It’s not College Gameday, but I think the Gameday crew will be there, and Herbstreit/Fowler will be calling the game, with Holly Rowe on the sideline. This is huge, and I expect it’s one of the reasons Harlan scheduled the game on a Thursday. I remember many Ute and Gator fans complaining about it being on Thursday, but this is massive exposure, and it makes winning the game that much more important. Has the crew ever come out to SLC during week 1?
For reference, this was last year when they went to WVU vs Pitt (backyard brawl) on a Thursday.
I wonder what Whitt will say in regards to the starting QB. I feel like he will either tell them it’s a game time decision, or he will let them know, but tell them to keep it secret.
Thursday night games to start the season are huge because they give you extra days to get ready for game #2. I think beating Baylor will be really, really tough but those two extra days are massive.
We get to play Florida, have a day to rest and review, and then Baylor plays and we can be prepping for them. Compare that to us being forced into a 7:30 pm slot on Saturday night to play Florida then have to quickly turn around and get ready for Baylor.
I thought of the same exact thing before it was announced as a Thursday. I understand why Florida fans don’t care, since they play an FCS team the week after, but any Utah fan who wanted this game on a Saturday is just an idiot. Less exposure, less views, and less time to rest and prepare for Baylor.
This is a great opportunity for the Ute nation. We need to deliver on and off the field. As Harlan said earlier this week – we need to have the stadium packed in red before the 6:00 PM kickoff. Often with these weekday night games – the stadium is only 3/4 full at kickoff. With Gameday being here – we need to be there on time. Take the day off work – it’s like a holiday!
Then our team needs to deliver on the field with the nation watching. This will show thar the Utes are for real and second it will help us in recruiting across the country.
Chris Hill first started scheduling Thursday openers to accommodate fans who want to travel on Labor Day weekend. Harlan has kept it going, I would assume primarily for the same reason but there are obvious scheduling advantages to doing it this way.
Going back to 2003, excluding the 2020 covid schedule, we have only had 4 season openers that weren’t played on a Thursday.
– 2005 vs Arizona was on a Friday
– 2006 @ UCLA was on a Saturday
– 2008 @ Michigan was on a Saturday
– 2022 @ Florida was on a Saturday
Utah @ 
UCF 
.
