Wake up, sleepyhead: Boise State-Utah State kicks off at 10 a.m. local time

Boise State and Utah State fans interested in a . . . let’s just say “unique” pregame experience Saturday can arrive at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah, just as parking lots open — four hours before kickoff — and casually enjoy their choice of food and beverages.

What makes this tailgating scene different? Fans will have to wait more than an hour for the sun to rise at 7:17 a.m.

The game kicks off at noon Eastern. For those in the Mountain Time Zone, where both schools are located, that means a 10 a.m. local time start. Stadium gates open at 8 a.m. 

For years, Boise State served as terrific late-night, last-call TV entertainment in hundreds of bars up and down the East Coast. Saturday will be a little different: Call it “Breakfast with the Broncos.”

Saturday will mark the earliest kickoff time ever for a Utah State home game. Why is this happening? TV, of course. CBS, which will televise the game nationally, is the primary rights partner for the Mountain West Conference. The league has a six-year deal — through the 2025-26 academic year — with CBS and Fox that will pay the league $270 million. Each of the 12 schools receives about $4 million annually.

When On3 asked a Utah State spokesman in an email if both schools, as part of the league’s media rights deal, had to sign off on the early kickoff time and if the impetus to do so was to maximize exposure, associate athletic director Doug Hoffman quickly responded: “Correct.”

Having to live with it

Early kickoff times — before noon locally — are not ideal for anyone other than the TV network looking to boost ratings in a time window. Restaurants and bars aren’t crazy about it because it reduces time for pregame consumption. Fans don’t like it, especially if they are traveling to the game from out of town. College coaches dislike it in part because it hurts the chances of high school prospects being able to make the game from out of state after playing Friday night games.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione was more than a little ticked off that last Saturday’s game with Nebraska kicked off at 11 a.m. in Norman. A matchup complete with all the pomp and circumstance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century wasn’t afforded a lot of actual game-day buildup because Fox wanted to feature it as its Big Noon Kickoff matchup.

Castiglione issued a statement in May saying he was “bitterly disappointed” with the early kickoff time. He added that Oklahoma “tried every possible avenue to proactively make our case (for a later start time). The Big 12 Conference also supported our strenuous efforts to secure a more traditional time that would honor this game and our fans. However, in the end, our TV partner chose to exercise its full contractual rights and denied our requests.”

Also of note: Castiglione issued that statement while Oklahoma was actively in discussions with the SEC about leaving the Big 12, a landscape-shifting revelation that did not become public until two months later. At Oklahoma’s July 30 Board of Regents meeting, during which Oklahoma officially accepted the SEC’s invitation, Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz spoke to TV’s power and influence in college football. He said it became clear that the Big 12, whose media rights deal expires in 2025, was “last in line for media negotiations,” adding that “not just among all the Power 5 conferences, the Autonomous 5, but among all those with the major broadcasters in live sports. . . . Being last in line has consequences. A big factor is which time slots are filled by those that negotiated before you.”

TV likes noon kickoffs

Why is the early time slot attractive? It’s a less competitive window for matchups. Some 7.7 million viewers watched Oregon knock off Ohio State on September 11, which was the sixth most-watched regular-season college football game ever on Fox. More than 4.2 million viewers watched Oklahoma stave off Nebraska’s upset bid.

So far this season, 841,000 watched Boise State lose to UCF on September 2 (a Thursday) on ESPN. Some 347,000 watched Boise State beat UTEP on September 10 (a Friday) on FS1. And 596,000 watched Boise State lose to Oklahoma State last Saturday on FS1. All games kicked off at 9 p.m. ET or later; the game at UCF was delayed by almost two hours because of weather conditions.

It will be interesting to see how many tune in for Boise State-Utah State. Although Utah State is 3-0, it lacks the national name recognition of Boise State, which does not have one of its best teams this season. And the matchup is going head-to-head with the Notre Dame-Wisconsin game at Soldier Field on Fox.

Utah State, playing a home game on the CBS mother network for the first time, is playing its earliest start time overall since it played at LSU at 10 a.m. MT in 2019.

This is the first time since 2019, when Boise State opened the season against Florida State, that the Broncos will play a game that kicks off at 10 a.m. MT. That game initially was scheduled for 5 p.m. MT but was moved because of Hurricane Dorian. This will be the earliest local start time for Boise State since November 13, 2004, when the Broncos traveled to San Jose State for a 9 a.m. PT game.

And the Broncos are not done with early-morning fun: Boise State’s regular-season finale at San Diego State on November 26 will kick off at 9 a.m. PT and also be televised on CBS. Boise State has gone from college football’s favorite last-call entertainment to a fun side dish to enjoy with the morning coffee. 

“We wake up every morning and practice at 9 a.m.,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “This is a morning operation.”

This Saturday especially, it better be.