Florida Gators announce captains for season opener against Utah
Four Gators will serve as team captains for Thursday’s season opener against the 14th-ranked Utah Utes.
On Wednesday, Florida announced that cornerback Jason Marshall, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, running Montrell Johnson Jr. and defensive end Princely Umanmielen will serve as captains in Salt Lake City.
Thursday’s game will be aired on ESPN and starts at 8:00 p.m. EST.
How to watch the Gators vs. Utes
- Date: Thursday, August 31, 2023
- Time: 8:00 PM ET (6:00 PM local)
- Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: SiriusXM Channel: 136 or 190
- City: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium
On the Call
- Play-by-play: Chris Fowler
- Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit
- Field Reporter: Holly Rowe
Game Notes
- The 2023 opener marks the third-ever meeting between Florida and Utah, with the Gators holding a 2-0 series lead.
- Florida matched its highest-ranked win ever in a season opener (Florida 59, No. 7 Houston 34 – Sept. 20, 1969).
- Billy Napier became the first Gators football coach to defeat a ranked team in his debut.
- Prior to last season, UF most recently played Utah on Nov. 19, 1977 in Gainesville, with Florida winning, 38-29.
- The Gators are 8-13 all-time in true road season openers including a 6-4 mark in the last 10 dating back to 1956.
- This is Florida’s third true road game in a season opener in the last 38 years (1987 at Miami, 2020 at Ole Miss).
- The Gators have never won ranked matchups in back-to-back season openers.
- Florida has lost just one season opener since 1990, going 30-1 in that span (2017: No. 11 Michigan 33, No. 17 Florida 17).
- The Gators return four starters on offense, four starters on defense and two on special teams.
- Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is the longest-tenured HC in the Pac-12 and the second-longest at the same school in the FBS.
- The Gators’ 5.5 yards per carry in 2022 ranked fourth in program history (behind the 2008, 1976 and 2009 seasons).
- Florida has scored in 436-consecutive games dating back to 1988 – an NCAA record and 55 games longer than any
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