Alex Smith To Return To Utah Campus As College GameDay Guest Picker
Oct 30, 2025, 4:32 PM | Updated: Oct 31, 2025, 8:56 am
Alex Smith, Utah Football's first inductee into the Ring of Honor, is honored at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Former Ute quarterback and the first inductee into the Utah Ring of Honor, Alex Smith, will return to campus this weekend as a guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay.
It will be the second time in two years that Smith returns to Rice-Eccles for a football game.
Alex Smith knows a thing or two about Utah football 🏈
The Utes’ legend will be back on campus as this weekend’s guest picker 👏 pic.twitter.com/EYDnAE87An
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 30, 2025
Two years back, former Utah wide receiver Steve Smith was the guest picker when the ESPN crew came for Utah vs. Oregon.
As usual on College GameDay, players and head coach Kyle Whittingham are also likely to make an appearance at some point during the day.
ESPN’s College GameDay To Feature Utah Vs. Cincinnati In Salt Lake City
It will be the third Utah game this season that draws a national pregame show. FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff was in SLC for the Texas Tech game in week four, and also covered the Holy War in Provo a couple of weeks back.
The upcoming matchup marks eight times that College GameDay has covered the Utes, and the fifth time they will set up on the University of Utah campus.
. @UtahCoachWhitt is ready for anything, @PatMcAfeeShow ❗️
Looking forward to welcoming @CollegeGameDay back to SLC on Saturday🙌
🎟️: https://t.co/aluqkwO2rO pic.twitter.com/SvNAgjGvbj
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 30, 2025
The most recent was on October 28, 2023, when the No. 13 Utes hosted the No. 8 Oregon Ducks.
The first Utah College GameDay in the Big 12 could prove to have some massive implications regarding reaching Arlington come December.
The Utes are 6-2, and likely can’t afford another loss if they’d like to contend for a conference championship. Meanwhile, the 7-1 Cincinnati Bearcats are undefeated in conference play and are one of the only teams left that control their own destiny.
About Alex Smith
Following a high school career at Helix High in California, Smith was a star for the Utes. He led Utah to an undefeated record and a Fiesta Bowl victory in his final collegiate season.
He went on to become the No. 1 overall pick by the 49ers. The former Utah standout played the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Bay Area franchise.
During his career, Smith played for the Niners, Kansas City Chiefs, and Washington Football Team (now the Commanders). He’s well known for battling back from a life-threatening injury and playing in the 2020 season.
The 🐐 is in the building!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7PrD56TxNL
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) August 31, 2023
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft finished his 16-year career throwing for 35,650 yards and 199 touchdowns with a 62.6 completion rate.
Smith was named to the Pro Bowl three times during his career. He led the league in passer rating in 2017 and received the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2020.
