David Wunderlich starts out making a good point about Florida’s opener against Utah.
In other words, UF will probably employ Richardson much the same way Utah does Rising. Both teams will also try to win with their strong defenses.
Can this end well for Florida? Utah is a good team that’s been doing this sort of thing forever. UF will be in its first game in new systems. That usually doesn’t bode well for the team that lacks continuity.
But then comes the Gators’ ace in the hole:
They can try that all they want, but nothing will match the actual conditions. There really isn’t anywhere that Utah has played recently that will be like Gainesville in September. Four straight quarters of 85% humidity or more, even after dark for a night game, can be just demoralizing.
Napier has reportedly emphasized the conditioning side of the strength and conditioning program more than several of the most recent Florida head coaches. It’s standard practice for new coaching regimes to generate reports of better S&C results during the first offseason, but the specificity I’ve seen leads me to believe that there is real truth to it. One of Florida’s best chances in this game is to pull away late because they are still going strong while Utah wilts.
I have no doubt Napier’s taking conditioning more seriously than Mullen did. What I do doubt is that he’s done a complete fix in time for his first game in Gainesville. And let’s not forget that, while Florida will certainly field a respectable first 22, there are serious depth issues Napier has to manage — one of them being at quarterback. I’m not sure Richardson is going to get turned loose running as much as David is expecting. In short, the wilting may not be on just one side of the field.
Get The Picture 
Speaking of QB depth..didn’t their back up QB injure his thumb and is out for a while?
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Yes. Surgery out like 6 weeks.
Also is practicing at 4,000 ft elevation not an advantage? Why do fighters train at elevation.
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I find that comment about how strength and conditioning typically improves under the new coach during the first year interesting. I read some article with Nolan took over in which they were talking about how bad things have gotten under McElwain where players were having to hire their own trainers. So let’s see what their conditioning looks like in a couple years. If Cox is on Twitter feuding with Georgia fans in August, that leads me to doubt he’s focused on getting enough nutrients and rest in the offseason to support S&&c
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Two identical (historical) units. This is when “the home team is giving 3” for just being the home team. This game is not currently on my radar, but may be in the coming days. Utah might be the class of the Pac12 & I can’t see Napier pulling the proverbial rabbit in Game one! Good stuff DawgStats.
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If the metric is which team folds first in September, I think I like Utah’s chances. Over the past 3 seasons, Utah has had a really good rushing attack (24th ranked rushing offense, 2nd in YPC in 2021). The handbags ranked 84th in rushing D and the Utes at 19. MuLLen was not a recruiter but he was able to squeeze great offensive play from his teams. I don’t think Napier has that creative skill (even with Ambassador SoS).
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Dang it, Josh! Your logic here makes sense again. . .well that doesn’t mean I can’t pull for them Utes to pull off the W in the swamp….haha.
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Appreciate that. Who knows. Someone might throw a cleat. No analytics for that
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No doubt the humidity will be there. Also, no doubt Utah has built a program on more physicality than Dopey/Goofy did at FU. Can Napier turn that around in one spring? That’s the question because if Florida can’t wear down that Utah defense, it could end up as a long night for the Hogtown Handbags. I really hope that ends up as the outcome.
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“…Hogtown Handbags..” LMAO ee!
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Man, do they ever hate being called “Handbags”
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Correct me here, always thought that a team should pull away early, possibly causing the opposition to change their game plan…If the FU plan is to have the best looking socks and to pull away late, well who am I to question a hogtown 7 win season…#FTMF
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The weather is on UF’s side, Utah even said as much. Outside of conducting practice in a saunter there is not much Utah can do. I’m more concerned with weather delays this time of year. This game could go passed the UF bed time while Utah is still wide awake LOL.
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Speaking to depth, I cant say Utahs will be any better.
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Shit.
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The humidity might plays bigger role than people think. If you’ve ever been to Utah, you know what I mean. SLC & Utah is all high desert, and run about 20%-50 % in the summer. Flarduh is at about 95% in the summer. The Utes aren’t experience in that to my knowledge. I will figure Napier has them disciplined and if he has em’ in shape, it could get sporty for Utah.
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Well, that’s rife with typos.
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You spelled Flarduh correctly. 😉
Hell, I’ve lived in Georgia for over 70 years and I wouldn’t be used to the Hogtown humidity. I was born in St. Augustine and that can fool you because it’s on the coast and not that bad, especially at night. But move a little inland – Palatka, Ocala, Gainesville – and you will see the difference. Still, I think depth is important in a place like Gainesville. I don’t know much about Utah because I don’t stay up late enough to watch their games, but they are supposed to be good, and if they have enough depth to rotate players and keep them semi-fresh (actual fresh isn’t an option), I think they can win.
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Never been to FU in September, but the weather was partly cloudy with showers of stadium cups the night I was there in October 1990.
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The humidity will be a killer for sure. I try to run in the mornings when it’s cooler, but the humidity is much higher and it’s worse to me than running in the afternoon when it’s 95. The Utes better build an early lead because I suspect they will be wilting in the second half.
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I get the humidity issue is a factor. However, there is a reason that athletes train in Utah. I have never heard of olympic athletes training in Florida. What am I missing?
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Altitude.
Train at altitude, and compete at sea level.
Increases oxygen utilization.
Mostly for distance competition, don’t know if it translates to 300-pound linemen.
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The first thing that came to mind while reading the above was whether Utah’s experience at altitude may offset some of the heat and humidity concerns. I don’t know one way or the other.
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Just got back from multi day hiking trip in Rocky Mountain national park. The altitude difference is much more of a thing than I thought it would be. The upside what little oxygen I was getting smelled really nice.
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Nice work, congrats. That’s on my list. I did 60 on the JMT last month, and ironically on topic here, was in St Augustine the week prior, so training in humidity/sea level vs going to 8k-11k altitude all week. Interesting how my body reacted to the higher altitude, esp on uphill sections.
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I feel like I will never be this qualified to comment on GP again. Here are my credentials:
Originally from Atlanta
Live in Boulder CO at 5300 feet
I like to run anything from 5Ks to ultramarathons
I’ve run/hiked all of Rocky Mountain NP
I paced someone at the Leadville 100 last night at 10k feet
I did the JMT 2 years ago
Oh, and I dropped my daughter off on Thursday at the U of Utah
The altitude makes it hard to get oxygen and any harder effort leaves people out of breath and they can’t catch up. A hill you run up in Atlanta is nothing because you can recover on the downhill, but out here you blow up. If Florida was at Utah they would struggle with a hurry up offense because the DL could never catch their breath.
The humidity saps your energy. Your body is designed to keep you from overheating at all costs, so if you haven’t trained a lot in the heat and humidity your brain will tell your body to act exhausted before you are, nauseous, and even a little bit panicked. People do panic and hyperventilation at altitude, but it’s rare in athletes.
If this game was a nooner (10 am to the Utes) I don’t think Utah would have a chance, but an evening game lessens the home field advantage. Utah is a very well coached team with high buy-in, but they lack depth. Florida is in transition and last year’s team flat out quit. I think Florida tries to wear Utah down, but Utah scores too much early and forces Florida to try and keep up.
namaste
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Maybe they did this, but I read Utah was pumping noise into the indoor practice facility. Wouldn’t it also make sense to turn up the heat and add a bunch of humidifiers? Do you marathon practices in those conditions and the game won’t be such a big deal.
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You’re right. You just peaked. LOL.
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Why is everyone overlooking the nightmare that is Florida’s OL? Isn’t their top player a G5 transfer? How do you beat any top 25 team with an OL that bad?
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Richt did it for years. Fortunately, Richt is too good of a person to ever work there.
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I would focus on their schedules moreso than the weather.
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I think the humidity is a little overrated. If Napier is as good as they want him to be Florida has enough talent to beat Utah. If Utah is tougher than Florida (like they have been against the PAC 12) then Utah should win and that’s not necessarily Napier’s fault this year anyway.
Florida’s problem if they have a bad year will be like it was here to begin 2017, i.e. “Is this job too big for Napier, He doesn’t have the SEC experience, etc.” Except Napier isn’t a native son nor was he with Saban for 10+ years. If they they start say 4-4 and lose to Kentucky, Utah and especially Tennessee there will be a lot of chatter that Napier competed in the lesser side of the Sunbelt and we may well really see their fan base looking worse than we ever did because if he fails that will only make Spurrier and Corch the two there who’ve ever had success.
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When we went to the AS game in Tempe it was 100+ almost no humidity. Standing in the concession stand line a local was laughing saying the heat would melt the Georgia players. I looked at his soaking wet shirt and said I guess you’ve never experienced South Georgia humidity. In the shade it was nice. They were so nice they put the visitors in the shade while their sideline was in full sun most of the game.
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Florida has plenty of talent on their roster, that’s true. The recruiting narrative about Mullen got blown a little out of proportion. They certainly don’t have Alabama/Georgia/Ohio State-type depth on the team but they have got good players.
The reason Utah is going to win that game is because they’re the more physical football team. It’s the same reason they beat the hell out of Oregon twice. Florida wasn’t a team willing to hit you in the mouth or come back in your face after you hit them in the mouth – at least, they weren’t after they got beat by Alabama. If Napier hasn’t fixed that yet, then Utah wins by two touchdowns and humidity be damned.
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This reminds of Mark Richt bitching about the humidity in Jax..Utah is gonna roll em.,
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The above mention of the humidity inland in Florida is true. On the coast the sea breeze cools it off. As a resident of Florida in the middle of the state we only get the sea breeze to the extent that where the Gulf breeze meet the Atlantic breeze is where all hell breaks lose storm wise.
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I don’t remember Richt complaining about that. PTC but it has been so long that a lot of folks will assume your post is accurate.
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It is true.
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Coach Richt did comment on more than one occasion that Florida’s players were still practicing in the heat and humidity during the weeks leading up to the game when Athens was beginning to cool down already. Of course, over the last few years it seems like Athens has still been plenty hot throughout October, but at the time Coach Richt was framing it as a disadvantage when the discussion turned to why we seemingly couldn’t win in the Cocktail Party.
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Humidity will be a factor for sure, but the utes have been practicing in 100 degree temps (slc broke their alltime record for most days over 100 this summer), plus the altitude advantage- I think it will even the playing field.
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Reigning PAC-12 champ ought to kick the shit out of “just replaced the coach who couldn’t recruit” if that conference is planning on putting anyone in the playoff.
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Re: the greater emphasis on conditioning and doubting how quickly that’s going to make a difference, these are young world class athletes and most of them are from southern climates. I don’t know that it’s going to take years for them to get conditioned to Gainesville summer if they’re doing it right. Napier will have them ready to compete, it’s going to be about their abilities this year, not their conditioning. Certainly by the time we see them in Jacksonville, anyway.
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Reader Poll: Which game will you be more engaged with after Georgia’s game: Utah at UF or Notre Dame at Ohio State?
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Always UGA.
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The Utes are going to wear down Florduh and the game will be won by halftime. Florduh makes some late scores, but the Utes easily win by 14.
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