ESPN analyst Booger McFarland recently stated that the season-opening game between Florida and Utah is the “most important game” of Billy Napier’s career to this point.

“Win and everyone starts to forget about last year,” explained McFarland. ” Lose and last year gets compounded.”

McFarland is of course referring to Napier’s lackluster debut season in Gainesville in which the Gators went 3-5 in the SEC and 6-7 overall. Florida is a program that expects to compete every season, so McFarland may have a point that Napier could start feeling the heat with a poor start to this season.

Napier’s Gators got the best of the Utes to open the 2022 season in Gainesville. However, this game will be played in Utah, which provides a whole different dynamic. The Utes are heavy favorites with ESPN’s FPI giving the team a 73.6% chance to start 1-0.

However, a win for Florida would set the team up in a great position. The team’s other September non-conference games should be easy wins, with matchups against McNeese State and Charlotte. If the Gators can win these 3 games, only 3 SEC wins need to be picked up for bowl eligibility. Lose to Utah, though, and the whole season could snowball.