3 Utah football matchups that should be primetime games in 2026

Looking at the Utes' best chances of playing in primetime in 2026

Utah Utes running back Wayshawn Parker (1) runs against the BYU Cougars during the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah football team's 2026 schedule is almost finalized.

Dates and locations for all 12 regular-season games have been confirmed with the release of the Big 12 conference schedule, leaving kickoff times and TV details as the last pieces of information to fill in on the Utes' calendar.

Of course, those components of the schedule won't be revealed until about two weeks or so before the game is scheduled to happen, giving the Big 12 opportunities to arrange its weekly slates accordingly, with the best matchups taking place in the best windows for exposure.

However, even though a majority of Utah's games last season kicked off around 5 p.m. MT or later, the Utes weren't always in a "primetime" TV slot. Admittedly, it's a small window to fit through; time zones, other matchups competing for exposure and the caliber of the games themselves make scheduling tricky when putting together a Saturday slate.

That doesn't mean it's impossible, though, to highlight Utah on the big stage against a high-level opponent.

Let's take a look at three games that should kick off around 5 p.m. MT (but no later) in 2026.

Houston (Oct. 24)

A couple of 10-win teams from 2025 squaring off as Big 12 foes for just the second time ever should be considered for a primetime window.

Both Utah and Houston are lined up to be competitive in 2026, too, with both squads retaining key components of last season's squads, including their starting quarterbacks (Devon Dampier and Conner Weigman). Those two finished among the Big 12's top 10 passers last season. The Cougars also brought in a recruiting class that ranks among the top five in the conference, according to 247Sports.

Of course, this game won't be the only one contending for a primetime window on Oct. 24; Texas A&M-Alabama, Ole Miss-Texas, Indiana-Michigan and Oregon-Illinois are just a few notable conference games slated for the same day. But Rice-Eccles Stadium is considered one of the best venues in the sport, especially under the lights. It wouldn't be surprising if ESPN picked up this one for a 5 p.m. MT window.

BYU (Nov. 7)

The Big 12 already screwed up by not scheduling the Holy War for the last week of the regular season. If one of the sport's biggest rivalries doesn't get a primetime slot, it'll be seen as a missed opportunity on the part of the league to not put two of its biggest brands on the main stage.

In fact, the Big 12's idea of putting Utah-BYU on Nov. 7 for exposure purposes has backfired in those decision-makers' faces. A litany of SEC matchups — Oklahoma-Florida, Georgia-Ole Miss and Alabama-LSU, among others — plus Miami-Notre Dame, Oregon-Ohio State and Penn State-Washington are all set to take place that same Saturday, cramming the slate with several intriguing conference and rivalry games that could draw attention away from the Utes and Cougars battling for state bragging rights at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Based on the viewership from last season's Holy War, it's almost a certainty that Utah-BYU won't be the biggest matchup of the day. The 2025 Holy War on Oct. 18 drew about 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Ten other matchups that weekend drew in a larger audience, including the USC-Notre Dame rivalry game (4.6 million).

That all said, finding the right kickoff time for Utah-BYU will present a fair share of challenges. But because a majority of the aforementioned games taking place on the same day are outside of the Pacific/Mountain Standard time zones (aside from Penn State going to Seattle to face Washington), there's a good chance the Utes and Cougars get underway from Salt Lake City around 5 p.m. MT.

Arizona (Nov. 14)

Once a "Pac-12 after dark" game, Utah-Arizona could very well be the biggest Big 12 matchup of the Nov. 14 slate. The Utes and Wildcats are on the right path after enjoying bounce-back seasons in 2025, finishing in the top five of the league standings with a combined overall record of 20-6 following a disastrous Big 12 debut for both in 2024 (9-15 combined record).

Two experienced and talented quarterbacks will take center stage when Utah and Arizona meet at Casino Del Sol Stadium, with All-Big 12 first team quarterback Noah Fifita leading the Wildcats against the league's newcomer of the year, Dampier, on the other side for the Utes. Fifita threw for a career-high 3,228 yards (No. 3 in the Big 12) and tossed 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions in 2025, guiding Arizona to its second-most wins in a single season since 2014 (9-4, 6-3 Big 12).

The Nov. 14 matchup will also mark a sort of homecoming for Dampier, a Phoenix native who went to high school about 100 miles northwest of Tucson at Saguaro High School. Arizona was the only power conference school that pursued Dampier coming out of high school, in large part because of Jimmie Dougherty's recruitment of Dampier when he was the passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Arizona (he's now the quarterbacks coach at Washington).

The Dampier-Arizona connections make for cool storylines going in, though whether they're enough to push the game to a primetime window and not past the 8 p.m. MT window remains to be seen. There are a few notable matchups elsewhere, including a massive Big Ten tilt in Eugene, Oregon, between Kyle Whittingham's Wolverines and Dan Lanning's Ducks, so it'll be interesting to see where the Utes-Wildcats game falls on the day's slate.