Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit to headline broadcast crew for Florida vs. Utah game

One of the biggest games on the Week 1 slate of the college football season has gotten a broadcasting assignment with the big guns coming from ESPN. The top ESPN college football crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be out west at Florida travels to face Utah on Thursday, Aug. 31, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre.

The 2023 matchup is a return game from Utah’s trip to Gainesville in 2022, where the Gators won, 29-26, via an interception late in the fourth quarter. Now any similar drama will be scored by a Fowler call and some Herbstreit analysis.

The matchup between Utah and Florida is also one of the best games in the ESPN inventory for Week 1 until LSU and Florida State play on ABC on Sunday. The FSU-LSU game in 2022 was called by Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy.

There’s also plenty of questions surrounding both rosters for the Gators and Utes. Florida will have a new starting quarterback and Utah’s starter, Cam Rising, might not be healthy to play come Week 1 against the Gators.

Utah appears unlikely to be full strength against Florida on Thursday

Time is running short for a few key Utah players to get healthy, including Rising and star tight end Brant Kuithe.

Rising suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 1 in the team’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State, immediately casting into doubt his potential availability for the 2023 season opener.

Kuithe, meanwhile, has had a little more time to recover after suffering a torn ACL on Sept. 24 in a game against Arizona State.

But neither has done much in fall camp so far.

According to Utah beat writer Josh Furlong, Rising is still not cleared to return to practice. Kuithe, meanwhile, “is a bit further along than Rising” but is still not an active participant at camp. Both are hugely important players to the team.

The Rising injury is even more significant because backup quarterback Brandon Rose suffered a serious injury during a recent scrimmage and may not be available either.

That would put the Utes down to their third-string quarterback against the Gators, potentially.

Rising is a star, having thrown for 3,034 yards last season with 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He also ran for 465 yards and six scores.

Kuithe is also a major impact player. He had 611 yards receiving and six touchdowns in 2021, his last full season with the program.