Why national media said the Utes’ victory over Florida was a ‘pretty vintage Utah win’

ESPN brought its “A” team to Salt Lake City for Thursday night’s season-opening contest between Utah and Florida — Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe were on the broadcast crew for the game.

They weren’t the only national media tuning in for the matchup — far from it.

What the No. 14 Utes showcased in their 24-11 win over Florida — the first time an SEC team has played at Rice-Eccles Stadium — is that Utah’s defense has reloaded yet again, and Utah has the depth to overcome the absence of several key starters.

Here’s what the national media had to say about Utah’s dominant win.

Backup quarterbacks deliver big plays

Even with quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe both still out as they rehab ACL injuries, the visitors were no match for a Utah offense that made timely plays under backup quarterbacks Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson.

Barnes, making just his second-ever start in relief of Rising, completed 12 of 18 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown — a 70-yard bomb to Money Parks on Utah’s first offensive play of the night to set the tone for the game.

“While the Utes ran only 53 plays on offense Thursday night, both quarterbacks made the most of their appearances. Barnes, for his part, did it on the first play of Utah’s first drive. After taking his first snap of the year, Barnes dropped back in the pocket and launched a pass that found wide receiver Money Parks in perfect stride for a 70-yard touchdown,” ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti wrote.

“... That play call spoke volumes about Whittingham’s trust in Barnes as a suitable replacement for Rising.”

Johnson came on at various times throughout the game and added six carries for a team-high-tying 45 yards, including a shifty 27-yard touchdown run that put Utah ahead 14-3 early in the second quarter.

“As effective as Barnes was in the pocket, Johnson was equally prolific out of it. In the Utes’ first drive of the second quarter, Whittingham inserted his other quarterback option into the game, and it didn’t take long for Johnson to show his potential,” Uggetti wrote. 

“On a quarterback keeper, Johnson, a track star in high school, danced his way through a flailing Florida defense, showcasing his speed and agility as he dusted a Florida defender on his way to a 27-yard touchdown.”

The pair of quarterbacks also did not turn the ball over, helping offset the fact Utah went 3 of 13 on third downs.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee applauded the Utes’ well-executed plan to utilize both Barnes and Johnson.

“(Utah coach Kyle) Whittingham came out firing with a backup QB going deep on the first play from scrimmage. After that, all he asked Barnes to do was manage the game. He did it perfectly,” Sallee wrote.

“Whittingham put pressure on himself earlier this week when he said Johnson would definitely play in this game regardless of Rising’s availability. Johnson can scoot, so Whittingham put him in key spots allowing Johnson to use his legs to slice and dice the Gators defense.”

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Utah’s defense shuts it down

The Utah defense collected five sacks and allowed Florida to convert just 1 of 13 third downs.

Last year, the Gators rolled up 283 rushing yards in a 29-26 win over Utah in Gainesville. This time, the Utes allowed Florida just 13 rushing yards — and 0.6 yards per carry.

“(Florida quarterback Graham) Mertz had a career-high 333 yards passing, but they’re hollow numbers. The Utes forced Florida into becoming one-dimensional, which put pressure on Mertz to carry an offense that doesn’t have enough firepower,” The Athletic’s Chris Kamrani wrote. 

“Utah’s defense took advantage of Florida’s young and inexperienced offensive line and kept the Gators in check for most of the evening.”

Sallee also gave a shoutout to Utah’s stifling defense, which was led by junior defensive end Jonah Elliss with two sacks, while Cole Bishop had a team-high 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. 

“The Utes sacked Mertz five times for a total loss of 47 yards on the night, and nearly all of those sacks came in critical situations,” Sallee wrote. “Perhaps more important is the fact that they did it without defensive tackle Junior Tafuna, who was announced as a scratch shortly before the start of the game.”

Utes take advantage of Gators mistakes

Florida outgained Utah in total yards 346 to 270, but the Gators couldn’t convert those into more than two scores as Florida was just 1 of 3 on red-zone scoring opportunities.

The Gators also set up Utah’s second touchdown, Johnson’s 27-yard run, when Florida was flagged for having two players with the same jersey number on the field at the same time when the Gators had two No. 3s on the field on a Utah punt. The resulting penalty gave Utah a first down and led to the score.

“The Gators went 1-for-13 on third downs, missed a 31-yard field goal and essentially gave Utah 14 points with an illegal substitution penalty on a punt return that kept a Utes drive alive, plus a tipped interception Florida threw deep in its own territory (after fielding a punt inside its 5-yard line). It also committed three penalties when faced with 3rd- or 4th-and-1,” The Athletic’s Chris Vannini wrote.

“If the Gators cut out those easy mistakes, this could have been a close game.”

Utah also capitalized on the game’s lone turnover, a Sione Vaki interception of a tipped pass early in the third quarter that set the Utes up inside the Florida 15. Three plays later, Barnes scored on a 5-yard scamper that put Utah ahead 24-3.

“This was a pretty vintage Utah win. The Utes controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, found explosive plays on offense and took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes. With or without Rising, it’s a winning formula,” USA Today’s Paul Myerberg wrote. 

“Utah struck first with a 70-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter and then added a 27-yard scoring run to cap an 80-yard drive midway through the second. This was a game that never felt in doubt, which reflects well on Utah and poorly, of course, on the Gators.”