Florida Gators fall to No. 14 Utah, 24-11

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah got revenge over the Florida Gators on Thursday — and did so even without its starting quarterback.

One year after losing a tight game at the Swamp (29-26), the Utes beat Florida 24-11 on Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the season opener for both teams. Standout Utah quarterback Cameron Rising didn’t play as he recovers from an injury, but it didn’t matter.

Former walk-on Bryson Barnes shined from the jump in Rising’s absence. He found Money Parks on a deep post that covered 70 yards on Utah’s first offensive play for a 7-0 lead. Barnes finished the game 12-of-18 passing for 159 yards and one touchdown. He added a 5-yard TD run in the third quarter.

For Florida (0-1), several miscues proved to be costly. Key penalties stopped Gator drives and one kept a Utah (1-0) offensive series alive. Florida missed a relatively short field goal. A Gators turnover deep in Florida territory gift-wrapped a Utes TD.

Gators quarterback Graham Mertz, who transferred to Florida from Wisconsin during the offseason, completed 31 of 43 throws for 333 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He often faced pressure from Utah’s defensive line.

A few other key stats for Billy Napier’s team:

-A supposedly vaunted Gators running game rushed for 13 total yards. With sacks included, Mertz finished with -29 yards rushing.

-Florida attempted only 21 rushes.

-Florida went a combined 3-for-18 on third and fourth downs. The first third-down conversation didn’t come until early in the fourth quarter.

-Florida was 2-for-4 in the red zone.

Other notable plays for the Florida Gators

*Florida began the second half by forcing a Utes punt. But freshman Eugene Wilson opted to field a 61-yard kick well inside the Gators 10. Three plays later, Mertz was intercepted after his pass attempt bounced off the hands of receiver Ricky Pearsall and into those of Utah safety Sione Vaki. The Utes took over at the Florida 11, then went up 24-3 at the 11:06 mark of the quarter when Barnes scored on a 5-yard run.

*Tailing 7-3 and facing 4th & 1 at the Utah 9 in the first half, the Gators were flagged for a false start. On the next snap, Adam Mihalek missed a 31-yard field goal at the 13:35 mark of the second quarter.

*The Gators committed an egregious penalty on fourth down with just under 10 minutes left in the first half after having stopped the Utes near midfield. On Utah’s punt, Florida was flagged for having two players wearing the same number. That gave the Utes a first down and they went ahead 14-3 less than two minutes later on a Nate Johnson 27-yard run.

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