How to watch Utah football games this season

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After a long and eventful offseason, football season is finally here, with Utah opening the 2026 campaign against Idaho on Thursday.

The Utes’ season opener against the Vandals at Rice-Eccles Stadium, slated for 7 p.m. MDT, will be broadcast on ESPNU.

We also know the times and channels for three additional Utah games. The Sept. 12 matchup against Arkansas will kickoff at 8:15 p.m. MDT, much to the dismay of Razorbacks athletic director Hunter Yurachek, and will be broadcast on ESPN. The “Battle of the Brothers” game between Utah and Utah State on Sept. 19 will kick off at 1:30 p.m. MDT and will be televised on Fox.

Finally, Utah’s Black Friday matchup and regular-season finale vs. West Virginia will start at 7 p.m. MDT and be televised on Fox.

The Big 12 inked a six-year deal with ESPN and Fox worth $2.28 billion that took effect in 2025, giving each school a reported $31.7 million per year. As part of that deal, the Big 12’s television partners have the right to determine game times, usually a week to two weeks out from the game.

As a result, the times of the other eight games on Utah’s schedule are yet to be determined.

What we do know is that any Big 12 game will be broadcast on the ESPN or Fox family of networks — ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, Fox and Fox Sports 1. Utah could appear on streaming-only service ESPN+, but last year, only the Utah-Cal Poly game was on the service. So far, no Ute games are scheduled to appear on ESPN+.

What service do you need to catch every Utes game this year?

Unlike when the Utes were in the Pac-12 and the Pac-12 Network was nowhere to be found on DIRECTV, the Fox and ESPN family of networks are available on Xfinity, Dish and DIRECTV (though ESPNU may be in a higher-tier package).

If you’ve cut the cord, streaming TV still has you covered this season. YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV include all the channels necessary to watch the Utes in their base plans.

SlingTV also has all the channels the Utes will be on, but ESPNU requires an upgrade to the Sports Extra plan, though the Utes shouldn’t be on ESPNU again this season after the opener. Other options that get you access to every game include DIRECTV Stream and FuboTV.