Utah Hockey Club (32-29-11, in the Central Division) vs. Florida Panthers (43-25-3, in the Atlantic Division)
Sunrise, Florida; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Panthers -253, Utah Hockey Club +205; over/under is 6
BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers host the Utah Hockey Club after Sam Reinhart’s two-goal game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Panthers’ 4-3 shootout win.
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Florida is 23-10-2 in home games and 43-25-3 overall. The Panthers are 10th in NHL play with 224 total goals (averaging 3.2 per game).
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Utah is 32-29-11 overall and 17-15-4 on the road. The Utah Hockey Club are sixth in league play serving 9.5 penalty minutes per game.
The teams meet Friday for the second time this season. The Panthers won the last matchup 4-1. Jesper Boqvist scored two goals in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brad Marchand has scored 21 goals with 25 assists for the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov Jr. has five goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
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Nick Schmaltz has 17 goals and 40 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Clayton Keller has two goals and six assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 6-4-0, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, four penalties and 9.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
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Utah Hockey Club: 4-4-2, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.6 assists, 3.8 penalties and 9.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Panthers: None listed.
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Utah Hockey Club: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
College football’s Week 10 slate is set to start and finish in Salt Lake City, where Utah will host Cincinnati in a pivotal Big 12 clash featuring conference title and postseason implications alike.
The ranked matchup between the No. 24 Utes (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) and No. 17 Bearcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) will also be the site for ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show, setting both teams up with an opportunity to gain national relevance and improve their standing in the Big 12 with a win in prime time.
Heading into Saturday’s 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff from Rice-Eccles Stadium, FanDuel Sportsbook established Utah as a 7.5-point favorite over Cincinnati in its opening betting lines for Week 10.
That line was set less than 24 hours after the Utes put together their most thorough performance of the season, crushing Colorado, 53-7, while dominating all three phases of the game to earn their sixth win of the 2025 campaign. After Morgan Scalley’s defense stifled the Buffaloes in the first half, holding them to -18 total yards while recording five sacks, an interception, a safety and a blocked punt, Utah finished with 422 rushing yards — the second-most by a Kyle Whittingham-coached team — behind true freshman Byrd Ficklin’s 151 yards on the ground.
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In place of Devon Dampier, Ficklin also threw for 140 yards and tallied 3 total touchdowns in his first collegiate start. Dampier had been upgraded to probable prior to kickoff, though the Utes opted to play it safe and start the former three-star recruit instead.
Dampier’s health status didn’t have much of an impact on the point spread last week, though it could over the course of the next six days as his squad prepares to face a defense that just held one of the country’s top offenses through the air to a season-low in passing yards.
Cincinnati brings a seven-game win streak into the matchup, with its latest victory coming against Baylor in a game where the Bearcats thwarted a late rally by the Bears with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of a 41-20 final. Despite engineering three consecutive scoring drives to make it a 3-point game after trailing 24-0, Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson never found his usual groove, finishing with just 137 passing yards while being sacked twice in his team’s fourth loss of the season.
The win kept Cincinnati in a first-place tie with BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) atop the league standings. Sitting two games back, Utah has a chance to shake up the leaderboard with its first top-25 win of the season on Saturday.
Spread:
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Moneyline:
Total: 56.5 (Over -115/Under -105)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Utah
Cincinnati
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Devon Dampier was listed as probable in Utah’s Friday availability report.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) runs the ball as Utah hosts Cal Poly, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Utah freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin made his first career start on Saturday night.
And it took him less than a minute to find paydirt.
On the second play from scrimmage, Ficklin kept the ball and broke off a 63-yard touchdown run to put the Utes up early.
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Despite being listed as probable on Friday’s availability report, junior quarterback Devon Dampier will only be available in an “emergency situation,” ESPN reported just before kickoff.
It’s the first time the junior has not started in a game for Utes this season.
This season, Dampier has completed 68.7% of his passes for 1,375 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 80 carries, 442 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Before making his first official career start, Ficklin had appeared in six games, tallying nine completions for 138 passing yards and one touchdown. The freshman had also made an impact on the ground, entering the contest with 17 rushes for 111 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“Byrd Ficklin, we have a ton of confidence in [him] every time he’s entered a game,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said this week. “So far this year, he’s done positive things. If we end up going that route based on health, then we have the confidence he can get it done.”
Utah Mammoth (6-2, in the Central Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (3-4-1, in the Central Division)
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Saint Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Mammoth visit the Minnesota Wild after Logan Cooley’s hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Mammoth’s 7-4 win.
Minnesota has gone 3-4-1 overall with a 1-1-0 record against the Central Division. The Wild have scored 10 power-play goals, which ranks first in the Western Conference.
Utah is 6-2 overall and 3-2-0 against the Central Division. The Mammoth are fourth in league play serving 11.5 penalty minutes per game.
The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.
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INJURIES: Wild: None listed.
Mammoth: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
