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SALT LAKE CITY â By virtually every metric, ranging from competition to finances and most certainly perception, Pac-12 football is languishing behind the other four Power Five conferences.
So why not wake up early and go radical? Not like there's much to lose at this point.
With all this in mind, the Pac-12 has decided to experiment with the earliest possible kickoff time for its conference opener on Nov. 7. The first game of the delayed and shortened season will feature a 9 a.m. PT start between Arizona State and USC in Los Angeles.
The intent is to gain exposure for two teams expected to contend for first place in the South Division. In exchange for the pre-dawn wake-up calls, the game will draw the coveted noon ET slot on the over-the-air Fox network.
Bravo to embattled commissioner Larry Scott and the individual university administrators for the bold move. In the pandemic-marred season of only seven games, played before at best a smattering of fans, the morning starts are worth a shot.
"It puts us in a window that's going to get a lot of promotion on the (Fox) pregame show," Scott told a Phoenix radio station. "Big eye balls on the Fox network. I know that's an opportunity for us, and we'll see how it goes. I'm a big believer we should experiment (and) we should try things. Maybe some things will work."
Remember, this is a conference with a failing television network that isn't coming close to generating the TV revenue the other P5 conferences get. Since the four-team playoff began in 2015, only Washington (2017) and Oregon (2015) have participated.
In the coming weeks, just to be safe on multiple levels, Utah fans might not want to plan any late-night activities. Your team may have early kicks forthcoming.
Currently, Utah has start times slated for three games, beginning with the opener against Arizona at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7. The other two are both 7:30 p.m. local times at UCLA on Nov. 13 and Dec. 11 at Colorado. Four kickoffs, including an undetermined opponent the third weekend of December, are open.
Utah athletic director Mark Harlan and coach Kyle Whittingham welcome the opportunity at morning glory. In his never-show-weakness style, Whittingham succinctly said: "It wouldn't bother us a bit, and we would take as many of those as they offer to us."
Out of all the conference teams, the two-time defending South Division champion Utes might be the best option to go early in multiple games for several reasons. Located in the Mountain time zone, Utah's starts actually would be at 10 a.m. for the noon Eastern window.
Colorado is the only other Pac-12 team permanently located in the Mountain time zone, but its program is usually a cellar-dweller. The two Arizona schools, whose state doesn't participate in Daylight Saving, begin the season on Pacific time and then switch to Mountain Standard Time when the clocks change.
If the conference and network mutually benefit from kicking off early in the first game, Utah could get one home start at 10 a.m. and another Nov. 28 at ASU. In an interview on The Zone Sports Network, Harlan acknowledged the conference might get one or two early slots on Fox.
"We just felt like it made a lot of sense this year, whether we're home or on the road, to try it," he said. "We love the window. We love the national exposure. Students really love playing on that stage.
"There's a lot of reasons to do it. The big apprehension of not doing it is fans and what that puts people through. With the decision to not have fans it made sense to really take a good look at it and then look back at it after it's over."
Harlan isn't committing to the morning games beyond this curtailed season, saying he needs more time to research and analyze all sides of the issue. But he does point out the late-night starts, of which the Utes have had plenty since beginning Pac-12 play in 2011, takes a toll on the participants and paying customers.
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