For the second straight week, ESPN's "College GameDay" is staying in the same state with Week 8 of the 2026 college football season on tap.
Host Rece Davis, Alabama football legend Nick Saban and fellow analysts Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the top-25 showdown Saturday between the Utah Utes and the Houston Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah (6-0) is up to No. 9 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the AP Top 25 under first-year coach Morgan Scalley. Houston (6-1) is No. 14 in the AP poll. The Utes are tied with BYU and Texas Tech atop the Big 12 standings. Coach Willie Fritz's Cougars are 3-1 in conference play.
It's the seventh time in school history Utah has hosted GameDay, which also
visited Salt Lake City in 2025 when the Utes faced the Cincinnati Bearcats, and in 2023 when they faced Oregon Ducks.
While GameDay visiting Utah isn't unusual, it is rare for ESPN's crew to be in the same state in consecutive weeks.
GameDay visited the Beehive State in Week 7 for the top-10 matchup between the BYU Cougars and Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Provo. It adds up to good exposure for the state and the Big 12.
Kickoff for Houston-Utah is 9:15 p.m. CT/8:15 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN.
"College GameDay" on ESPN begins at 8 a.m. CT each week.
Alabama football schedule 2026
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Alabama (5-2, 3-2 SEC) faces the Texas A&M Aggies (4-3, 1-3) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ABC.
The Crimson Tide are No. 13 in the Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. The Aggies are unranked.
Alabama football schedule 2026
All times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs (W, 56-23)
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (L, 20-17)
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers (L, 26-10)
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 5-2 overall, 3-2.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: 'College GameDay' announces Week 8 location, making unusual decision
