The Holy War Has Never Had More At Stake

This article was written by Gus Wilson and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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Of the many top-20 matchups college football fans get to enjoy Saturday, only one features a century-old rivalry with championship implications on both sides.

The No. 7 BYU Cougars travel to Salt Lake City to face the No. 3 Utah Utes in the latest edition of the Holy War, potentially the most consequential meeting in the rivalry’s history.

Between the success of both programs, conference and national championship implications, and a hatred that doesn’t get nearly enough national attention, this game has just about everything you could ask for.

Except a reasonable kickoff time.

A historically great matchup

For the first time in the rivalry’s history, BYU and Utah will meet with both teams ranked inside the AP Top 10.

https://t.co/T23NtgfCyw
Ohio State falls out of the top 10, UCLA cracks the top 5 and New Mexico earns its first-ever ranking in the AP Top 25 poll. See where your team landed. https://t.co/8s2vaaEOvj

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 1, 2026

Utah enters Saturday undefeated at 8-0, riding a 14-game winning streak dating to last season, the longest active streak in college football.

BYU sits at 7-1, with its only loss coming in a 39-31 double-overtime defeat against UCF two weeks ago.

But the Cougars have something Utah doesn’t: three consecutive victories in the rivalry.

The past two meetings have been particularly memorable. In 2024, BYU escaped with a controversial 22-21 victory following a last-second field goal from Will Ferrin. Last season, the Cougars won another thriller, 24-21.

What’s one BYU football game you wish you could go back and experience again for the first time?

Mine is 2025 Holy War, “There’s a Bear on the loose in Provo!” ????

What’s yours? And if you have a video from it, post it. I want to see it. ???? https://t.co/M4Q9dHLdGC

— Greg Mortensen (@Morty13) August 30, 2026

Now, both programs are playing some of their best football at the same time.

“This is definitely the most important Holy War from a national perspective,” Jeff Hansen, publisher at CougarSportsInsider.com, told Sport & State. “But in a lot of ways, it just feels like another Holy War here along the Wasatch Front. The stakes are obviously enormous, and that’s not lost on anybody, but for fans of these programs, the stakes are always enormous.”

Josh Bennett, a contributor at KSL Sports, believes the stakes make this particular meeting unlike anything the rivalry has experienced.

“This is without a doubt the biggest Holy War we’ve ever seen,” Bennett said. “There have been instances where one team could play spoiler to the other, but never this much at stake for both teams.”

Utah v BYU
Top 7 matchup
Everything on the line
Holy War for the ages

— Professor WildUte (@TheWildUte) November 1, 2026

Both writers emphasized how the programs’ reunion in the Big 12 has restored the conference championship implications that were absent for years.

“For decades, these two teams would play each other with a conference title on the line,” Hansen said. “Being in the Big 12 has brought that feeling back, and while it isn’t a new feeling, it is a feeling that was absent for a while.”

Everything on the line

Saturday’s winner won’t just earn bragging rights for another year. It will take an enormous step toward the Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff.

Utah leads at 5-0 in conference play, while BYU sits at 4-1 alongside Texas Tech in the championship race.

A Utah victory would give the Utes a commanding advantage over BYU and keep their undefeated season intact. For the Cougars, a win would create a tie between the rivals in the conference standings and give BYU the crucial head-to-head advantage.

Tuesday’s first CFP rankings placed Utah at No. 3 and BYU at No. 9, putting both programs in the projected 12-team field.

Bennett sees Saturday as an opportunity for Utah to accomplish two things at once.

“Continue onward with the special season they’re having,” Bennett said, while also having the opportunity to “effectively end BYU’s Big 12 and College Football Playoff hopes.”

An underrated hatred

There are few rivalries in college football quite like the Holy War.

Saturday marks the 104th meeting between the schools, according to Utah’s records, in a rivalry that stretches back more than a century. The universities are separated by approximately 45 miles, but the competition goes well beyond what happens on the football field.

“The Holy War is heated, because you can’t hide from it,” Bennett said. “The two fanbases mix and mingle seemingly everywhere: church, school, workplaces, grocery stores, Jazz and Mammoth games. There is no separating these two fanbases, and the rivalry never turns off.”

Hansen echoed that sentiment, explaining how the rivalry often divides families.

“Families grow up cheering for one school and marry into another family who cheered for the other and now there is a split household,” he said. “It has a lot of those traditional rivalry elements that make college football great.”

The Holy War trash talk is already heating up ???? https://t.co/YQklrLjkuL

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 24, 2026

The religious component adds another layer to the rivalry. BYU is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while Utah is a public university with a significant population of Latter-day Saint students and fans.

Hansen said BYU’s religious affiliation can create tension between supporters of the two schools, including disagreements over whether BYU should be viewed as representing their shared faith.

“It’s just a unique rivalry, and unless you have seen it up close and personal, it’s kind of hard to wrap your head around,” Hansen said.

But regardless of religious affiliation, beating the other school means just about everything.

“Beating Utah is the biggest thing for BYU fans,” Hansen said. “There are more important games on the schedule, like BYU playing Notre Dame or having a chance to win a Big 12 Championship, but the Holy War is the game everyone wants to win the most.”

Bennett shared a similar sentiment from the Utah perspective.

“Aside from Big 12 title implications and College Football Playoff positioning, this game is about bragging rights and pride … and it all centers around football,” Bennett said. “You can win every instance of Utah-BYU sport matchups, but if you don’t win the football game … it means nothing.”

With BYU winning three consecutive meetings after Utah previously dominated the series with nine straight victories, the bragging rights have shifted.

As Hansen put it, “This game provides either a win or a loss that resonates for 365 days.”

Bright and early

For a rivalry with this much riding on it, you’d think the networks would give it a primetime slot.

Instead, BYU and Utah will kick off at 10 a.m. local time.

The game will air nationally on ABC at noon ET, marking the first 10 a.m. kickoff in the rivalry since 1996.

For Utah fans, that means getting to Rice-Eccles Stadium well before most college football games across the country have even begun. For BYU fans making the trip from Provo, the morning starts even earlier.

Sport & State founder Clay Travis was among those criticizing the decision, calling the kickoff a crime against college football humanity.

BYU-Utah kicking off at 10 AM Mountain Time is a crime against college football humanity. One of the greatest rivalries in sports. One of the biggest Holy Wars ever. And they’re playing it at 10 in the morning? BYU and Utah fans, I’ve got your back. https://t.co/rbOl3OPW7D

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 29, 2026

It’s difficult to disagree.

A historic top-10 rivalry matchup with conference championship and playoff implications deserves a bigger spotlight than a breakfast-time kickoff.

Then again, something tells me neither fan base will struggle to get out of bed Saturday.

One program will take a massive step toward its postseason goals, while the other will have to spend another year listening to its biggest rival brag about it.

All before lunchtime.

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