ESPN’s College GameDay is staying in the Big 12 spotlight for another week, and this time the show is heading north in Utah.
After airing from Provo in Week 7 for BYU’s showdown with Notre Dame, College GameDay announced Sunday that its Week 8 stop will be Salt Lake City for Houston’s game against Utah. It marks a second straight Saturday at a Big 12 stadium in Utah, a rare back-to-back run that says plenty about how much attention the league is drawing right now.
The timing makes sense. BYU just put together one of the season’s headline-grabbing wins, taking down No.
2 Notre Dame 28-24 on Saturday night in front of a national audience. The Cougars stayed unbeaten with the victory and gave the Big 12 another valuable nonconference boost for its College Football Playoff case.
Now the focus shifts about 45 miles north to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah comes in at 6-0 after edging Colorado 27-24 on Saturday night, while Houston arrives at 6-1 after knocking off No. 18 Oklahoma State 35-32. That win gave the Cougars another statement result in their first season under Willie Fritz.
Houston’s lone defeat came against Texas Tech, another unbeaten team that remains in the Big 12 championship picture.
So next weekend’s matchup carries real weight, both for the conference race and for the CFP conversation. The Big 12 has spent the early part of this season putting itself squarely in the national conversation, and GameDay’s return to the league - and to Utah - is the latest sign of that momentum.
It was only one week ago that College GameDay visited BYU for the first time since 2009. Now ESPN isn’t leaving Big 12 territory, and next Saturday figures to bring another full slate of conference storylines for the crew to unpack.
In Other News...
Houston Just Made A Big 12 Statement Fans Can't Ignore
Houston kept its Big 12 momentum rolling at TDECU Stadium with a 35-32 win over Oklahoma State, a result that gave the Cougars another eye-catching conference victory and pushed them to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. Conner Weigman was at the center of it again, directing an offense that had to keep pace with a Cowboys team that piled up 499 total yards and made the game uncomfortable deep into the afternoon.
The difference came in the fourth quarter, when Houston found the kind of explosive answer that can change the feel of a conference race. Weigman delivered the decisive cushion on a 48-yard touchdown pass to Koby Young, a play that turned a tight finish into a statement win and left Houston looking every bit like a team that belongs in the Big 12 conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Got The Big 12 Boost It Desperately Needed
Week 7 gave the Big 12 the kind of jolt Houston could use, and the Cougars did their part in a tense finish at Oklahoma State. While BYU stunned No. 2 Notre Dame, Texas Tech rolled Arizona State and Kansas State kept its long run against Kansas going, Houston stayed right in the mix with a road win that mattered for both the standings and the league's larger reputation.
Conner Weigman was at the center of it, steering the offense in a game that never really let Houston get comfortable. The Cougars built enough separation to take the lead into the closing stretch, then had to survive a late push from the Cowboys to leave Stillwater with the result intact, the sort of conference win that can travel with a team when the games start tightening up in November. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Made The Kind Of Big 12 Statement Fans Craved
Conner Weigman helped steer Houston through another tense Big 12 night, with the quarterback leading multiple scoring drives and the defense coming up with enough stops to keep Oklahoma State at arms length. It was the kind of back-and-forth game the Cougars have been searching for, one that showed they can take a punch and still find a way to respond when the pressure rises.
The atmosphere matched the moment at TDECU Stadium, where 42,544 fans turned out for one of the biggest crowds in building history. For a program trying to keep building momentum in its new league, a win like this carries more weight than just one result, even if the larger story of where it fits in the conference race is still very much unfolding. [Read more 🡒]