Florida football opened up its 2023 schedule on Thursday, Aug. 31, inside Rice-Eccles Stadium against the Utah Utes in a rematch of last season’s first matchup in the Swamp. Unfortunately, unlike last season the Gators failed to prevail over the home team, falling 24-11 for a 0-1 record in Billy Napier’s second year at the helm.
The Orange and Blue sputtered on offense while the defense once again looked porous — much like the past couple of seasons. The secondary got torched on their very first play from scrimmage for a 70-yard touchdown that Florida never recovered from.
Napier’s squad was also plagued by procedural penalties and mental mistakes, many of which fell on his shoulders. In a game that the Gators needed to play near-perfect ball to emerge victoriously, they did the exact opposite.
Alas, college football is back and there are still 11 games left in the season. For now, take a look below at some highlights from the Florida-Utah game.