The No. 4 ranked Utah Utes and No. 8 ranked BYU Cougars are scheduled for an unusual 10 a.m. local kickoff for their rivalry game on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The matchup, a top-10 Holy War game, will air on ABC, a departure from the prime-time television windows typically seen for this series.
The scheduling of the game at 10 a.m. MT was announced by ESPN on Oct. 26. While the early time drew backlash from fans, the broadcast on ABC provides the game access to a broader national audience compared to ESPN, which requires a cable or streaming subscription. The game will serve as a lead-in to the LSU vs. Alabama game on ABC later that day.
The unusual start time is occurring amidst a crowded Week 10 college football schedule. Other high-profile matchups include LSU vs. Alabama on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET, Kentucky vs. Tennessee on ESPN at 6:15 p.m. ET, Georgia vs. Ole Miss on ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Notre Dame hosting No. 1 Miami on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET. Analysts suggest the early window may be an effort by the Big 12 and ESPN to maximize exposure for the rivalry amid these competing high-profile games.
Since 2016, Utah and BYU have met only twice outside of a late evening television window, with kickoffs occurring at 5:30 p.m. local in 2016 and 6 p.m. local last season. The most frequent kickoff slot for the series during that period has been 8 p.m. MT, which accounted for five of the seven meetings. The two teams did not meet in 2020, 2022, or 2023.
A Utah spokesperson stated that kickoff times are determined by the conference's television partners. USA TODAY Sports reached out to BYU and ESPN for comment but did not receive a response.
