Utah, Nebraska headline college football winners and losers from Thursday of Week 1

Good teams and programs find a way.

Backup quarterback Bryson Barnes threw for 159 yards and had two touchdowns, one on the ground, as No. 14 Utah pushed past Florida 24-11 without senior Cam Rising, who has yet to be medically cleared after suffering a knee injury in last year's Rose Bowl loss to Penn State.

Rising remains an irreplaceable piece as the Utes aim to return to one of the New Year's Six bowls. One of the few Power Five teams to face multiple Power Five opponents in non-conference play, Utah next plays Baylor on the road.

Barnes' performance speaks to the Utes' depth and experience, two of the primary factors behind back-to-back Pac-12 championships. Another factor on display was Utah's perennially strong run defense, which held Florida to just 13 rushing yards on 21 carries.

That put the offense in the hands of Wisconsin transfer Graham Merz, who completed 31 of 44 attempts for 333 yards and a touchdown with an interception. The Gators are unlikely to rebound from back-to-back losing seasons if Mertz has to carry the load.

CRYSTAL BALL: Season predictions for playoff, Heisman and more

RECORD PROJECTIONS: How each Power Five team will fare

Also Thursday, Nebraska began the Matt Rhule era with a 13-10 loss at Minnesota that could be best described as brutal. Sputtering on offense — you get the impression this could be a season-long theme — the Cornhuskers bottled up the Golden Gophers for most of the second half but committed multiple turnovers in the fourth quarter to lose by a field goal. This seems familiar. Nebraska has lost 20 of its last 24 games decided by a single possession.

Here are the big winners and losers from the first Thursday night of the 2023 season:

Winners

Utah

This was a pretty vintage Utah win. The Utes controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, found explosive plays on offense and took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes. With or without Rising, it’s a winning formula. Utah struck first with a 70-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter and then added a 27-yard scoring run to cap an 80-yard drive midway through the second. This was a game that never felt in doubt, which reflects well on Utah and poorly, of course, on the Gators.

North Carolina State

Non-conference road openers against a Group of Five team that went to a bowl game the previous season are pretty rare for Power Five teams. That was the assignment for the Wolfpack, who traveled to Connecticut while breaking in new quarterback Brennan Armstrong and offensive coordinator Robert Anae. The Huskies jumped out to a 7-0 lead before N.C. State slowly asserted control and ended up with a 10-point victory. It wasn't a work of art, but it was a good first step for a program that can get better as the season goes along and has hopes of contending in the ACC.

Losers

Florida

One factor that seemed to be in Florida’s favor heading into this season was coach Billy Napier’s track record at Louisiana-Lafayette, which included a second-year leap that put the Ragin’ Cajuns on the map. That sort of turnaround seems hard to imagine in 2023. But it’s not like the Gators lost at Utah State, with all respect to the Aggies; they lost at Utah, which may be one of the top teams in the country. Florida could still get eight wins during the regular season but will have to show improvement along the offensive line.

Nebraska

New coach, same problems. There’s clearly a hangover from the Scott Frost era, which likewise began with enormous fanfare but eventually crumbled amid a consistent run of self-inflicted errors. Once again, turnovers doomed the Cornhuskers’ chance at the upset, including a pair in the fourth quarter that led to the game-tying touchdown and game-winning field goal, respectively. The root issue Thursday was the play of Georgia Tech quarterback transfer Jeff Sims, who built a reputation as an athletic but error-prone passer with the Yellow Jackets and picked up right where he left off in his Nebraska debut.

NCAAF BETTING GUIDE: How to bet on college football in 2023