00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 - I think the marquee matchup of the Thursday night slate,
00:06 maybe one of the better games of the entirety
00:08 of the opening weekend,
00:09 happens tomorrow night in Salt Lake.
00:12 It's 14th ranked Utah, the two-time defending,
00:15 Pac-12 champions hosting Florida.
00:17 These two opened the season against one another last year
00:20 in the swamp in Gainesville.
00:22 Anthony Richardson put on a show for UF,
00:25 and Florida escaped with an outright victory
00:27 as a two and a half point underdog, 29-26.
00:31 Zeno, we focus on the quarterback position once again,
00:35 because Cam Rising returns for the Utes.
00:38 However, Cam Rising tore his ACL
00:41 in the Rose Bowl defeat against Penn State last January.
00:45 His status for tomorrow night, still very uncertain.
00:48 And Zeno, we see that reflected in the spread.
00:51 It was seven earlier this week in favor of Utah at home.
00:55 It's now just four and a half live on the fan duel
00:58 sports books.
00:59 Zeno, just how close is this game going to be tonight,
01:02 or tomorrow night, excuse me,
01:03 between the Gators and the Utes?
01:05 - Well, a couple of notes here before the game.
01:07 One, props to our graphic department,
01:08 'cause every time I see that SEC stinger,
01:10 I get very excited.
01:11 So they did a fantastic job.
01:13 Number two, I don't know how you can bet Florida right now
01:18 with any sense of purpose when you have completely,
01:21 not only did you miss the best of one number,
01:23 you've now missed the best of two numbers.
01:24 'Cause this thing opened at nine.
01:26 And then it was bet down to closer to seven,
01:28 seven and a half, and you missed it there.
01:30 There is literally no legitimate reason
01:31 you should walk to the window and bet Florida
01:33 at this point in time, period.
01:34 Like it just doesn't make any sense.
01:36 It's a bad bet all around
01:37 because you passed up two good numbers.
01:39 That's the other thing.
01:40 When you look at the game in general,
01:42 I think this is a massive overreaction here
01:45 by odds makers and bettors alike to Cam Rising not playing.
01:49 Because for Utah, this is more about their defense returning
01:52 and that's what Kyle Whittingham has made
01:54 his bread and butter on in the PAC 12
01:56 for the better part of a decade now.
01:58 It's why they win nine games every single year
02:00 because he's got the toughest,
02:01 most physical defense in the PAC 12.
02:04 Guess what?
02:05 That's similar to what the SEC usually has
02:08 is tough physical defenses.
02:09 And Florida should be used to seeing a defense like this.
02:11 But I don't know what all the changes
02:13 they've had offensively that it warrants this.
02:15 Hi, Graham Mertz kind of isn't good, right?
02:18 Like he couldn't be good at Wisconsin.
02:21 So he's not going to be good in the SEC.
02:24 And I would not put my money on Florida in this spot.
02:27 I don't know if I have enough guts to take Utah,
02:30 given the uncertainty at quarterback.
02:31 And I don't know much about the backups
02:33 and what they're going to be able to do,
02:35 but Utah's a run game first and a defensive team.
02:38 They're going to try to grind this pace down
02:40 as much as they can.
02:42 And I just don't think Florida has the weapons
02:44 on the offensive side of the ball
02:46 to be able to back them at this number.
02:49 I mean, you know, it just doesn't make sense to me,
02:52 Ben, at this point.
02:53 (upbeat music)
02:55 (bell ringing)
