Month: November 2025

It’s the most exciting part of Utah’s sports calendar.

Nationally-ranked BYU and Utah are both winding down football’s regular season. The Jazz and Mammoth are playing good teams. The college basketball season is heating up, and BYU’s women’s soccer team even finds itself on a postseason run.

Over the next week or so, there will be a number of notable events for all the different teams around the Beehive State. Here’s a look at some you won’t want to miss.

Friday, Nov. 21

BYU men’s basketball vs. Wisconsin

2 p.m. MST at the Delta Center

The Cougars will take on the red-hot Badgers in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

BYU women’s soccer vs. UCLA (NCAA Tournament second round)

5 p.m. MST in Palo Alto, California

The Cougars are looking to advance to the Round of 16 for the 10th time in program history.

Jazz vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

8 p.m. MST at the Delta Center

The Jazz host the defending NBA champions in NBA Cup action.

Saturday, Nov. 22

Utah football vs. Kansas State

2 p.m. MST at Rice-Eccles Stadium

The Utes will look for their fourth-consecutive win and ninth of the season.

BYU football at Cincinnati

6 p.m. MST in Cincinnati

The Cougars face another road test in their pursuit of the Big 12 championship game.

Utah State football at Fresno State

8:30 p.m. MST in Fresno, California

The Aggies are a win away from bowl eligibility in their first season of the Bronco Mendenhall era.

Sunday, Nov. 23

Utah women’s basketball at UConn

12:30 p.m. MST in Montville, Connecticut

The Utes head east to face the No. 1 team in the country.

Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers

6 p.m. MST at the Delta Center

LeBron James and Luka Doncic visit Utah.

Monday, Nov. 24

Mammoth vs. Vegas Golden Knights

7 p.m. MST at the Delta Center

Utah hosts its regional rival for the second time this season.

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Utah men’s basketball vs. Grand Canyon

10 p.m. MST in Palm Desert, California

The Runnin’ Utes continue the Acrisure Series against a recent NCAA Tournament regular in the Antelopes.

Wednesday, Nov. 26

Mammoth vs. Montreal Canadiens

7:30 p.m. MST at the Delta Center

Utah hosts one of the NHL’s Original Six.

Utah men’s basketball vs. Ole Miss or Iowa

7:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. MST in Palm Desert, California

The Runnin’ Utes continue the Acrisure Series against one of the two listed opponents.

Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving)

BYU men’s basketball vs. Miami

3 p.m. MST at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida

AJ Dybantsa and the Cougars open their Thanksgiving showcase at the ESPN Events Invitational against the Hurricanes.

NFL players from Utah schools playing on Thanksgiving day

• BYU
• Zayne Anderson, Packers DB (at Lions at 11 a.m. MST)
• Chris Brooks, Packers RB (at Lions at 11 a.m. MST)
• Kingsley Suamataia, Chiefs OL (at Cowboys at 2:30 p.m. MST)
• Kyle Van Noy, Ravens LB (vs. Bengals at 6:20 p.m. MST)
• Ryan Rehkow, Bengals punter (at Ravens at 6:20 p.m. MST)

• Utah
• Sione Vaki, Lions RB (vs. Packers at 11 a.m. MST)
• Tyler Huntley, Ravens QB2 (vs. Bengals at 6:20 p.m. MST)
• Utah State
• Jordan Love, Packers QB (at Lions at 11 a.m. MST)

Friday, Nov. 28

Utah football at Kansas

10 a.m. MST in Lawrence, Kansas

The Utes face the Jayhawks in their regular-season finale.

BYU men’s basketball vs. Dayton or Georgetown

5 p.m. MST or 7:30 p.m. MST at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida

The Cougars continue their ESPN Events Invitational visit.

Saturday, Nov. 29

BYU football vs. UCF

TBD at LaVell Edwards Stadium

The Cougars could clinch a Big 12 championship game berth in their regular-season finale.

There remains a half-dozen teams in the race to reach the Big 12 Championship Game next month with the final two weeks of the regular season determining who faces off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with a College Football Playoff bid on the line.

Given this week’s new rankings from the playoff selection committee, there’s a scenario in which BYU wins a rematch over one-loss Texas Tech in the title game which would potentially place two Big 12 competitors in the 12-team bracket.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire backed BYU’s resume in the at-large discussion earlier this month after the Red Raiders’ win, pounding the table for conference strength.

Cincinnati squandered a golden opportunity for Saturday’s showdown with BYU to be a winner-take-all scenario entering the season’s final weekend after losing to Arizona at home. That’s consecutive losses for the Bearcats who — to begin November — controlled their own destiny in the league title discussion.

Bowl projections: Georgia moves into first-round bye in College Football Playoff, Oklahoma enters bracket

Brad Crawford

Tiebreakers explained

Here’s the Big 12’s tiebreaker procedure, enacted in 2024, that will be used in determining the two teams who play at AT&T Stadium in December in the event of a two-team tie for second:

• A. Head-to-head competition among the two tied teams. 
• B. Win percentage against all common conference opponents among the tied teams. 
• C. Win percentage against the next highest placed common opponent in the standings (based on the record in all games played within the conference), proceeding through the standings. When arriving at another group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s win percentage against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to that group’s own tie-breaking procedure) rather than the performance against individual tied teams. 
• D. Combined win percentage in conference games of conference opponents (i.e., the strength of conference schedule). 
• E. Total number of wins in a 12-game season. The following conditions will apply to the calculation of the total number of wins — only one win against a team from the FCS or lower division will be counted annually. Any games that are exempted from counting against the annual maximum number of football contests per NCAA rules shall not be included. 
• F. Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the last weekend of regular-season games. 
• G. Coin toss 

If there are multi-team ties in the Big 12, which is a high-probability this season, the following procedure will be followed:

• A. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage in games among the tied teams — if all teams involved in the tie did not play each other, but one team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, the team that defeated all other teams in the tie is removed from the tiebreaker, and the remaining teams revert to the beginning of the applicable tiebreaker process (i.e., two team or three or more team tie). Also, if all teams involved in the tie did not play each other and no team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, move to the next step in tiebreaker. 
• B. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents played by all other teams involved in the tie. 
• C. Record of the three (or more) tied teams against the next highest placed common opponent in the standings (based on the record in all games played within the conference), proceeding through the standings. When arriving at another group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s win percentage against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to that group’s own tie-breaking procedure) rather than the performance against individual tied teams. 
• D. Record of the three (or more) tied teams based on combined win percentage in conference games of conference opponents (i.e., strength of conference schedule) 
• E. Total number of wins in a 12-game season. The following conditions will apply to the calculation of the total number of wins: Only one win against a team from the FCS or lower division will be counted.

Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1)

The most dominant team in the conference up to this point, the only blemish on the resume for the Red Raiders was a close loss at Arizona State.

• If the Red Raiders beat West Virginia, they’re in the Big 12 Championship Game.
• If the Red Raiders lose to West Virginia, BYU beats Cincinnati and UCF and Arizona State beats Colorado and Arizona, Texas Tech misses a Big 12 Championship Game appearance.

BYU (9-1, 6-1)

You want to be in control of your own destiny at this point and the Cougars hold that distinction.

• If the Cougars beat Cincinnati and UCF, they’re in the Big 12 Championship Game.
• If the Cougars lose to Cincinnati and beats UCF, they’re still in good shape to reach the Big 12 Championship Game with a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Utah. In most scenarios for the four two-loss teams behind BYU in the conference standings, they need the Cougars to lose out.

Utah (8-2, 5-2)

While the Utes are in the at-large playoff conversation, losses this season to both of the Big 12’s frontrunners nullify most hopes of reaching the conference title game due to tiebreaker disadvantages.

• If the Utes beat Kansas State and Kansas, they’re in the Big 12 Championship Game if BYU loses to Cincinnati and UCF and Cincinnati loses to TCU. Utah holds a tiebreaker edge over the Bearcats with a head-to-head win.

Willie Fritz’s team needs chaos, which would start with Colorado upsetting Arizona State and Kansas State taking out Utah this weekend.

• If the Cougars beat TCU and Baylor, they would need BYU to lose twice along with Utah, Cincinnati, and Arizona State each losing once to reach the Big 12 Championship Game.

Arizona State (7-3, 5-2)

Banged up over the second half of the season, the Sun Devils’ bid to repeat as conference champions and get to the playoff is slim.

• If the Sun Devils beat Colorado and Arizona, they would need West Virginia to beat Texas Tech along with Utah and Cincinnati to each suffer another loss. That would guarantee a spot for Arizona State in the title game since the Sun Devils own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Red Raiders.

Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2)

Last week’s loss to Arizona is one the Bearcats could not afford with BYU looming. That torched just about every positive scenario that could’ve unfolded for Cincinnati.

• If the Bearcats beat BYU and TCU, they would need two-loss Arizona State, Houston and Utah to each suffer another setback to reach the Big 12 Championship Game. That would put Cincinnati in the final against Texas Tech since the Bearcats would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over BYU.

MANHATTAN — One of the best opponents Kansas State football will face all season awaits the Wildcats in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 22.

K-State will play Utah at 3 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) has plenty to play for as it pursues a spot in the College Football Playoff and, with help, still has a shot at reaching the Big 12 championship. The Utes are massive favorites to win the game.

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K-State (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) has to win one of its last two games to earn bowl eligibility.

Here are some things to know heading into the Utah game:

Utah football’s two-quarterback attack will be worth watching

Utah’s offense has the second-best ground attack in the country while touting one of the sport’s better offensive lines. The Utes have good running backs, but their two quarterbacks require a bit more preparation.

Utah plays two quarterbacks, Devon Dampier and true freshman Byrd Ficklin, who are both capable runners and throwers. Dampier has been banged up, pushing him into more of a throwing role, while Ficklin has proven to be one of the more explosive runners at the position. K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman joked that he has yet to see Ficklin get tackled in the tape that he’s reviewed.

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Klanderman also noted that the Utes don’t change much in their offense depending on who’s under center.

“They could have three or four different personnel groups and be in the same formation,” Klanderman said. “It’s about players, not plays; I suppose at the end of the day, that’s how it should be.”

How will Kansas State replace Jayce Brown? It can’t.

K-State will be without its best receiver for the remainder of the season after Jayce Brown exited the Wildcats’ win over Oklahoma State. He led the team with 41 catches for 712 yards and five touchdowns this season, while also providing a home-run threat that the Wildcats don’t have much of.

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“You’re not going to replace Jayce Brown,” offensive coordinator Matt Wells said. “I think you’ve gotta find different ways to move the ball, and that’s going to be a big challenge against these guys. I think the key for the whole offense is that we gotta get to third down and be able to convert.”

What went wrong against Oklahoma State on offense?

Wells noticed that different players took turns at messing up. Some plays, it’d be Avery Johnson; on others, it’d be a receiver dropping a pass; then, there’d be a lineman giving up penetration, blowing up a play.

“You couldn’t put your finger on one thing,” Wells said. “I was just proud of our resolve as the game went on. We continue to fight and find different ways to run the ball, especially in between the tackles late in the game.”

How good is Utah football’s pass rush?

Kansas State has already faced one of the best defenses in the country, playing Texas Tech earlier in the year. The Wildcats will now face the Big 12’s second-best defense when they play the Utes.

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Utah ranks 16th in the country with 2.7 sacks per game, while also allowing just 15.6 points per outing. Defensive end John Henry Daley leads the team with 9.5 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss. Across from him, Logan Fano has three sacks and five tackles for a loss. Henry Daley is graded as the 11th-best pass rusher in college football.

Matt Wells said the altitude in Utah is a mindset

Wells coached in Utah as Utah State’s head coach from 2013 to 18, and he spent time as an assistant in the two years before that. He thinks the worry about playing in altitude is overblown.

“It’s a marketing ploy out there, I think a little bit, but you gotta hydrate,” Wells said. “I think it may be a little psychological at times. I don’t ever see it as a big factor, to be honest with you.”

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Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football visits Utah – Things to know

As of writing this article, the Utah Jazz are 10th in the lottery standings. As you probably know, the Jazz only keep their pick if they are in the top 8 of this draft.

Yes, the Jazz schedule is rough, but this is an epic draft, and you can bet a lot of these teams above the Jazz may throw in the towel a lot sooner than expected. They’re also all run with an impressive level of incompetence. Utah can’t do what it’s done in the past and wait too long to improve their standing or they could find themselves in the 9th and 10th spot again. The problem with that this time is they don’t keep their pick in those scenarios.

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Here are some trade ideas the Jazz could do, and should consider.

Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers

Utah receives Yanic Konan Niederhauser and a 2031 2nd round pick.

LA receives Svi Mykhailiuk.

This is a huge win for Utah, which receives a young prospect in Niederhauser and a second-round pick. The Clippers, who don’t own the rights to their pick this season, gain a proven shooter and veteran in Mykhailiuk who can immediately help their offense with spacing and shooting.

Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings

I was trying to think of a trade that could net the Jazz a great pick no matter what they do, as well as improve their own. The reason some of these teams win the lottery is that they have the best chance of winning. Here’s a trade that could net the Jazz two top 5 picks in this historic draft and possibly 3. Here’s how it works.

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Atlanta Hawks receive Lauri Markkanen

Sacramento Kings receive Trae Young

Utah Jazz receive Zach LaVine, Pelicans 2026 first, Sacramento 2026 1st

The hardest thing for the Jazz is finding a trade that nets them a pick that doesn’t immediately depreciate once the trade is complete. I personally am a fan of the trade that gets the Jazz picks and players from the Pistons. How good will the picks be? Once the Pistons have Markkanen, their team improves, and the Jazz get picks that may or may not depreciate.

In this trade, Utah gets the Pelicans’ pick that is currently better than their own. Utah also gets the Sacramento Kings pick, which is likely to end up in the top 10 after this. They then also improve their own pick by moving Markkanen and getting a losing player in LaVine. Hardy is really good and likely gets the best version of LaVine, but there’s just never been a situation where LaVine has improved, and defensively, he doesn’t improve the Jazz. For Sacramento, they’d have to be excited about a star in Young. For Atlanta, they get a for sure star in Markkanen that can play alongside Jalen Johnson and make them a legitimate threat in the East right away.

On top of this, Markkanen gets what he’s always wanted: a chance to make the playoffs with a potential contender.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Thursday that the slow arrival of the state’s bombshell redistricting decision has limited the Legislature’s ability to appeal the ruling which overrode lawmakers’ authority over redistricting.

“It’s OK to disagree with logic of the case. I do very, very strongly. I think it was a mistake,” Cox told the Deseret News. “I disagree with the decision, but the timing plus the decision is what makes it so hard for justice to fairly play out.”

On Nov. 10, 3rd District Court Judge Dianna Gibson rejected a new congressional map drawn by legislators in favor of one drawn by nonprofit groups creating a “Democratic-leaning district anchored in the northern portion of Salt Lake.”

Gibson said this was necessary to follow state law under Proposition 4, a 2018 ballot initiative that required congressional maps to meet a set of anti-gerrymandering criteria meant to encourage fair electoral boundaries.

Republican elected officials had attempted to redraw Utah’s U.S. House districts to make them more competitive under Gibson’s orders. They were subsequently angered by the very uncompetitive map selected by Gibson, an unelected judge.

When did Gibson deliver her decision?

State House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, immediately vowed to appeal the decision. But the GOP majority has so far been stumped on what to do next because Gibson delivered her decision at the last possible moment.

Gibson’s ruling arrived less than 20 minutes before midnight on Nov. 10, the deadline given by Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson to ensure time to prepare Utah’s election system before the candidate filing deadline in early January.

This comes after the Utah Supreme Court took one year to rule that the Legislature had violated the state Constitution by amending Proposition 4, and after Gibson took two months longer than promised to rule on the state’s previous congressional maps, according to Schultz.

This “astronomical timeline” made it impossible for the Legislature to pursue a typical appeals process to the Utah Supreme Court, Schultz said. While the Legislature may pursue an emergency appeal, Schultz said this would prevent the case from being heard on the merits.

“This judge structured this in a way to where it takes away the voice of the people and our judicial process in going and filing an appeal in a timely manner to the state Supreme Court,” Schultz said. “We’re confident in our position, but the judge took that away from us by doing that.”

Are criticisms of the court unfair?

Some have criticized the GOP supermajority’s verbal attacks on Gibson, saying they damage the judicial process. On Monday, court administrators highlighted an increase in threats toward “court personnel” which they said endangered “the functioning of the justice system itself.”

Katharine Biele, the president of League of Women Voters of Utah — one of the plaintiffs in the redistricting case — said that such rulings are “difficult and complex” and require “the judiciary to be both thoughtful and thorough.”

“We are thankful that Judge Gibson took the time to understand redistricting and how it complies with the state constitution,” Biele said in a statement to the Deseret News. “No one, and certainly not the governor should have wanted a hurried ruling without a sound foundation.”

Cox, a former attorney who clerked for a U.S. District court judge, said that beyond disagreeing with the “logic of the case,” he believes that if Gibson had acted sooner, she could have followed “the normal process” outlined in Proposition 4 by asking the Legislature to redraw the map again if needed.

Schultz has framed Gibson’s decision to run out the clock as purposeful, and some lawmakers have come out in favor of impeaching Gibson on grounds that she overstepped her authority by taking control of a legislative process when lawmakers were attempting to follow the law.

Cox was hesitant to go so far, but said it was common practice for judges in high-profile cases, particularly those with political stakes, to make sure there is room for a full appeals process, which includes time to prepare arguments for a higher court.

“The piece that I’m struggling with — a lot of people are struggling with — is the timing, how long it took,“ Cox said. “I’ve worked for the judiciary, I clerked for a judge on a big decision like this. We always would have made a decision earlier to allow time for an appeal.”

MANHATTAN — Kansas State football has an opportunity to create a major shakeup in the College Football Playoff rankings when it travels to No. 12 Utah on Saturday, Nov. 22.

The Wildcats and Utes will face off in Salt Lake City at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Utah (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) is currently the second team out of the CFP bracket. The Utes are in the mix to make the Big 12 Championship, but would require a Texas Tech or BYU loss over the next two weeks while winning out.

Kansas State (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) is one win away from gaining bowl eligibility, needing to beat either Utah or Colorado to reach postseason play.

Kansas State vs Utah prediction

Utah has been one of the best teams in the country this season and provides a hostile environment for the Wildcats. The Utes have been mostly dominant, with their best win of the season a 45-14 victory over then-No. 17 Cincinnati, while their two losses have come to No. 5 Texas Tech and No. 11 BYU.

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What separates Utah is its offensive line play. The Utes have a group graded by Pro Football Focus as a top-10 team in both pass and run blocking. Only Iowa and Miami (Florida) can say the same thing.

This has led the Utes to rank No. 2 in the country in rushing offense, averaging 278.4 yards per game. At the same time, they’re allowing less than a sack per game, ranking seventh in all of college football. Running back Wayshawn Parker is averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

What makes the Utes unique is their two-quarterback approach, using junior Devon Dampier and true freshman Byrd Ficklin. Dampier has missed some time with a lower-body injury and remains banged up, while Ficklin has proven to be an explosive runner. Both played in last week’s 55-28 win at Baylor, with Dampier doing the majority of the throwing and Ficklin breaking loose for touchdown runs of 67 and 74 yards.

Defensively, the Utes’ pass rush is ranked second in the Big 12 by PFF. They haven’t been the best tackling team in 2025, but their ability to get after the quarterback has led to 2.7 sacks per game, ranking 16th in the country. They’re allowing just 15.6 points per game, holding everyone except Texas Tech to under 30 points this season.

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Kansas State vs Utah scouting report

Why Kansas State has an advantage: Chris Klieman is 4-3 straight-up when the Wildcats are double-digit underdogs, and there aren’t many expecting them to come out on top in this one. Maybe the “nothing to lose” and underdog mindset could inspire the Wildcats to their best performance of the season.

K-State wasn’t impressive in its win over Oklahoma State, except in its ability to create turnovers, something the Wildcats have done all season. When the Utes have turned the ball over more than once, they’re 1-2, which included a four-turnover performance against Texas Tech. The Wildcats are fourth in college football in creating turnovers.

Why Utah has an advantage: The Utes will be plenty motivated, knowing they’re in the mix for a CFP appearance. A letdown against a disappointing Kansas State team isn’t something they can afford.

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The Utes have been great on both sides of the ball all season, have taken care of the ball and created plenty of explosive plays, which is an area the Wildcats struggle in. Kansas State seems way too banged up on both sides of the ball to keep up in this one.

Kansas State vs Utah score prediction

Utah 37, Kansas State 17

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State vs Utah football scouting report, pick for Big 12 game