Big 12 Schedules BYU/Utah Game On Unexpected Date
Jan 30, 2024, 10:23 AM | Updated: Jan 31, 2024, 10:02 am
The Big 12 Conference announced that the BYU/Utah football rivalry will be played on November 9th, 2024. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The BYU/Utah football game is returning. But it’s on an unexpected date.
The Big 12 Conference released its league schedule on Tuesday and placed the rivalry game on November 9, 2024.
That’s three weeks before the final regular season week on the schedule.
BYU vs. Utah returns!
📅: November 9th
📍: Rice-Eccles Stadium
🏈: @Big12Conference#GoCougs #GoUtes #Big12 pic.twitter.com/i5cvCdrbTz— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 30, 2024
It’s an out-of-the-box move for Brett Yormark and the Big 12 to place BYU/Utah on a week that wasn’t the traditional rivalry weekend in college football.
The initial reaction to the news on social media from fans and media was disappointment. Historically, when the two in-state rivals were in the WAC and Mountain West Conference, the game was always played during the final regular season week of the year.
The positive for BYU and Utah coaches is that both teams will have a bye week before the game. But the downside for both programs is that there will be two weeks of rivalry banter. Are you ready for that?
I guess it’s better than an entire offseason of banter, as we all experienced leading up to the 2019 season.
There is a precedent to this date spotlighting a big rivalry game. The SEC does this for Alabama/LSU.
Every year, both teams have a bye going into that game. Then, it takes on a marquee television window.
The last time these two in-state rivals met on the gridiron was in 2021 when BYU defeated the Utes 26-17.
Before 2021, Utah had reeled off nine consecutive victories against BYU.
Utah leads the all-time series over BYU 59-32-4.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s’ coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
