The Florida Gators and Utah Utes have scheduled a home-and-home series for 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the Gainesville Sun.
The 2022 meeting will be hosted in Gainesville, while the 2023 contest will take place in Salt Lake City, according to the report.
The teams would meet for the first since 1977, when the Gators defeated the Utes 38-29 in Gainesville.
Utah’s current coach is Kyle Whittingham the program took over for Urban Meyer in 2004. He holds a 123-62 recrod as head coach of the Utes.
Whittingham most notably led Utah to a 13-0 season in 2008, which was capped with a 31-17 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Brian Johnson, the current quarterbacks coach at Florida, quarterbacked Utah to victory over the Tide.
Florida branded a 34-3 beatdown on Tennessee in Kyle Trask’s first career start. While the Gators contributed a dominating performance, there were plenty of miscues in this seven turnover contest.
Here are how the Gators graded out in each phase of play:
Offense: B+
Trask responded strongly to the pressure of his first start. He fueled the UF offense with a statline of 20 for 28, 293 yards and two touchdowns (albeit two interceptions), finding eight different receivers. He showed a special connection with tight end Kyle Pitts over the middle of the field, as Pitts led all Florida receivers with four catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.
However, Trask struggled a little in the second half when he threw interceptions on back-to-back drives. Both picks were underthrown into double coverage, so he needs to learn not to force passes, although it’s good to see he already trusts his receivers.
The Gators also need to pick up their running game. This may sound like a broken record, but 71 of the team’s 128 rushing yards came in the fourth quarter. The victory was all but in hand as Florida entered the final frame with a 24-3 lead.
The run game thrived mostly behind the direction of Emory Jones in the fourth quarter; however, the offense stifled under his direction in the first half. Coach Dan Mullen supplemented Trask with Jones. Jones’ introduction seemed to stop the momentum Trask was building, although it didn’t hurt in the long run.
Defense: A
Anytime you hold a conference opponent to under 250 yards of total offense and just three points, you’re defense deserves a high grade.
Yet again, edge rusher Jon Greenard led the brigade. He had a monster day, compiling a sack, two tackles for loss, three batted passes and a forced fumble.
Four huge turnovers by the Florida defense helped stretch the gap in the scoreline, as UF scored 10 points off of them. Spectacular diving interceptions on tipped passes by corner Trey Dean and linebacker Amari Burney in UF territory (Dean’s was in the end zone) were back-breakers for the Volunteers.
Linebacker James Houston also committed the only defensive penalty for the Gators (holding), a fantastic improvement on a normally penalty-plagued unit.
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham also brought the heat on UT’s quarterbacks, as UF had four sacks.
This is the level that Florida’s defense can play at, and it did so without leaders Jabari Zuniga and CJ Henderson on the field. Impressive.
Special Teams: B
Evan McPherson improved to five-for-six kicking field goals on the season, knocking a 22 and 37-yarder in the win. He continues to be a solid, reliable kicker in a season where college kickers have made or broken many games.
Punter Tommy Townsend had one punt for 43 yards, and the coverage was good as Marquez Callaway had no return.
Freddie Swain returned only one punt for 10 yards even though the Volunteers punted five times. There was also a holding call against Josh Hammond on a punt on the second quarter, negating another nice return by Swain.
Coaching: B +
There’s negative and positives here, so let’s start with the negatives.
Fumbling continues to be an issue with Malik Davis. Yes, he needs to hold onto the ball better, but he also needs to be coached to handle the ball better. Maybe have him walk around campus with a football at all times, something Tom Osborne did to players who fumbled at Nebraska.
Also, the two quarterback system Dan Mullen ran was not fruitful. Stick with the hot hand in Trask. Luckily, turnovers kept the momentum on Florida’s side.
Now to the positives:
The offense was curated beautifully for Trask, who picked apart Tennessee’s defense. The coaching staff prepared Trask especially well against the zone blitz.
Dean and Burney’s tip-drill interceptions were also tremendous examples of coaching. Each player displayed awareness and hustle to the football.
Most impressively, Florida had only five penalties, as it’s normally a heavily penalized team. The offensive line, one of UF’s most heavily penalized units, only attracted three flags for 24 yards.
I give the coaching a plus because we saw steady improvement in all facets of the game against Tennessee. This staff did not let its players take the struggling Volunteers lightly, and this team looks very motivated for success, as it’s primed for a top-10 matchup with No. 7 Auburn in two weeks.
A few Gators put up some career-high statistics in the match. Allie Gregory picked up a whopping 24 digs on the night, followed closely by Monserez with 17. Both stats proved to be career highs for Gregory and Monserez.
Gators Invitational Awards
Thayer Hall was named tournament MVP for her performances against Liberty, Northern Arizona and Louisiana. Over the three matches, she put up 33 kills and four service aces.
After the first day, Gators Head Coach Mary Wise praised her performances, saying that Hall was the “key story” from the opening matches. While she slowed down on day two, only hitting .206, she was still deemed the tournament’s best.
Onto a New Challenge
The end of the Gators Invitational marks the beginning of Florida’s SEC matchups. Their first match comes against Auburn on Friday at 7 p.m. at Exactech Arena.
Gainesville, FL –– Florida rolled to an easy win over the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday afternoon. Kyle Trask completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 293 yards, two touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions in his first career start. It was a performance that gave Florida fans a glimpse of what a Trask-led offense can look like.
For the most part, Trask excelled in controlling the game. However, through much of the game Trask really wasn’t tested, as Tennessee operated out of a pretty bland defensive scheme. When the Vols did apply pressure, Trask seemed to try to force the play. Both of the redshirt junior signal caller’s interceptions were the result of Trask attempting to do too much because of pressure.
The only other knock on Trask’s performance would be that there were a couple opportunities for him to force the defense to account for him as a runner, that he didn’t take. One of them resulted in a sack that could have easily been a first down had he just decided to run. Otherwise, there wasn’t much that you could say he didn’t do well.
It is clear that Trask was extremely close to Franks in the quarterback competition. If the Gators are able to muster a consistent rushing attack, they can go really far with Trask at the helm.
In all, ten Gators recorded a pass reception on the way to a total of 313 receiving yards. Freddie Swain and Kyle Pitts each hauled in touchdown passes while racking up 67 yards and 62 yards, respectively.
It was Trevon Grimes who recorded the longest catch of the day, though, as he came back to bring in a slightly underthrown ball on the Gators opening drive. His 43 yard reception set up Kyle Pitts’ touchdown and helped set the tone for Florida’s 34-3 win.
The Gators defense disrupted everything the Volunteers aimed to do, as they camped out in Tennessee’s backfield all day. The four sacks and eight tackles for loss recorded by the Gators were absolutely influential in creating the three interceptions by Marco Wilson, Amari Burney, and Trey Dean III. When the Gators defensive line wasn’t in the backfield, they were smacking passes out of the air. Jonathan Greenard had three pass deflections by himself.
Although Dan Mullen made good on his promise to play both quarterbacks, Emory Jones was utilized sparingly at best. The future of the Gators offense completed 66% of his passes for 20 yards. He added an additional 5 yards with his legs. As the season progresses, I expect that Mullen will need to involve Jones to a greater extent, if for no other reason than a balanced run/pass attack.
The Volunteers were mostly a non-factor throughout the day, making a lot of mental errors and failing to really ever find a rhythm. True freshman quarterback seemed to provide a spark for the Vols offense, but even he completed just four of his eleven passes for a total of 44 yards. Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt pulled him following an interception, a message I’m not sure he needed to send to his young quarterback.
The Gators outgained Tennessee 441 to 239, and dominated the time of possession. Over Dan Mullen’s two meetings with Tennessee, his Gators have outscored the Volunteers 81-24.
Jeremy Pruitt and his team will have a long trip back to Knoxville. They leave Gainesville with even more questions than they had when they arrived. Florida, on the other hand, continues to develop and remains undefeated. They host Towson next weekend, a final tuneup before they face Auburn on homecoming.
New York Mets rookie slugger Pete Alonso hit his 50th homer Friday night. Alonso became just the second player in MLB history to reach the milestone in his rookie season.
Pete Alonso CRUSHED this one for his 50th home run of the year 😱
On Friday, the No. 11 Florida Gators hosted day one of the Gators Invitational. In the two matches they played, Florida defeated Liberty (25-21, 25-17, 25-12) and Northern Arizona (25-14, 25-17, 25-13) in straight sets.
The Gators have now won six consecutive games and sit at 8-2 on the season.
Match 1 vs. Liberty
In the first match, Florida faced the Lady Flames of Liberty. Coming into the invitational, the Lady Flames had a 5-4 record. However, it took the Gators just three frames to get their first win of the day.
Rachael Kramer led the way with 12 kills on 16 attacks. After Kramer came Thayer Hall and Paige Hammons with 10 kills each on 17 and 23 attacks respectively.
As a team, Florida racked up 42 kills with nine errors. Meanwhile, Liberty hit 33 kills and gave away 18 errors.
Match 2 vs. NAU
The Gators’ second match of the day against NAU was even more of a blowout. At one point, Florida had scored nine straight points.
Hall led the game in kills by some margin; she ended with 13 kills, followed by Hammons with eight.
Lauren Dooley led the way defensively with five total blocks.
The Lumberjacks had a tough time picking up kills. On 94 total attempts, NAU registered just 21 kills and gave away 16 errors. They ended the match with a .053 hitting percentage.
Improving Defensively
One of the main reasons Liberty and NAU struggled to pick up kills against the Gators was because of Florida’s improvement on the defensive end. Head Coach Mary Wise mentioned that she wanted Darrielle King in particular to pick up more blocks after last week’s invitational.
Florida ended the day with 17.5 total blocks in the two matches. On paper, that doesn’t look like much of an improvement from previous matches. However, the Gators seemed to get touches on almost every attack from the opposition. Their efforts didn’t always lead directly to points, but their timely rotations made it very difficult for their opponents to strike any clean kills.
Coach Wise noted her team’s improvements defensively.
“Tonight, I felt that the team just had a much better understanding, from a defensive standpoint, of our blocking setup,” said Wise.
Day 2
In their third and final match of the Gators Invitational, Florida will face Louisiana Lafayette at 3:30 p.m.
After a two hour rain delay, the Gators convincingly defeated LSU in Baton Rouge 3-0 to begin SEC play with a victory.
Florida has now outscored their opponents 10-0 in their last three matches. On the night, the Gators had 24 shots, which is the most they have registered in a game this season.
When it rains, it pours.
Summary
Vanessa Kara, the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week, got the start at striker and was involved early.
Starting 🐊s for tonight's (🌩️delayed) @SEC opener at LSU:
Just 20 minutes in, senior midfielder Tess Sapone floated a cross into the box that Kara rose to meet. Unchallenged by the two central defenders she was standing between, Kara placed it into the back of the net to put the Gators up 1-0.
Despite some more chances in the first half, the Gators entered the break with just the one-goal advantage.
Just two minutes after play resumed, though, Kara struck again. Kit Loferski, a constant menace on the right flank, ran past her defender and delivered a low cross to Kara at the top of the six yard box who tapped it first time past LSU keeper Emma Grace Goldman to double the Gators lead.
Kara, a senior transfer, has now scored five goals in her last three games.
Loferski, who leads the team in assists, then got on the scoresheet herself in the 61st minute. She cut in from the right wing and delivered a shot near post that was deflected off an LSU player and into the back of the net. The Gators led 3-0.
The Tigers best chance of the night came shortly after that, when in the 63rd minute Susi Espinoza was forced to save a shot near post on what was a quiet night for her. LSU had six shots, and only three of them were on target.
Outlook for the Gators
Florida now sports a record of 5-4 and their three straight wins have earned them a rare week off. Their next game is at home against Missouri on Thursday.
Other than the good result for the Gators, another positive they can take from this game is Canadian international Deanne Rose made a substitute appearance after sitting out the last two games due to a hamstring injury. Rose was the team’s top scorer before she was forced to miss four of the last five games.
The Florida football team is now faced with the adversity of having to replace their starting quarterback due to an injury. While Kyle Trask commanded the offense with precision and quick decisions against Kentucky, it will be interesting to see what happens against a Tennessee team coming off a lopsided win against Chattanooga.
The following are our staff predictions for the game:
This used to be such a meaningful rivalry. Every meeting between these schools carried SEC and national championship implications throughout the 90’s. Well, it’s still an important game, but it’s not the 90’s anymore. This is a UT program that still can’t seem to get out of its own way. They have some big receivers, especially Jauan Jennings that could create some potential matchup problems though. Florida’s Defensive front will need to help their secondary out, this week, by getting to Guarantano early and often. On the opposite side of the ball, Florida’s offensive line will show some improvement against a weak Volunteer defensive front, allowing Kyle Trask plenty of time to get the ball out to the Gators talented receiver corps. Emory Jones will add a new wrinkle for Tennessee to deal with and they haven’t handled mobile quarterbacks very well, so far this season. It’s a new year, but it will be the same result. Florida wins 35-21.
Tennessee week has always been one of my favorite weeks in Florida football. It seems as though the story lines are always great — and this week is no different. Kyle Trask, known for his patience and precision, will be the first Gator wearing No. 11 to start a game under center since the 1960s when some guy named Steve Spurrier did it. Talk about some pressure. Nonetheless, I think Trask is as level-headed as they come and this game will be perfect for him to get his feet wet ahead of an intimidating schedule in October. Tennessee’s defensive line is… bad. Florida’s offensive line is… not great. However, I think the Gators upfront should be able to make a push for the running game, which has been nearly nonexistent so far this season. This should open up the passing attack and Kyle should be able to sit pretty comfortably in the pocket and get in rhythm so that he is able to do what he does best — sling it. Defensively, the Gators need to be better. And we all know that they are capable of doing that. I see them battling for four quarters and finally winning the turnover battle. Sorry Volunteers, but there’s too much to figure out this game. It’s going to be 60 minutes of pure gas as Mullen and staff experiments with what works and what doesn’t. 35-17, Gators.
Looking at the remaining schedule for Tennessee, I think they will be lucky to even win 4 games. The Volunteers opened the season with losses to BYU and Georgia State, and then managed to get in the win column with a brutal 45-0 beating on a weak Chattanooga squad. For Tennessee, this is their first SEC game, and they have not looked prepared for it at all, even Florida, who is rolling about backup QB Kyle Trask, is more prepared for the conference grind. The two most recent matchups between the two have been highly entertaining, with the Gators winning both, and I see no difference for this year. I am expecting Trask to really shine in his new role as starting quarterback, therefore I am taking the Gators, 27-14.
Throw out all the statistics, it’s rivalry week. And I’m not going to mince words here, I think Tennessee will leave Gainesville with a victory. Unlikely? Maybe. But let’s break down these teams, starting with the quarterbacks.
Jarrett Guarantano is undoubtedly more talented than Kyle Trask. If he can get rid of the ball quickly to mitigate Florida’s pass rush (which may be missing its leader in Jabari Zuniga) and exploit the UF defense with his legs, he will have a big day.
Volunteer running backs Ty Chandler and Eric Gray have rushed for a combined 5.2 yards per carry, while UF’s Lamical Perine averages only 3.5. The Gators are also missing a vital cog in the rushing attack with Feleipe Franks’ absence.
Florida’s corners will also have to deal with productive senior receivers Marquez Callaway in Jauan Jennings, but that may be difficult if Preseason First-Team All-SEC corner CJ Henderson doesn’t play.
But when it comes down to it, Tennessee needs this game more. It’s more than at risk of missing the bowl season, and the future of head coach Jeremy Pruitt is on the line.
We saw the Gators lose to an inferior opponent last year in Missouri, and this matchup smells similarly. With that, I’ve got the Volunteers, 29-24.
Tennessee football hasn’t been relevant in over a decade and UF has pounced, winning 13 of the last 14 contests between the two programs. Regardless, this is a big one for Florida. The Gators are working in a new QB and the schedule becomes a murderer’s row in October.
Tennessee has playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. WRs JuJuan Jennings and Marquez Callaway are extremely talented and RB Ty Chandler is averaging 5.9 yards per carry in 2019.
Florida will need to get on the scoreboard early and put any hopes of a UT upset to bed in the first half. It won’t be easy, but Florida gets the win, 31-17.
Florida and Tennessee are set for a 12:00 PM kickoff. The game will be aired on ESPN. You can follow @ChompTalk and @MikeyPfeffer on Twitter for live updates of the contest.
What are your predictions, Gator Nation? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook.
The No. 11 Florida Gators will host the Gators Invitational this Friday and Saturday. Liberty, Northern Arizona and Louisiana will be competing in the invitational.
Gators Invitational Schedule
The Gators’ first match comes at noon against the Liberty Flames. The Flames are 5-4 on the season. Having only played once before, Florida leads the series 1-0.
Later into the evening, at 7 p.m., the Gators will face Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks are 6-3 this season. Like Liberty, the Gators and Lumberjacks have only met once before. However, Northern Arizona got the best of the Gators in their meeting last year, winning in five sets.
Finally, Florida will face Louisiana at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to close out the Gators Invitational. The Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana are 4-6 this season. Florida and Louisiana have never played each other.
Gators on a Roll
The Florida Gators are on a four-game winning streak after starting the season 2-2. In their last four matches, they’ve dropped just three sets.
After closing out the Honda of Gainesville Gator Invitational undefeated last weekend, the Gators hosted No. 23 Florida State. The Gators won in straight sets behind a standout performance from sophomore setter Marlie Monserez.
She got 40 assists in the three sets and chipped in with some kills. Head coach Mary Wise was full of praise for her player following the match.
“From an offensive standpoint, I thought Marlie was her best today,” said Wise. “It’s pretty heroic what she’s doing to be able to control the ball as well as she was, and as a result, giving our hitters such good looks.”
Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Dooley has also been on fire in the attack, picking up 23 kills in her last two matches. After Rachael Kramer missed a few games through injury, Dooley has done very well in her place. She won the MVP award for the Honda of Gainesville Gator Invitational last weekend.
A once proud rivalry, Florida vs. Tennessee still bears grudges from yesteryear. Although Florida has won thirteen of the last fourteen meetings, and the game hasn’t held championship implications in fifteen years or more, something about this particular rivalry still makes blood boil.
The Gators enter Saturday’s matchup as fourteen-point favorites over the embattled Volunteers. Since the SEC expansion in 1992, Tennessee has defeated Florida just six times. Of those six wins, none of them came when Tennessee took on a nationally ranked Florida team while they, themselves, were unranked. In fact, the last time an unranked Tennessee team bested the Gators was in 1955.
History doesn’t bode well for the Volunteers, as they will travel to Gainesville to take on the ninth ranked and unbeaten — even if not always pretty — Gators. Florida will feature a new look as redshirt junior quarterback, Kyle Trask, will make his first career start.
Trask filled in admirably after starting quarterback, Feleipe Franks’ season came to an abrupt end late in the third quarter, last Saturday night. Trask led the Gators to nineteen unanswered points and a come from behind victory in Lexington.
With a full compliment of very talented receivers, I am looking for Mullen to give Trask some high-percentage shots early, to establish a rhythm. Florida’s offensive line has — for the most part — done well in pass protection, so I expect Trask to be able to set his feet in the pocket and make the throws that will propel the offense.
Although he’s a willing runner, Trask doesn’t quite have the wheels that Franks did. To supplement that portion of Mullen’s offense, we should see a healthy dose of Emory Jones. The upside to this is that he will get valuable in-game experience and it could, potentially, ignite the running game that has been so stagnant thus far this season.
The downside to the Jones package is that — at least for a little while — it will be predictable. Jones must become a legitimate threat to pass the football, and to do so with accuracy. Until then, defenses are going to load the box and key in on Jones and the option.
Jarrett Guarantano has been very inconsistent throughout his career but is coming off of a three touchdown performance against UT-Chattanooga last week. The competition takes a massive step up this week, as the Gators boast one of the best defensive fronts in the nation.
If Grantham sticks to his modus operandi and dials in blitz after exotic blitz, it could be a very long day for Guarantano. Add to that, the fact that Florida will likely have All-SEC cornerback, CJ Henderson back in the fold and things could get dicey in a hurry.
I don’t want to sell Tennessee short, however. They have some very talented players that could — and should — factor in to Saturday’s game. Jauan Jennings, and Marquez Callaway are big and physical receivers that will challenge Florida’s secondary. Vols running back, Ty Chandler is averaging a very respectable 5.9 yards per carry, as well.
Despite this, Florida has home field advantage, they have the coaching advantage, and they still have more weapons than Tennessee. I like Florida to win this one and to cover the spread during a hot and humid noon kickoff.
Florida hosts the Volunteers on Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is at noon EST and will be televised on ESPN.
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