Florida Gators to Open 2022 Season With Three Night Games In a Row
Photo: Billy Napier and the Florida Gators; Credit: Alex Shepherd
The SEC announced the kickoff times for four of the Florida Gators' first five games of the 2022 season on Thursday, and the first three matchups of Billy Napier's tenure as UF's head coach will be under the lights of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The Gators will open the campaign by hosting the Utah Utes at 7 P.M. ET on Sept. 3, followed by an SEC East matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats on Sept, 10 at 7 P.M. ET and the second game of a home-and-home series with the USF Bulls at 7:30 P.M. ET on Sept. 17.
In week five, UF will return to The Swamp after an away contest with the Tennessee Volunteers to face the Eastern Washington Eagles for the first time in history at noon on Oct. 1.
The Utah game marks the beginning of a home-and-home series with the Utes, which will send the Gators to Salt Lake City in 2023. This will be the second all-time meeting between the programs after Florida topped Utah in Gainesville in 1977, 38-29.
Week 2 will feature the 73rd all-time meeting between the Gators and Wildcats. UF defeated UK 31 times in a row from 1987 to 2017 but the series is tied 2-2 over the last four years.
In the second meeting between the Gators and Bulls last year in Tampa, UF beat USF by a score of 42-20.
You can find what has been announced of the Gators' 2022 kickoff schedule below.
September 3 vs. Utah, ESPN, 7 p.m. ET
September 10 vs. Kentucky, ESPN, 7 p.m. ET
September 17 vs. South Florida, SECN, 7:30 p.m. ET
October 1 vs. Eastern Washington, ESPN+/SECN+, Noon ET
October 29 Georgia (Jacksonville), CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET
November 25 at FSU, ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET
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