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SALT LAKE CITY — In case you haven't heard, Utah has a big game against an SEC opponent to open up the season.
Yes, it comes as a surprise to us, too, but Utah will open its season against Florida Saturday (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN) at The Swamp — a hostile environment where the humidity is allegedly going to be a major threat to the Utes' chances of getting a win, at least if you believe the hordes of Gators fans that hold onto this belief.
It's true, though, that The Swamp is a difficult venue.
Approximately 90,000 sticky and hot (from the aforementioned humidity) fans are crammed into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with hopes of being a factor in Florida disrupting the No. 7 team's mojo to start the season. Add to it that it's Billy Napier's first season as head coach, and the game is a must-see attraction.
The game in SEC country is one Utah scheduled in 2019 and was circled on Jan. 2 — just hours after the Rose Bowl concluded.
And though the game has different implications and meaning to that of the Rose Bowl, it's no less important to Utah's overall success and trajectory heading into the 2022 season. If Utah beats Florida, the win will go a long way in validating the team's preseason ranking and validating it being a College Football Playoff contender.
A loss, while not entirely detrimental, would support the prevailing thought that the Pac-12 is an inferior Power Fiver conference (and continue the conference's nearly seasonal outsider look on the playoff action). Utah's goals for the season — a second Pac-12 championship — would still be intact, but the narrative surrounding the team would certainly take a hit.
The implications of that matchup are for fans and the media to worry and talk about leading up to the game. But for the players and coaches, it's simply the start to another season — albeit one with a little more excitement and anticipation. It's not every day Utah travels east or to SEC country for a season opener; in fact, it's the first time since 1984 Utah has traveled to an SEC venue.
"I'm just excited because it's just a lot different than it was last year, and last year was my first time starting an opening game," defensive end Van Fillinger said. "I kind of had an idea of what it was like going into Weber State, so it was totally different — totally different kind of energy to go into that game. So Florida, I'm really excited. It's just gonna be really fun.
"I know it's gonna be loud; the energy is gonna be there. I'm excited to just go out there and play."
Starting quarterback Cam Rising said the game "just feels like Christmas is coming early." It's the first time football is back, and "that's all we're really looking forward to," he added.
The season opener just hits different.
Throw in a difficult battle on the road in a hostile environment and it makes that excitement all the more palpable.
"Looking forward to the trip down to Gainesville," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday. "It's going to be a great opportunity for our football team. Florida is a really talented team, got a lot of really good players, fast, athletic. It's going to be a big challenge for us. It's going to take our best effort to go down and try to get the win."
At the end of the day, the players caution, it's just another football game. It's certainly a game of importance, but the lessons learned by Utah in the Pac-12 championship and the Rose Bowl have helped the current roster understand how to handle the emotions coming into the game against a team with a storied past.
"Yeah, season opener, but it feels a lot like the Rose Bowl felt as far as the anticipation and the excitement," tight end coach Freddie Whittingham said. "It's an opportunity to go into SEC country and play one of the perennial powers in the SEC.
"We keep talking about how it's harder to stay on top than it is to get on top, and so we're taking that mentality that this is a new team, new season, and we're out to prove ourselves in Game 1."
That's not to say Utah will be perfect or that mistakes won't happen on Saturday, but it's about limiting the expectations, nerves and excitement to keep the emotions in check so that all the offseason training engages and becomes second nature in a hostile and unfamiliar environment.
"I mean, obviously, I'm human — everybody's human," Fillinger said. "Everybody's gonna be a little nervous, everyone's gonna feel emotions. But when I play football, I really try to be emotionless, like I really try to take everything out of it and just play the game.
"I mean, it's just people hitting each other with pads, making sure your hand placement is better than theirs, making sure you're in a strong point of position, like it's just as easy as that. And if you don't make it any more complex or less simple than what it is, then it's just a lot easier to take it on that way."
It's why the Utah coaching staff has done everything it can to replicate as much as possible the experience the team will encounter when they step onto the field Saturday night. None of it will be a true replication — and for much it won't be anything close — of what's in store, but it's all about training the players to disengage from the emotions and play football.
"It's gonna be rowdy for sure," Rising said. "They're gonna be there in full force and we're just ready for it and preparing for it."
