Date Set for Florida Gators’ 2023 Season Opener at Utah Utes

Photo: Florida Gators; Credit: Alex Shepherd

The Florida Gators 2023 season opener in Salt Lake City against the Utah Utes has officially been scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 31, the latter program announced on Tuesday.

The matchup was initially set for Saturday, Sept. 2.

This is the first time since a contest against Mississippi State on Oct. 1, 1992, that the Gators will suit up to play on a Thursday. It is the second consecutive regular season game that came on a weekday, succeeding a bout with Florida State last season on Friday, Nov. 25.

The meeting will conclude a home-and-home series between the two power five programs, marking the second straight season they have faced off to open their campaigns.

In 2022, the Gators stood tall in Gainesville behind an elite outing from former quarterback Anthony Richardson — who posted 70% completion, 274 total yards and three rushing touchdowns. Florida used his excellence and a goal-line interception by fifth-year linebacker Amari Burney on the final drive to reign victorious, 29-26, over the Utes in Billy Napier’s first game as head coach.

Florida will field a drastically different team in round two of the series, as both of the aforementioned key players in last year's contest have moved onto the NFL alongside more than two dozen other players that exited the program by way of the draft or the transfer portal.

Utah will look for revenge on its home turf against the new-look Gators squad in the Thursday primetime slot to kick off the year.

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