Counting Down Utah Football’s Best 2022 Plays: Florida

SALT LAKE CITY – We are 14 weeks out from the Utes’ season opener against Florida in Rice-Eccles Stadium and we thought it would be fun to countdown the best play in each of Utah football’s 14 games in 2022 to celebrate.

While not every game went Utah’s way last season, they did enough to stamp their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas, go back-to-back as conference champions, and earn their second berth in a row to the “Grandaddy of them All”.

Many believe Utah has a good chance of threepeating in 2023 due to the talent returning and the coaches’ aggressive approach in the Transfer Portal to address a few deficiencies.  Unfortunately, we still have some time to go before we find out, but in the meantime let’s take a trip down memory lane starting with the Utes’ season opener in 2022 against Florida.

 

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Utah’s Defense And Offense Work Together

The Florida game was a bit of a mixed bag for the Utes with moments of brilliance and moments that…weren’t…

This particular sequence in the game was all brilliance on both sides of the ball and probably Ute fans’ first taste of what this team could be when the defense and offense were on the same page. It should also be pointed out that three of the four players involved are returning in 2023.

The first quarter of the Florida game was a bit of a stalemate, though the Gators appeared to have all of the momentum having accumulated 60 yards of offense early on. Then defensive end Jonah Elliss happened.

Elliss got a paw in on a play in what looked to be a successful Florida drive and stripped the ball loose. Safety R.J. Hubert was there for the scoop and return, carrying the ball within the Gators’ 30-yard line and helping to set up Utah’s offense for the first score of the game.

 

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From there, quarterback Cam Rising and crew took over, with Rising hitting tight end Brant Kuithe in stride for the touchdown and early lead.

Unfortunately, the Utes would go on to lose this game in heartbreaking fashion, 29-26, after a last-minute interception by Rising would tip the scales in Florida’s favor.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports

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