August 31, 2023
The University of Utah Utes took on the University of Florida Gators in Salt Lake
City on August 31, 2023. It was the home opener in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the
Utes for the 2023 season. The Utes came into the game with a #14 preseason
ranking and Utes fans packed the stadium for a record breaking attendance of
53,644.
During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a
seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to
football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the Florida game.
Interestingly enough, the largest signal of the entire night happened shortly after
6:02 pm MDT but before the game even started. When the Utes came out of the
tunnel to take the field, the stadium was really shaking. This is primarily due to the
fact that there is music played over the stadium sound system that encourages all
fans to jump up and down in sync.
The opening kickoff showed little to no signal. The first sign of significant ground
shaking related to the football game came on the opening Florida drive on 3rd
down. The Rice-Eccles faithful, led by the MUSS, performed the 3rd Down Jump
perfectly forcing Florida into a false start. The Utes then stopped them on 3rd
down and the Gators punted. On Utah’s first offensive play of the game (and of
the season), Bryson Barnes connected with Money Parks on a 70 yard touchdown
pass and the stadium went wild. The ground shaking from that TD is quite evident
in the seismic data.
The Utes went on to win the game 24-11 to open the 2023 season 1-0 and avenging
a close loss to the Gators last year in Gainesville. The Utes scored 3 touchdowns
in the opening game and we ranked them from most ground shaking to least:
- Nate Johnson 27 yard TD run with 7:50 left in the 2nd quarter.
- Money Parks 70 yard TD reception with 13:10 left int he 1st quarter.
- Bryson Barnes 5 yard TD run with 11:06 left in the 3rd quarter.
We will be adding all home touchdowns to this graphic as the season progresses
and we’ll see who makes Rice Eccles Stadium shake the most.
Learn more about the UteQuake Project
Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.
For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu