Subscribe
Follow Us
After a year in which Utah football won the Pac-12 and nearly won an incredible Rose Bowl, the Utes have spent all offseason reloading and refreshing ahead of their 2022 college football season opener against the Florida Gators at The Swamp, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It's time to make some bold Utah football predictions for this showdown against Florida.
As the second-best game in the prime-time slot, only behind Notre Dame at Ohio State, plenty of eyeballs will be fixed on the Utes and their game in Gainesville. While it's business as usual for Utah to be playing stiff competition as a College Football Playoff contender, for Florida, this is the first game of the Billy Napier era, so it's high stakes for both teams.
Here are three bold predictions for Utah's 2022 college football season opener at Florida.
*Watch college football games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
3. Utah wins by double digits
With plenty of talent from last year's squad returning and Florida's roster looking paper thin at the moment, it's easy to see how Utah is favored, though some think home-field advantage will play in the favor of the Gators. This is helped by the fact that all three regular-season losses for Utah last college football season were on the road, and all their most impressive wins came at home.
However, all one really needs to do is glance at the quarterback battle. Senior Cameron Rising returns for Utah, while sophomore Anthony Richardson will line up under center for Florida. Rising definitely has the edge here, and with Florida's defense being weaker than that of the Utes, I'm taking Utah by multiple scores in this one. Not any crazy margin, but 10-14 points.
2. Cameron Rising throws for 300 yards
Now, Cameron Rising only hit the 300-yard mark once last season, tossing the ball for 306 yards against USC. But with a Florida secondary that's just not what it has been in the past, plus the matchup of Utah's excellent run defense against Florida's run-first offense, Utah's offense may be on the field a whole lot more than usual.
This sets Rising up well for a big day passing, especially if Florida hangs with the Utes for most of the game like can be expected. Sure, Utah isn't a pass-heavy team, evidenced by Rising's stats last year, but they may have to throw the ball given the relative weakness of Florida in their secondary compared to their front seven, which is one of the better units in the SEC.
1. Utah football moves into the top five after winning
Utah currently sits at No. 7 in the AP Top 25, and with two top-five teams in Ohio State and Notre Dame set to square off in Week 1, someone is bound to fall out of that group. The current sixth-ranked team, Texas A&M, is playing host to FCS Sam Houston State in their opener, so Utah definitely has the strength-of-victory edge over the Aggies if they can pull out a win in The Swamp.
It would be their first top-five ranking since 2019, as the Utes never climbed higher than 10th last year en route to a Pac-12 title. Third-ranked Georgia is also playing 11th-ranked Oregon, so there's potential for multiple top-five spots to come open should results pan out that way for the Utes.
Either way, at least one team is falling from the top five, and should they beat Florida, Utah will be the team that takes their place, firmly where they belong as a true College Football Playoff contender in 2022.
