WVU’s First Announced Kickoff Time Is a Primetime National TV Game

Friday afternoon, the Big 12 Conference announced that West Virginia's regular season finale on Friday, November 27th, at Utah will be a national TV game. It will broadcast on FOX and begin at 8 or 9 p.m. ET. A time will be finalized at a later date.

In the news release, it states that kickoff times and TV selections for West Virginia's first three games of the 2026 season — 9/5 vs. Coastal Carolina, 9/12 vs. UT Martin, and 9/19 vs. Virginia (Charlotte, N.C.) — will be revealed sometime later this month.

A brief look at this year's matchup

Utah is going through a transition period as longtime head coach Kyle Whittingham stepped away and eventually became the new head coach at Michigan. There won't be much "new" for the Utes, however, as new head coach Morgan Scalley has been on staff in Salt Lake City since 2007. This was a move that was expected to take place at some point, as he was named the head coach-in-waiting back in June of 2024.

Offensively, the Utes lost some major pieces along the offensive line, with a pair of offensive tackles going to the NFL — Spencer Fano picked 9th overall by the Cleveland Browns and Caleb Lomu going 28th overall to the New England Patriots.

They do have dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier back, who will be one of the top players in the Big 12. In his first year with the Utes, he completed 63.5% of his pass attempts for 2,490 yards, 24 touchdowns, and five interceptions while adding 835 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Leading rusher Wayshawn Parker (981 yards) is also back.

Scalley is a brilliant defensive mind and always has the Utes toward the top of the leaderboards in total defense and scoring defense.

The Mountaineers are looking for their first win in the series

Sep 27, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back Diore Hubbard (20) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

West Virginia and Utah have only met three times, and just twice in the true modern era. Utah blew the Mountaineers out 32-6 in the Liberty Bowl, all the way back in 1964 when it was played in Atlantic City.

One day after Christmas in 2017, they met in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, a game where WVU was handcuffed with quarterback Will Grier on the shelf with a broken finger. It was a day to forget with Utah winning 30-14.

And then last year's matchup...oh boy. West Virginia could not get anything going in the passing game whatsoever, and defensively, could not get a stop. Utah passed for 292 yards and threw for 242, not having to punt a single time in a 48-10 win in Morgantown.

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