Florida football know your enemy: Utah’s offense depends on Rising

After months of anticipation, arguing over recruiting, analyzing the Spring Game, trying to convince ourselves to watch the Canadian Football League, and forcing ourselves to watch FSU vs Duquense, Florida football is back.

This Saturday the Gators will take on the Utah Utes in The Swamp. Utah comes into the season as the defending Pac-12 champions and is ranked 7th in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Utah’s offense will provide a worthy test for Florida, but there are pathways for Billy Napier and Florida to slow down the Utes.

Cameron Rising is legit, but with flaws

At first glance, it is fair to question why Florida should fear a team that lost to BYU and San Diego State last season. Much like Florida fans are hedging their bets on Anthony Richardson this year, Utah fans would counter that Cameron Rising didn’t start those games. Once Rising took over the starting job mid-season, Utah went 9-2 to finish the season including two wins over Oregon.

Rising still finds himself behind guys like Richardson, Will Levis, and Tyler Van Dyke on NFL mock drafts, but one could say his draft stock is… rising.

The first thing that stands out about Rising is his running ability. He’s a tough runner and is difficult to bring down. He runs more physically than his own running back Tavion Thomas (who we will get to).

Most of Rising’s runs are scrambles out of the pocket. Utah did utilize option runs last season, both of the read-option and the pitch-and-run variety, but Rising typically handed the ball off in these situations.

Given tackling is historically poor in the opening game, it would not be surprising to see Utah try and get Rising’s legs involved early to test Florida’s ability to bring him down.

Rising’s command of the passing game is solid. When given time, he will scan the field and go through his reads. He’s not one to just lock on to one guy and stay there. His arm strength is okay, but not on the level of someone like Richardson. That didn’t prevent Utah from trying some deeper throws last season, usually a streak down the middle, but the bulk of Utah’s offense is within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Where Rising is vulnerable is if you get pressure in his face. He’s not one to automatically flee the pocket and he will stand in and take a hit. But of the five interceptions he threw last year, all five were a result of opposing defenses getting pressure. A couple of his interceptions came off of floating ducks after being hit during his throw.

Florida football know your enemy: Tavion Thomas, Brant Kuithe, and Dalton Kincaid

Tavion Thomas was Utah’s leading rusher from last year and he is back for another go around. Listed at 6-2, 238 pounds, Thomas is a mostly straight-line runner. That doesn’t mean it is always straight ahead. Utah did utilize Thomas on outside runs a decent amount last year.

Thomas can be hard to bring down, but he’s not necessarily the type of guy to truck an opposing linebacker. His go-to getaway move tends to be a spin move, almost like he is trying to play flag football.

Last season Utah’s runs were almost always when Rising was under center. Utah would also almost always throw in at least a play-action when under center.

Brant Kuithe is a TE listed at 6-2, 219 pounds. Given his size, he better fits the build of a large WR than a true TE. Kuithe led Utah receiving last year with 50 catches for 611 yards.

The other key to Utah’s attack is TE Dalton Kincaid. Listed at 6-4, 240 pounds, Kincaid is a pass-catching first TE. Utah will line him out wide on shotgun plays and he is your classic case of a matchup headache. Kincaid does best when left one-on-one and given a 50-50 ball to go up and get.

He will line up along the line when Utah goes under center. As mentioned, if Utah does opt for play action Kincaid will streak downfield and will be one of Rising’s first looks.

How to slow down Utah

At 36.1 points per game in 2021, Utah had the 14th highest scoring offense in the country last year. Florida probably won’t shut down the Utes but there are ways to slow them down.

• Know where Kuithe and Kincaid are at all times: Utah’s two leading returning receivers are their two tight ends. Utah doesn’t have a listed WR that caught more than 300 yards last year. These two will be Rising’s first reads.
• Play close to the line: Given that Utah doesn’t have a proven WR that can burn Florida over the top, Florida needs to consider a lot of single safety looks. Utah thrives off crossing routes, curls, and outside runs. The Gators have a decent-sized crew at cornerback that should be able to hold up if left one-on-one with Utah’s outside receivers.
• Pressure in Rising’s face: Florida defensive ends Brenton Cox, Gervon Dexter, and Princely Umanmielen might be the biggest key to the game. If Florida’s defensive line can at least get token pressure on Rising, he is prone to at least one backbreaking interception. Gap discipline is also going to be massive for Florida. One of the ongoing programs the defensive line had under Todd Grantham was a tendency to get too far up the field, providing opposing QBs an escape route.
• Tackling: Probably the single biggest concern to have for Florida heading into this game is overall tackling. As noted, Rising and Thomas can be difficult to bring down. And given it’s the opening game, where tackling is usually spotty regardless of opponent, Utah can do damage simply by running right at Florida and daring them to make the tackle.

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