The numbers around Saturday’s Utah-BYU showdown tell you everything you need to know about the moment. This isn’t just another rivalry game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It’s the first time ever that both teams are ranked in the top 10, and the ticket market is treating it like one of the biggest games the rivalry has ever seen.
On TicketData.com, the get-in price sits at $494 for the No. 7 Cougars’ trip to face No.
3 Utah in Salt Lake City. That makes it the second-most expensive ticket on the current projected top 12 College Football Playoff slate.
The price has climbed just 1% over the last three days, though that number could still move as kickoff gets closer.
Only one game is more expensive this week: No. 1 Miami against No.
4 Notre Dame, which starts at $725. ESPN’s “College GameDay” is headed to South Bend for that one, adding even more buzz.
Even so, BYU-Utah is priced well above most of the other marquee matchups on the schedule. No.
2 Georgia at No. 12 Ole Miss opens at $324, No.
8 Kentucky at Tennessee is around $360, and the Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge - a de facto CFP elimination game between No. 9 Alabama and No.
15 LSU - is listed at $223 and has dropped 20% in the past three days. Another big one, Oregon at No.
11 Ohio State, has a get-in price of $178.
The game itself will arrive early. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m.
MST on ABC, making it the rivalry’s first day game since 2010 and the earliest 10 a.m. start since 1996. The forecast shouldn’t make things miserable for the crowd either, with clear skies expected and temperatures around 50 degrees at kickoff, though it will feel warmer than that.
There’s plenty more than ticket prices driving the attention. Utah comes in unbeaten at 8-0 after a 49-25 road win over Cincinnati that pushed the Utes up three spots in the AP Top 25.
They were in control from the start, racing to a 42-6 halftime lead. Devon Dampier threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, while the running game kept rolling as Wayshawn Parker and Daniel Bray combined for 157 rushing yards.
BYU is 7-1 after a 27-20 win over Arizona State in Provo. The Cougars also own one of the biggest victories in the sport this season, beating Notre Dame 28-24 earlier in the year after the Fighting Irish declined to play in last bowl season’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.
There are still questions for BYU heading into Salt Lake City, especially with reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year L.J. Martin’s absence continuing to affect the ground game. Utah, meanwhile, will try to lean on an offense that has been especially effective running the ball.
The rivalry history adds its own edge. Utah leads the series 62-37-4, but BYU has had the upper hand lately, winning the last three meetings.
That stretch includes a 24-21 win in Provo last season and a 22-21 comeback at Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2024. It’s BYU’s first three-game winning streak in the rivalry since the early 1990s.
With Utah still unbeaten, BYU still in the CFP conversation and the Big 12 title race in play, Saturday has the feel of a game that could shape a lot more than the standings. It also explains why fans are paying such a steep price to get through the gates.
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