What to Watch: Storylines in Florida-Utah, Matt Rhule debut at Nebraska, Jaden Rashada starting at QB for Arizona State
Week 1 kicks off tonight with a double-dose of Big Ten football and a very intriguing non-conference matchup out West. There’s also a slew of games with high splattering potential.
At the forefront of intrigue is Florida at Utah, with the Gators playing a true non-conference road game outside the Sunshine State for the first time in 32 years. Then there’s Matt Rhule’s debut at Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers open the 2023 season in Big Ten play at Minnesota, and 4-star freshman Jaden Rashada starting at quarterback for Arizona State.
Here’s some storylines I’m interested in watching Thursday night:
A new Graham Mertz? Or the same old Graham Mertz?
(Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz gets his fresh start tonight at Florida tonight, and I’m curious how Billy Napier is going to use his new quarterback.
Mertz has a wealth of experience (32 career starts) but also a reputation for being a turnover machine. The Gators are going to lean on their dynamic two-headed tandem at tailback, but Mertz (and a young, untested group of wideouts) will have to make some plays if Florida is going to win in Utah. Last season, quarterback Anthony Richardson frustrated the Utes’ defense on broken plays, rushing for over 100 yards and three touchdowns in UF’s thrilling 29-26 win.
That’s not Mertz’s game, though. Like at all. Including sacks, he had -40 rushing yards in 2022. It’s why he seemed like such a strange fit for the Gators in the first place considering Napier historically utilizing the QB-run element in his offense.
So what will it look like with Mertz? Can the veteran avoid the costly mistakes that were such an issue at Wisconsin? How will he play behind a brand new offensive line that could feature five new starters if center Kingsley Eguakun (lower body injury) is unable to go?
Who starts at quarterback for Utah?
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Utes have been quite coy about the availability of star quarterback Cam Rising, who suffered a torn ACL in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and is reportedly doubtful and unlikely to play, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Rising has been practicing but on a limited basis. He didn’t participate in any of Utah’s preseason scrimmages, either.
Rising is a game-changer for Kyle Whittingham’s team. He’s led the Utes to two-straight Pac-12 championships and has never lost at Rice-Eccles Stadium. He had 3,500 total yards and 32 touchdowns in 2022, and his legs (91 yards) gave Florida all sorts of fits in last year’s opener.
Backup Bryson Barnes, a former walk-on who took all the first-team reps in spring practice and won in a start at Washington State last season, projects to be the Utes QB1 if Rising is indeed out. There’s an expectation that Nate Johnson, a sophomore with blazing 10.56-speed and an arm capable of threatening defenses deep, will see some snaps, too.
The next question: Is star tight end Brant Kuthie, who torched the Gators for nine catches, 105 yards and a touchdown before tearing his ACL several weeks later, available to play?
Austin Armstrong’s new-look Gators defense is?
Florida Gators DC Austin Armstrong. (UAA Photo)
Florida fans certainly hope its defense is a lot better than last season’s historical disaster, and regardless of who plays QB for Utah, Armstrong’s unit will be tested by a stout OL and a deep set of tailbacks.
The Gators have nine new starters on defense, including a couple transfers on the interior (Cam Jackson and Caleb Banks) and a true freshman at safety (Jordan Castell).
Can the group get off the field on third down (49.7% conversion rate, last in the SEC in 2022)? Can they stop the run (most rushing TDs allowed). Will Armstrong’s aggressive blitz packages get home against a pair of inexperienced quarterbacks?
Matt Rhule makes his return to college football
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
Six years ago, Nebraska made a supposed slam-dunk hire, only to see its beloved son Scott Frost flame out fast. The Cornhuskers held onto hope that Frost could turn around the program for too long, but hopefully they got it right with another can’t-miss hire in Matt Rhule.
Nebraska has spent the offseason focused on returning to its old ways — not necessarily a championship program, but one of competency. Rhule brought the fullback back to Nebraska’s offense, a host of impact transfers and a blue-collar mindset for a program that had gotten soft. Based on his successful turnarounds at Temple and Baylor, we know Rhule has a proof of concept.
We just don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix Nebraska’s ills.
Who knows what we’re going to see against Minnesota tonight in Week 1 of Year 1? Could Jeff Sims and a downhill rushing attack + improved play in the front-seven lead to an upset? Perhaps.
Could Tony White’s 3-3-5 defense — an oddity in the Big Ten — confuse Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis? Sure.
But Nebraska — despite all the emphasis on strength and conditioning and new practice habits — could still be a team plagued by special teams gaffes, turnovers and choke-jobs.
Frost lost his debut with the Cornhuskers (a 33-28 defeat vs. Colorado), and in the last two years, Nebraska fans have dealt with the miserable feeling of seeing their team lose as favorites before the full Saturday slate in Week 1.
What will Jaden Rashada, Arizona State look like?
Photo by Patrick Breen / USA TODAY Sports
With Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne sidelined with a hamstring injury, first-year Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham went with 4-star freshman quarterback Jayden Rashada over incumbent Trenton Bourguet.
It’s a cool story for the ex-Florida signee who — through not fault of his own — was at the center of a firestorm-NIL-deal-gone-wrong. He landed at ASU, and now, he’s the second Jaden/Jayden in five years to start as a true freshman for the Sun Devils. Jayden Daniels, now at LSU, threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns in his debut in 2019. Can Rashada produce a similar stat-line against Southern Utah?
It will be interesting to see how Arizona State looks as a team overall in the opener, as earlier this week Dillingham went scorched-earth on the administration’s decision to self-impose a bowl ban.
ASU was unlikely to make the postseason in 2023, but it’s still rough news for a group of seniors (and host of transfers) who had nothing to do with Herm Edwards & Co’s shenanigans.
The post What to Watch: Storylines in Florida-Utah, Matt Rhule debut at Nebraska, Jaden Rashada starting at QB for Arizona State appeared first on On3.
