Ranking every Utah football game by College GameDay likelihood

We've analyzed Utah's 2026 schedule from multiple angles and plot lines from the moment it dropped in January.

In wake of ESPN announcing the first College GameDay site for the 2026 campaign (Clemson at LSU in Week 1), we have another way of looking at the Utes' slate: Tier ranking each game based on the likelihood of ESPN's flagship college football pregame show being in town for the matchup.

Utah has hosted College GameDay six times since 2004, with the most recent coming last season when the Utes took on Cincinnati in a top-25 matchup from Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 1. There are a few worthy candidates to make GameDay come out to Salt Lake City for the seventh time, though it wouldn't be a surprise if the Utes are featured while on the road for a Big 12 game.

Let's take a look at Utah's 10 chances at being on GameDay.

Note: Utah's regular season finale against West Virginia is on a Friday, making it ineligible to host GameDay.

Very Unlikely

Week 3 vs. Utah State

Besides the fact this a matchup between an Aggies squad that went 6-7 last season and a Utes team under a new head coach, the Battle of the Brothers rivalry game probably won't be on ESPN's radar given it falls on the same day as Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford, Mississippi, as LSU's head coach. Expect LSU-Ole Miss to be at the center of the college football world on Sept. 19.

Week 4 at Iowa State

It's hard to say what the Cyclones will look like under Jimmy Rogers in his first season at the helm. Even if Iowa State appears to be on the right track, though, there's too many SEC matchups and a dandy between Oregon and USC sharing the Sept. 26 slate for GameDay to consider Ames, Iowa, as its destination for Week 4.

Could Be Intriguing But Falls On Loaded Weekend

Week 2 vs. Arkansas

Coming off a 2-10 season, it's reasonable to assume the Razorbacks are going to be better in 2026 with Ryan Silverfield at the helm and a handful of players from an offense that averaged nearly 33 points per game in 2025 back in the fold. Not to mention, this is one of the few nonconference games featuring Power 4 teams on Sept. 12. It just so happens, however, that Missouri-Kansas, Oklahoma-Michigan and Ohio State-Texas (GameDay site last season) are set for the same day.

Week 6 vs. Kansas

Kansas and Utah have rivalry games against Missouri and BYU, respectively, with better odds of being the center of GameDay's attention in comparison to this Week 6 tilt in Salt Lake City. Also, this Oct. 10 game falls on the same day as Georgia-Alabama and Texas-Oklahoma.

Week 7 at Colorado

Like most of the games in this category, it's too hard to gauge how good both teams are going to be to warrant GameDay traveling to Boulder, Colorado, over Knoxville, Tennessee (Alabama-Tennessee); Provo, Utah (Notre Dame-BYU); or Bloomington, Indiana (Ohio State-Indiana). Fox's pregame show could pick the Buckeyes-Hoosiers matchup, but even then, there's too many other nonleague and conference games for GameDay to pick from before it gets to Utes-Buffaloes.

Week 9 at Cincinnati

Utah and Cincinnati took center stage on GameDay last season, but unless both teams are ranked in the top 25 again on Nov. 1, ESPN will probably pick a different site for its flagship pregame show. Florida-Georgia and Ohio State-USC are strong contenders, as well as Arizona-Texas Tech and Arizona State-BYU.

In The Conversation To Host GameDay

Week 8 vs. Houston

Houston is viewed as a Big 12 team on the rise after going 10-3 in 2025 and bringing back starting quarterback Conner Weigman for his fifth year of college football. If the Cougars live up to the hype as a potentially preseason top-25 squad, their Oct. 24 date with the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium could take center stage on a weekend that also features Texas A&M-Alabama, Ole Miss-Texas, Indiana-Michigan and Oregon-Illinois, among others. If GameDay decides to venture outside SEC and Big Ten territories for a weekend, Salt Lake City would be a viable destination for Week 8.

Week 11 at Arizona

The Nov. 14 slate features a few marquee SEC matchups — Texas-LSU, Ole Miss-Oklahoma, Tennessee-Texas A&M among them — but GameDay isn't going to reside in one conference for the entire season (regardless of how biased the show and network appear to be). A trip out to Tucson, Arizona, for a potential top-25 matchup between the Wildcats and Utes could help break up the monotony (especially if GameDay doesn't pick BYU-Utah the week prior).

Legitimate Contender For GameDay

Week 10 vs. BYU

The Big 12 not scheduling the Holy War on rivalry weekend so that it wouldn't have to compete for attention against some of the sport's biggest regular season games has completely backfired. Now it has to fit into a packed Nov. 7 schedule that includes Oregon-Ohio State, Miami-Notre Dame, Alabama-LSU and Georgia-Ole Miss, among others. Even with the busy slate, GameDay could decide to highlight BYU-Utah for the first time since 2004 if both are contending for the conference title and around the top 15 in the national rankings.

Week 12 at TCU

This one might not stand out for obvious reasons, but when looking at the rest of the slate, it wouldn't be that far-fetched if GameDay decided to make the trip to Fort Worth, Texas, for a Nov. 21 contest between the Utes and Horned Frogs. Most SEC teams are playing nonconference games and there aren't many ACC or Big Ten games to write home about, opening the door for a potential top-25 matchup featuring Utah and TCU to be at the forefront of GameDay's coverage.

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