WATCH: Anthony Richardson scrambles for 45-yard touchdown to give Florida the lead at half

The Florida Gators just got a huge momentum swing in their favor late in the second quarter against the Utah Utes. With Florida trailing 13-7 with the ball on Utah’s 45-yard line, quarterback Anthony Richardson electrified the crowd with a 45-yard scramble for the touchdown.

On a second and five, the Gators lined up in a shotgun formation and appeared to set up to take a strike deep downfield. However, Utah was in position to play the long ball and locked everything up deep. That left prime real estate and a massive opportunity for Richardson to use his legs to pick up the first down. But with his speed, he quickly blew by the first and second levels of the Utes’ defense. And unfortunately for Utah, because of the coverage they were playing, nobody covered the far left side of the field deep. All Richardson had to do was shake the incoming defensive back and walk into the end zone, basically untouched.

You can check out the play below.

Anthony Richardson catches the Utes sleeping

45-yard TD and the Gators take the lead pic.twitter.com/jg5sZvOUxm

— Porter Larsen (@Larsen_ESPN) September 4, 2022

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The Gators now lead 14-13 heading into halftime in a wildly competitive game against the No. 7 team in the nation. If they can pull off the upset, it will be a huge boost for them to start the year and a great way to kick off the Billy Napier era in Gator football.

Napier reacts to upset victory against Utah, expresses gratitude for Florida opportunity

The Billy Napier era at Florida got off to a successful start Saturday, as the Gators upset No. 7 Utah 29-26 in their season opener. In a sideline interview with ESPN postgame, Napier tried to put into words what this victory means for the start of his tenure in Gainesville.

“I’m so thankful for their work and so thankful for their trust,” the coach said. “That’s a strong word, but that’s what this game requires. Getting a leadership opportunity like this, you quickly realize how important it is to surround yourself with great people. That’s what we’ve got here. We’ve got a great administration, a great staff and an unbelievable group of players that has really worked hard and trusted us. I’m thankful for that.”

It was a spectacular performance from the former backup in just his second career start, and Napier had a simple message on the play of his QB1.

“I think we’re figuring out here that this Anthony Richardson guy is pretty good,” Napier said.