In commanding fashion, the No. 14 University of Utah Utes claimed their revenge against the Florida Gators on Thursday night behind a versatile quarterback duo and pure depth. Despite being without eight of their starters, Utah’s next-man-up mentality won the day and sent the Gators packing back to the Swamp with a loss.
In addition to the quarterback play and depth, Cole Bishop was excellent, the offense demonstrated versatility and special teams was fantastic.
The following are five key takeaways from Utah’s 24-11 victory over Florida:
The Johnson-Barnes duo is solid and will be tough for defenses to handle
Coming into the matchup with Florida, fans and experts alike were concerned about Utah’s quarterback situation through the first part of the year. Without their star Cam Rising, how could the Utes possibly generate offense and why is a walk-on or redshirt freshman the best option?
Safe to say those worries were put to rest after the display that Johnson and Barnes demonstrated on Thursday night.
“I thought Bryson Barnes did a nice job,” said Whittingham. “He didn’t turn it over and ran the offense. Then Nate came in and gave us a spark. He’s got a bright future and he’s electric. You can see when he makes guys miss it looks like he’s the fastest guy on the field every time he’s out there. So that was a big positive.”
Right out the gate, Barnes flipped the game on its head with a 70 yard bomb to Money Parks for a touchdown. The perfect play as NOBODY was expecting something like that and why not give it a go?
Then enter Nate Johnson. Sure, he's a freshman but he has wheels and proved his ability to read the defense and escape as he took a 27 yard run to the house after a fake hand-off to Micah Bernard. He did so by shaking a defender out of his shoes along the way.
“I was very comfortable. Going on year two you get more and more comfortable with the offense,” said Johnson. “The more reps you get, the more the game slows down a little more. That touchdown run felt great. The O-line did their job, the receivers, making great blocks. It was an electric night.”
Is it perfect? No. Will it work till Rising returns? It seems likely. The change of pace between Johnson and Barnes should stump defenses early in the season. With Barnes, he can clearly make any pass and will manage the offense just fine. He can also run, as demonstrated by his 5 yard rushing touchdown. With Nate, he can burn you with his wheels and will likely be presented with a lot of option plays moving forward. He should also get more passing opportunities.
“This dude [Nate Johnson] has an extra dimension to him. It would be foolish not to use him,” said Barnes. “Going back and forth, it's a little dynamic duo. I am in, you’re out. You’re in, I’m out. We just feed off each other. We keep the offense rolling. We’ve gotta keep that same rhythm regardless.”
Bishop continues to live up to the hype and should have a big year
After a solid season in 2022, Cole Bishop looked poised for a massive 2023 season based off of what he showed against Florida on Thursday night.
Not only did he lead the team in total tackles with 11, but he broke up passes, stepped up on late downs, dropped Mertz for a loss and even forced a fumble despite the fact that it rolled out of bounds. That forced fumble also stopped a first down and the Gators would later fail to convert a fourth down after a false start penalty that same series.
Notably, Bishop was also sidelined for the back half of a series when he appeared to be cramping up. Then, he returned with the same amount of energy and lockdown defense as before.
Just like Bishop said during fall camp, when you lose a guy like Clark Phillips III you have to reload. You need someone to step up and be the guy. So far, it appears that Bishop will be that guy for Utah in 2023.
The versatility of the offense is lethal and will help the Utes win a lot of games
Not only did Utah go with two quarterbacks against the Gators, but they also had seven ball carriers and seven receivers snag catches. That is huge for this offense who at times has relied so heavily on specific individuals in years past.
When size and strength wasn’t working out of the backfield early, they switched to speed and escapability with Bernard and Johnson to move the stick and put points on the board.
In terms of receptions, Money Parks demonstrated his speed and long ball threat while Mikey Matthews and the tight ends secured the ball on short routes. Ja’Quinden Jackson should see an increased role in the coming weeks, as he’s been a little dinged up from fall camp.
Imagine what this offense will be capable of once Rising and Kuithe return. There are a lot of weapons already and once the seasoned vets are back, the offense should be even more productive and explosive.
Utah has elite special teams that flips the field
The last couple of seasons the kicking team has been a big open sore for the Utes. Whittingham had more faith in keeping his offense on the field and converting a fourth down than depending on the kicking team to pull through.
That doesn’t appear to be the case this season. Rather than settle for a fourth down conversion attempt or bringing the punting unit out, Cole Becker took the field and smashed a 51 yard field goal attempt through the uprights.
That's huge. To finally have faith in a kicker to not only convert, but drop it in from that far is a game changer that could ultimately save the Utes in close games.
In addition to the kicking, the punting was simply superb. Bouwmeester punished the football every time and made the Gators life incredibly difficult all night, constantly pinning them deep in their own territory. Bouwmeester showed this same skill in practices last season. It just never translated to the game, which is a sudden changer and a valuable field-flipping weapon.
“I thought the punter did outstanding. Jack Bouwmeester really hit the ball well tonight,” said Whittingham. “Placekicker did a pretty good job. That last kick was debatable. Do you go for that? Do you punt…he hit the 51 yarder before that so special teams was a positive in that regard.”
Rest easy Utah fans, special teams won’t keep you up this season.
The defense is deep, it’s absolutely loaded
Coming into the season opener, Utah was without Junior Tafuna, Simote Pepa, and Connor O’Toole. They also quickly lost Karene Reid early on, and then Cole Bishop was sidelined for the back half of a series before returning.
Regardless, this Utah defense got it done as the depth stepped up and consistently stumped the Gators.
“There were a lot of guys that weren’t available tonight and that's the mentality you’ve got to have,” said Whittingham. “The guys that are in the game have to get it done and our guys did just that. Extremely proud. There are probably eight to ten guys that picked up the slack for the guys who were missing.”
To hold an SEC team without a single touchdown until the nine minute mark of the fourth quarter is impressive no matter who you are. Not to mention, multiple fourth down stops in their own territory and the return of Sack Lake City.
“It feels really good,” said Bishop. “We were embarrassed with how we played against them last year. We were playing with a chip on our shoulder. D-line, linebackers, corners, everybody played their hearts out and it paid off.”
Everybody feasted as 18 players finished with a tackle and nine of those had three or more.
Utah is going to win a lot of games just because of their defense this year. Their depth, as Florida found out, is jaw-dropping.
