Utah football will get national exposure Sept. 20 as Fox rolls into Salt Lake City to broadcast the Utes’ matchup against Texas Tech on “Big Noon Saturday.”
“Big Noon” is Fox’s premier time slot and averaged 6.74 million viewers last year. Fox’s broadcast of a top-three matchup between Texas and Ohio State two weeks ago became the most-watched Week 1 game in college football history with 16.6 million viewers.
The last time the Utes were broadcast during the “Big Noon” slot on Fox was last year against Colorado, a 49-24 Buffalo blowout win that drew 4 million viewers.
“We have no problem playing early in the day; just tell us what time kickoff is and we will be there. Our fans are awesome and will show the country the home-field advantage that Rice-Eccles Stadium is known for.”
— Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Jenny Taft will broadcast Utah’s Big 12 opener live from Rice-Eccles Stadium at 10 a.m. MDT.
If the No. 20 Utes (at Wyoming Saturday) and No. 21 Red Raiders (vs. Oregon State) both win this week, the game will likely be a top-20 matchup.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has long been a proponent of early games so players and coaches don’t have to wait around all day, as is the case during late kickoffs.
“We have no problem playing early in the day; just tell us what time kickoff is and we will be there,” Whittingham said in a school press release. “Our fans are awesome and will show the country the home-field advantage that Rice-Eccles Stadium is known for. Obviously, we’ll have a big TV audience in that time slot, so that’s great exposure for our program.”
The prime-time slot will put the Utes in the national spotlight. Utah’s game against UCLA was on the main Fox channel, but had a 9 p.m. MDT start, drawing an average of 1.5 million viewers. Next Saturday’s top-25 clash between Utah and Texas Tech in a prime window for the East Coast and central time zones should triple that number.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our football program to play in front of a large TV audience in the ”Big Noon Saturday" time slot on Fox and showcase the energy and atmosphere of Rice-Eccles Stadium,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in a press release. “Thanks to Fox and the Big 12 for giving us this stage to amplify our incredible football program and this great university.
“Our awesome fans will be firing up their grills bright and early — they’ll just be mixing in some omelets and pancakes on their tailgate menus. We look forward to a fantastic day on campus.”
Though the selection won’t be officially announced until this Saturday, the Sept. 20 contest between the Utes and Red Raiders is a prime candidate for Fox’s national “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show. The “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show — Fox’s version of “College GameDay” — broadcasts live from the campus of a selected school each Saturday from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. MDT.
“Our awesome fans will be firing up their grills bright and early — they’ll just be mixing in some omelets and pancakes on their tailgate menus. We look forward to a fantastic day on campus.”
— Utah AD Mark Harlan
The panel includes former Utah coach Urban Meyer alongside former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, former Alabama running back Mark Ingram II and host Rob Stone.
The last time the show was in the state of Utah was for then-No. 14 BYU’s matchup against Arizona. The University of Utah has never hosted Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show, which originated in 2019, but has hosted ESPN’s long-running “College GameDay” show five times (2004 vs. BYU; 2010 vs. TCU; 2015 vs. Cal; 2016 vs. Washington; and 2023 vs. Oregon).
