Idaho (0-1, 0-1 Big Sky) at Utah (0-0, 0-0)
- Kickoff: Thursday, 7 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium
- TV: ESPNU
- Livestream: ESPN app with participating TV provider
- Radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM
- Series: Utah leads the series, 14-12-2
- Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the low 80s at kickoff, falling to low 70s by end of game.
The trends
For Utah: Coming off an 11-2 campaign in 2025, the Utes enter the season with a new coach in Morgan Scalley following the departure of Kyle Whittingham to Michigan.
Utah has not played Idaho since 1993, a game it lost 28-17.
For Idaho: Competing at the FCS ranks, the Vandals lost on a late-game touchdown pass against Cal Poly, 38-34, Aug. 28 in a Big Sky Conference matchup.
What to watch for
Being Scalley’s first time as the head coach to begin a season at Utah, it will be an opportunity to gain a feel for his coaching style. Serving 10 seasons as the defensive coordinator under Whittingham, now it is Scalley’s turn to run things.
Another notable change will be Utah’s offensive line.
In 2025, Utah touted one of the most dominant offensive lines, anchoring an attack that recorded 266 rushing yards per game, the second most in college football. This year, all of those players will not be in the trenches for Utah, and they left large shoes to fill.
The Vandals, on the other hand, return four of five starters in 2026 along with starting center Layton Vining, who has started 24 consecutive games for the squad. Idaho averaged 175 rushing yards in 2025.
Both teams’ signal callers are familiar to the fanbases, as Idaho’s Joshua Wood and Utah’s Devon Dampier returned for another year.
In Idaho’s season opener, Wood threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns and will look to make an impact against what is expected to be a stingy defense.
Last year, Dampier averaged 277 yards of total offense per game with 34 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see if Scalley shows how backup QB Byrd Ficklin is used throughout the season. Ficklin made the most of his scattered snaps as he tallied 513 rushing yards for the Utes in his freshman campaign.
It will likely be difficult to determine much of what these teams are made of, as predicted scores have Utah dominating.
Key player
Wayshawn Parker, Utah RB
Utah’s 2025 leading rusher begins the new season with what should be a tuneup game.
Rushing for 981 yards a season ago, the new offensive line’s ability to open up holes will be vital to continuing his (and both quarterbacks’) success on the ground.
Parker has increased his rushing production each year since he began his college career at Washington State in 2024. Should he continue to step it up in his junior year, the Utes’ ground game should open up other facets of the game for new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven.
Voted as a team leader this year, the captain has his eyes set on a 1,000-yard season.
Can he get there? Thursday will be his start.
Quotable
“This is not a Morgan Scalley deal. This is a University of Utah deal and we’ve got an entire staff and facility. It takes a village to really run this group and we’ve got unbelievable people, so we expect to do good things.” — Utah coach Morgan Scalley on the entire Utah organization
“A lot of guys on our team either played at the Power Four level or had aspirations to play at that level. This is their opportunity to get that chance to compete against Power Four players, compete against a really good program at that level, and so, that’s our mentality, right? Hey, you want to tell everyone in the world that you felt like you could be a Power Four guy? Well, here’s your chance!” — Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. on the opportunity against Utah, via Krem.com
Next up
- Utah: vs. Arkansas
- Idaho: vs. Lamar
Utah schedule
- Sept. 3 — vs. Idaho
- Sept. 12 — vs. Arkansas
- Sept. 19 — vs. Utah State
- Sept. 26 — at Iowa State
- Oct. 10 — vs. Kansas
- Oct. 17 — at Colorado
- Oct. 24 — vs. Houston
- Oct. 31 — at Cincinnati
- Nov. 7 — vs. BYU
- Nov. 14 — at Arizona
- Nov. 21 — at TCU
- Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia