Overview
- Morgan Scalley will coach his first regular‑season game Thursday at Rice‑Eccles Stadium against Idaho with kickoff at 7 p.m. MT on ESPNU and the ESPN app.
- Utah enters ranked No. 21 after an 11‑2 2025 season and brings high expectations while replacing all five 2025 starting offensive linemen.
- Offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven gets his first live look at the revamped line with Solatoa Moea’I and Keith Olson stepping into full‑time starting roles.
- Idaho is an FCS team that still showed big-play potential in its Aug. 28 loss to Cal Poly when QB Joshua Wood threw for 363 yards, so Utah must avoid turnovers and slow starts.
- Media previews project a one‑sided Utah win and say the game is primarily an audition to evaluate depth and give younger players reps before next week’s home game against Arkansas.