Saturday, October 24 is not a normal college football Saturday in Salt Lake City. ESPN’s College GameDay is broadcasting live from Presidents Circle at the University of Utah from 7 to 10 a.m. MT, and the No. 10 Utes (6-0) host Houston (6-1) at Rice-Eccles Stadium with an 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff on ESPN. The theme is “dark mode.” Dress accordingly.
The morning show
GameDay’s guest picker is Dalton Kincaid — Bills tight end, former Ute, first-team All-Pac-12, and a man who admitted on the Pat McAfee Show that he went 1-for-10 in his own tight end room pick’em last week. For reference, Steve Young went a perfect 10-for-10 in Provo last Saturday. Kincaid says he has to top him. Godspeed, Dalton.
If you’re going to Presidents Circle: go early, bring a sign, and remember the entire country is watching Utah make its case. This is the place.
The long, beautiful middle
Kickoff isn’t until 8:15 p.m., which leaves roughly eleven hours of tailgating, pacing, and refreshing the weather app. Pace yourselves. Hydrate like it’s a two-a-day. Somebody’s uncle is going to peak at noon and it does not have to be you.
Down south, BYU (also 6-0) plays at UCF at 1:30 p.m. MT on FOX, so the whole state has a full day of scoreboard-watching before the main event.
Dark mode
Utah is calling for a blackout — black shirts, black everything, Rice-Eccles under the lights at 8:15. A night game at altitude with a top-10 team and a national audience is about as good as this gets.
The practical stuff
TRAX is your friend — parking around the stadium will be a contact sport by mid-afternoon. October nights at Rice-Eccles get cold fast once the sun drops, so the black hoodie is both theme and survival gear. Gates, lines, and security all run slower on GameDay weekends; build in the extra half hour.
Your turn: what’s your GameDay sign say — and what’s your score prediction for Utah vs. Houston?
Photo: Fsendek1904, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.