Florida is coming to Salt Lake City on Thursday night for the biggest battle before Saturday and Utah football is out for revenge after losing to the Gators in Gainesville to begin the 2022 campaign.
Unfortunately for the Utes, Cameron Rising is questionable ahead of the game because of his knee injury that he’s been nursing and it looks like Bryson Barnes will be given the green light.
Does that mean Utah is in trouble?
I don’t think so. Actually, I think the Utes take care of business. And here’s why.
3. Bryson Barnes’ dual-threat ability
Bryson Barnes is likely to get the start on Thursday night with Cam Rising still nursing an injury. Barring a miracle, Barnes will get the start and that may not be the worst possible thing for Utah.
In fact, Barnes has the ability to run the ball which is going to be a problem for the Gators.
Sure, Rising, too, can run and was considered a dual-threat, but there’s not a ton of film on Barnes which should help the Utes here. Rising did have 465 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 6.0 yards per carry last year, but even if he did play, he’d be limited with his legs.
Barnes will not be limited on Thursday night which is a huge plus.
The backup quarterback played in a handful of games last season and finished with 430 passing yards and four touchdowns with two picks while also rushing for 116 yards on 5.8 per touch.
Florida’s defense is going to have a tough time containing him.
2. Home-field advantage
This may seem like a lame reason to say a team is going to win, but Utah has been nearly unbeatable at home over the past four years and I don’t see that changing against an average Florida team.
It would take a herculean effort from a ranked team to beat Utah in Salt Lake City and I just don’t see Florida as the one to do it.
Don’t get me wrong, the Gators have talent, but they are just not ready for this kind of atmosphere yet with a starter under center who doesn’t exactly fare well in big games (we’ll touch on that later).
Utah is an astounding 21-1 since the start of 2019 at home. The Utes have not lost at home since 2020 and, well, does that season even count since home games featured no fans? Either way, that was Utah’s only loss at home in the past four years.
![Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) walks off the field during fall football practice at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, August 5, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/cee5fd32669d342e986635922001e8e012a768efe6dc3f32ce5c6347ce228575.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) walks off the field during fall football practice at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, August 5, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
1. Graham Mertz is not good in big games vs. ranked opponents
Simply put, Graham Mertz is terrible in big games.
In fact, he faced 10 ranked opponents in his career at Wisconsin and he didn’t really fare well in any of those contests. His highest passing yardage in one of those games was just 240 yards and he never threw more than one touchdown.
Actually, he’s averaged just 159.7 yards per game against ranked opponents with six touchdowns and 14 interceptions. To make matters even worse, his completion rate against those teams is just 53.8%. That’s a horrendous track record and it’s not going to get any better against a tough Utah defense on the road.
Mertz was always an interesting choice for starting quarterback and I think fans will realize right away that he has a lot of work to do. He’s not the clutch quarterback that the Gators need.
We’ll see a big drop-off in production from Anthony Richardson.