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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Florida doesn't travel outside of its state much for nonconference games.
As an SEC power, teams most often come to the Gators instead of the Gators going to a visiting stadium outside of their state, especially in a game that isn't considered a neutral game site. But for the first time since 1991 — that's 32 years — Florida embarks on a trip out west to open up the season Thursday night against Utah.
It just so happens to be the first time an SEC opponent has ever played at Rice-Eccles Stadium and is just the third time since 1988 that Florida has started off its season on the road.
None of that is lost on Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who has seen the program he's been entrusted to run since 2005 grow its brand nationally and be worthy of a rare home-and-home series with the three-time national champions Florida Gators.
"I think it speaks to our national brand and that we're certainly in a different place now than we were even 10 years ago, and certainly 20 or 30 years ago," Whittingham said. "I mean, it's night and day when you go back that far. ... That just tells you that we're at a place, program wise, not where we want to be, but we've made great strides and inroads into our national brand, and it's still a work in progress. But that doesn't happen if our brand hasn't strengthened through the years."
Whittingham has long desired to put Utah on the map.
From the university's days in the WAC and the Mountain West Conference, and through the Pac-12 era before Utah embarks on another adventure in the Big 12 in 2024, Whittingham has been instrumental in seeing the Utes transform into one of the top football programs in the country.
Bringing established teams into Rice-Eccles Stadium only further cements the university's national standing in Whittingham's eyes.
For cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah, who played at Utah and has coached at his alma mater for a majority of Whittingham's tenure as head coach, the opportunity to play a team like Florida at Rice-Eccles Stadium is "sometimes hard to describe," especially given how much the university has climbed the hierarchy of college football's top programs over the years.
In the university's view, Utah can now be linked as relative equals with blueblood programs that have a rich history in college football.
Much of that started to change when Utah played USC and Oregon consistently — and won games — but the home-and-home series with a team like Florida added to the value of Utah's growing national brand. (Add to that similar future home-and-home series with Arkansas, Baylor, LSU and Wisconsin.)
"To play here, coach here, live here for 30-plus years and to watch Florida come here to play us is special," Shah said. "It says a lot about the program. It says a lot about what coach Whitt has done and those before — whether it's coach (Ron) McBride, coach (Urban) Meyer, now coach Whitt, who has taken the baton and just kind of continue to elevate the program.
"It's says a lot that Florida's like, 'Yeah, we'll come, we'll come play,' and recognize that it's gonna be a dog fight. It's not gonna be one that either team can just simply chalk off; this will be a dog fight. It's fun to get national recognition for a program that just works hard; that's all we do — just work, just work. So it's almost indescribable the level of joy that it brings my heart."
Taking a step back, Shah said it's been a fun exercise to replay the history of Utah and look at where the program has come since he first suited up and traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the Cornhuskers. It was a moment that left him awestruck to be playing a team with such national prominence in their home.
But those one-off games were different. As a then lower-tier program, Utah was there for the pay day and to fill a spot as an "easy" opponent for a powerhouse team in pursuit of a national title. Maybe Utah stole a game here or there, but those were more the exception than the rule in the hierarchy of the program.
Those days are now gone, even as Whittingham has put Utah on the map and still dreams of more. The work remains unfinished, but it's a moment to reflect on Utah's roots and where the program is today as a consistent top-25 team and two-time Pac-12 champion.
"I remember we didn't have a beautiful building like this when I played here," Shah said, speaking of the $32 million football facility. "We didn't have these facilities or the things that so many of these players enjoy and take for granted — didn't have that. And so I'm happy that they have it; I'm honored that they have it, and I'm really, really happy and excited that Florida is coming here.
"It just says a lot about those who have bled on the field and coached this program for so many years to have such a quality program come for our season opener."
