ESPN GameDay Coming to Utah for Top 15 Matchup With Houston

The 10th-ranked Utah Utes moved to 6-0 with a 27-24 win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday night. This is the program's best mark since 2015, which brought more notoriety and national attention as one of college football's last unbeaten teams. 

ESPN’s College GameDay will head to Salt Lake City for the Top 25 matchup between Utah vs. Houston. The premier Big 12 showdown will lead the conversation in Week 8 of the college football season. 

The Cougars (6-1) took down Oklahoma State on Saturday night. Houston's only loss came against Texas Tech, which ended within inches of trying to force overtime with the Big 12 champs. On paper, this could be one of the closest matchups of the season for the Utes.

After edging out Deion Sanders and the Buffs, Utah heads back to Salt Lake City with some work to do. Morgan Scalley's team narrowly avoided the upset, and it was ugly in the second half. Nevertheless, what matters is that Utah stays perfect for the season. With Notre Dame and Indiana both losing on Saturday, the Utes hold the nation's longest winning streak at 12 games.   

Colorado, who doesn't have a Big 12 win in over a year, competed and fought against Utah all night long. "Looking at this game, I think you look at really all the metrics that matter and I don’t know that we should’ve won this game outside of the score," Scalley said after the game. "I’m proud of the way our guys fought to the end, and we came away with a win.”

The matchup with Houston will feature two of the Big 12's most underrated coaches. The Cougars won their sixth game of the season under Willie Fritz. With the victory, Fritz is now 20-12 with the Cougars since 2024. Houston finished 10-3 last year, and was No. 22 in the final AP Top 25 poll.With the way both of these teams are playing right now, being the late game on ESPN doesn't give this matchup the right placement. 

College GameDay will make its return to Utah’s campus in Salt Lake City for the second time in a year. They visited on November 1 of last year when Utah defeated Cincinnati. The crew stays in the Beehive State after traveling to Provo for the big-time contest between BYU and Notre Dame. 

Utah continues its undefeated season inside the top 10 for the first time this season. With BYU moving to No. 2, the November 7 Holy War date for the Utes carries huge postseason implications.