Utah’s coaching handoff is starting to look like one of the cleanest in college football this century.
That’s not a small thing for a program that just watched Kyle Whittingham step aside after two decades and handed the keys to Morgan Scalley. But the Utes have made the transition look almost effortless, and Saturday’s 28-20 win over BYU only sharpened that picture. Utah hadn’t beaten the Cougars since 2019, and the victory pushed the Utes deeper into the national title conversation while giving Scalley another strong case that the job is in steady hands.
The Utes didn’t exactly cruise. Devon Dampier was uneven at quarterback, but Utah got enough from him to survive a BYU collapse.
The Cougars helped with four interceptions and 11 penalties for 80 yards, and that was enough for Utah to walk away with a result that says plenty about where the program stands right now. Arizona is next on Saturday after a miracle Friday-night win over TCU.
Nebraska, meanwhile, keeps looking worse than its numbers suggest it should be. The Cornhuskers came into the week No. 18 in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings, but Friday’s double-digit loss to Illinois only added to the frustration.
Bret Bielema’s team handled the moment, and Nebraska was outgained by 50 yards in the game. It has become the kind of season that makes Matt Rhule’s situation feel uncomfortable, even with a $63 million buyout hanging over everything.
Nebraska now needs two wins in its final three games against Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa just to reach a bowl, and that path does not look especially friendly.
UCLA also kept showing the kind of resilience that makes it hard to dismiss. Coach Bob Chesney’s team has the feel of 2024 Indiana, even without the James Madison tie-in.
The Bruins are not blowing away quality opponents - their biggest win over a team with a winning record is only by 10 points over Wisconsin - but they keep finding ways. Against Minnesota, backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach flipped a tied game early in the fourth quarter by connecting with Aidan Mizell on two 75-yard touchdowns, turning the night into a 34-20 UCLA win.
The Golden Gophers’ 20 points were the most anyone had scored against UCLA since Sept. 19.
Texas also made a statement in a game that mattered for the CFP picture. November in the SEC is going to be a string of elimination games, and the Longhorns handled the first one with authority.
With wide receiver Cam Coleman out and defensive end Colin Simmons easing back from injury, Texas leaned on Arch Manning, and he delivered one of his best performances of 2026. Manning threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns against Missouri, and the result likely knocked the Tigers out of the playoff race.
Missouri’s one major win came against Florida, and Texas now sits one win away from real CFP optimism if it can beat LSU next Saturday after missing the field in ’25.
In Other News...
Utah Fans Have A New Rivalry Challenge To Settle On Game Day
A new game-day wrinkle has emerged around the Utah-BYU rivalry, and it comes with far more mileage than the usual pregame banter. Brothers Christian and Thomas Hales created an ultramarathon called the Holy Ultra, a route that links BYU in Provo with the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and they are inviting others to turn the run into a competition tied to rivalry weekend.
The idea is meant to be bigger than a one-off stunt. After putting the event together and completing the route themselves in May, the Hales brothers want to make it an annual tradition that celebrates both schools while giving fans another way to stake their claim on game day. For Utah supporters, it is a fresh off-field challenge with rivalry bragging rights on the line, even if the race itself is still in its early stages. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads Into Notre Dame With A No. 1 Test Fans Feared
College footballs latest shakeup has only made the top of the rankings feel more fragile, and Miami is about to find out how thin the margin can be. After No. 2 Ohio State fell to unranked USC, the No. 1 Hurricanes head into Notre Dame with a major concern of their own, as star wide receiver Malachi Toney is expected to miss the rest of the regular season.
For Utah fans watching the national picture, the timing is hard to miss. The sports elite are suddenly navigating a week where one slip can change everything, and the Utes are in the middle of one of the biggest games on their own schedule with BYU. With both teams sitting in the top 10, the stakes in that rivalry are as high as they have been in years, and the ripple effects could reach far beyond the state. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Suddenly Has More Riding On Colorado State Than Fans Realize
The first College Football Playoff rankings have already started to shape the conversation around a pivotal weekend, and Utah is right in the middle of it. With several Top 25 matchups looming, the committees opening snapshot has sharpened the stakes for a slate that also includes Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Miami and Boise State, while the Utes own showdown carries plenty of weight in the broader playoff picture.
There is also the injury watch that comes with this kind of November pressure, with Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen among the players whose status is still uncertain heading into the weekend. For Utah, the attention around the rankings and the results elsewhere only adds to the sense that every detail matters now, especially with so much still to be sorted out before the playoff field starts to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]