Utah football fans were a little bit nervous heading into the season opener against Florida football on Thursday after hearing that Cam Rising wouldn't be able to play. Rising tore his ACL in the Rose Bowl last season, and wasn't healthy enough to given it a go Thursday night. Bryson Barnes trotted out for the Utes at the QB position, and he calmed some of those nerves for Utah fans instantly.

Bryson Barnes' first play of the game was a 70 yard bomb for a touchdown to put Utah football up 7-0 early. That certainly made Utah fans feel a little bit more comfortable. He ended up having a solid game, going 12-18 for 159 yards and one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and zero turnovers. He helped lead Utah to a strong 24-11 win over the Gators.

Barnes wasn't the only quarterback that got some reps for the Utes. Redshirt freshman Nate Johnson was brought in pretty often as well due his ability to run the ball and keep the defense honest. He ended up being Utah's leading rusher as he had six carries for 45 yards, including a 27 yard touchdown run.

Going into the game, no one really knew what to expect from Utah at the quarterback position. Based on preseason expectations and how both teams performed last year, mixed with the fact that the game was at Utah, you would think the line on the game would be favoring the Utes fairly heavily. It ended up only being a 4.5-point spread, however, and that was likely due to the fact that there were question marks at the QB position.

Barnes and Johnson performed well, however, and helped Utah cover that 4.5 with ease. Still, Utah fans definitely want to see Cam Rising return to the field as soon as possible. Rising was one of the best QBs in all of college football last season. He finished the season with 3,034 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. If Utah is going to win a third straight Pac-12 title, Rising will need to be the guy.

Still, it's good for Utah fans to know that they have two very capable QBs to take care of business while Rising recovers, and it's also gives them a good idea of what's to come at the position when Rising moves on to the NFL.