Kickoff for the college football season in the state of Utah is just over three months away, and Thursday afternoon, within minutes of each other, both the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars announced more information about their schedules.
The Utes announced plans to be at full capacity at Rice-Eccles Stadium as well as kickoff times and TV designations for some games, while BYU announced television plans with ESPN and BYUtv (the Cougars announced last week their intention for full capacity at LaVell Edwards Stadium).
“We are incredibly excited to be planning for a sold-out, full-capacity environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the 2021 football season,” athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “We are so grateful for our passionate, loyal fans, who have stood by us and supported our department through a very challenging time.
“I’m also thrilled for our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who have worked so hard and maintained a high standard throughout everything, and will again be able to experience the roar of the home crowd. We can’t wait for Sept. 2 when we open the expanded Rice-Eccles Stadium and unveil the Ken Garff Performance Zone with 51,444 in the building.”
The season opener against Weber State on Sept. 2 will air on the Pac-12 Network, although kickoff time is still to be determined. The rivalry game at BYU on Sept. 11 will kick off at 8:15 p.m. MT and air on ESPN. The next week, Utah will face San Diego State on the road, with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. MT with CBS Sports Network to air it.
Additionally, the Nov. 5 contest at Stanford will kick off at 8:30 p.m. MT and air on FS1. Both the Oct. 9 game at USC and the Nov. 26 game at Colorado will be televised by either Fox or FS1, although kickoff times have not been determined.
As for BYU, it will open the season with three straight games on ESPN. The first will be the 2021 Vegas Kickoff Classic on Sept. 4 against Arizona at 8:30 p.m. MT. The rivalry game will be the next week, followed by another home game against Arizona State on Sept. 18, with kickoff time being 8:15 p.m. MT on both.
Home games against South Florida (Sept. 25), Boise State (Oct. 9) and Virginia (Oct. 30) will be on either ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, although kickoff times will not be determined until later. The home finale on Nov. 6 against Idaho State will kick off at 1 p.m. MT and air on ESPN3.
It had previously been announced that the Oct. 1 road game against Utah State will kick off at 7 p.m. MT and air on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff times and TV information on the Cougars’ other four games will come at a later date.