this season.
Whittingham knows how to get his players ready to play and, against all odds, are still the back-to-back Pac-12 Champions, losing their last three games non-bowl games by a total of just 16 points. Without Rising, we’ve seen the Utes understand how to win and it should be no different when the Gators come to Rice-Eccles.
A raucous crowd, a stingy defense that features some talented and potential next-level players at every position, and a veteran offense line is a recipe for disaster for the Gators.
Utah’s offensive line, noticeably their interior, has the chops to control the line of scrimmage and lengthen the game for the Utah offense. As the game wears on, in the altitude, with that kind of pressure on the Gators’ defensive line, it would have to be Mertz to win it for them.
Sorry, Gator fans, we just don’t see that happening.
Prediction
Utah 27, Florida 17