Gators Open as Favorites Against Utah
By Will Thomas
This past week, FanDuel announced a few opening lines for week one of the college football season. Included on that list was Florida vs Utah, where the Gators are favored by 2.5 points.
This came as a surprise to a lot of people. Utah, who went 10-4 last season and won the PAC-12, has lots of potential to be an elite team again this season. They return their experienced QB Cameron Rising, and look to have another solid defense this season.
So why are the Gators, who are coming off of a 6-7 season and have an entirely new coaching staff, favored to win this opening week contest?
The Gator’s roster is loaded with talent. QB Anthony Richardson is one of the most electric and capable playmakers in the entire country, and the Gators have a deep running back core to compliment Richardson’s abilities.
Defensively, the pass rush is primed to be great, with Brenton Cox Jr and Gervon Dexter returning, as well as rising stars like Princely Umanmielen. The secondary, despite losing Kaiir Elam, still has lots of talent in Jason Marshall Jr, Rashad Torrence II, and Trey Dean.
There is also one more element of the game that has to be factored into any predictions.
It’s in The Swamp.
Week one, primetime game (probably), Napier’s debut, new energy, new era. Gainesville, Florida is going to be the place to be on September 3rd.
When The Swamp is rockin’, it’s really hard for teams to pull out a win. A year of disappointing football last year has the college football world forgetting what Gator fans are capable of. Not to try and grab a moral victory, but a 6 win team almost beat Bama last year when the Swamp was going wild. It truly does have an effect on the way teams play.
Fans on the outside would expect Utah to be favored, given their proven talent and ability to win. When you look at all the factors, however, a Gators win doesn’t just seem possible, but probable.
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