Kickoff time revealed for Utah football's critical Big 12 showdown vs. Cincinnati

Utes are back in action next Saturday for a pivotal showdown against the Bearcats

Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) celebrates a win against the Colorado Buffaloes after the game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah football team will follow up its dominant victory over Colorado with another late-night showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Week 10.

Looking to remain undefeated in Big 12 play, Cincinnati rolls into town for an 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff from Salt Lake City.

The first meeting between Utes (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) and Bearcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) on the gridiron will air on ESPN.

Saturday's matchup will feature two of the Big 12's top three scoring offenses going head-to-head, as Utah checks in at No. 2 with 38.9 points per game and is followed closely by Cincinnati at 38.3 points per contest.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) runs the ball to the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Baylor Bears. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati brings a seven-game win streak into the matchup, with its latest victory coming against Baylor in a game where the Bearcats needed to thwart a furious comeback attempt by the Bears before triumphing, 41-20, at Historic Nippert Stadium.

Things got dicey for Brendan Sorsby and company as Baylor engineered three consecutive scoring drives to make it a 3-point game after Cincinnati jumped out to a 24-0 lead early on.

Needing a fourth down conversion to effectively end the game, Sorsby picked up the first down and then some with his legs, scampering his way for a 23-yard touchdown to put his Bearcats out in front, 34-20, with just over 6 minutes remaining.

Sorsby put the icing on the cake moments later after Cincinnati forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, hitting Isaiah Johnson for his second passing touchdown of the day to make it a 21-point game again.

The Bearcats' defense, meanwhile, held the nation's leading passing attack to a season-low 137 yards. Sawyer Robertson was also sacked twice in his team's fourth loss of the season.

𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 🔒 same time next week⁉️🎉

🆚 Cincinnati
🏟️ @Rice_Eccles
⏰ SAT 11.1 | 8:15PM MT
📺 @ESPNCFB
📻 @ESPN700 / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/QXCTTFsuqh

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 26, 2025

The Utes put on quite the show defensively as well in their lopsided win over the Buffaloes on Saturday night, holding the visitors to just 140 total yards of offense while sacking Kaidon Salter five times in the first half.

Utah sent blitz after blitz, pressuring Salter on 22 out of his 31 drop-backs. Colorado could never establish a rhythm and went into the halftime break with an astonishing -18 total yards of offense after throwing an interception, giving up a safety and having a punt blocked toward the end of the first half.

On the other side of the ball, freshman Byrd Ficklin put together an impressive performance in relief of Devon Dampier. Ficklin tallied 151 of his team's 422 rushing yards — the second-most in the Kyle Whittingham era — and threw for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first collegiate start, guiding Utah to a 53-7 victory.

With the win, With the win, the Utes secured a bowl game berth for the fourth time in the last six seasons. It also marked Utah's 17th season of at least six wins under Whittingham.

If Utah aspires for more than just a bowl game berth, it'll need to end Cincinnati's win streak in order to keep pace with the other teams vying for a spot in the Big 12 championship game.