Utah 43-10 Arkansas (Sep 12, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Arkansas · Utah

Arkansas1-110

No. 20 Utah2-043Final

Sat, Sep 12 · Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah · Crowd 51,532

No. 20 Utah routed Arkansas 43-10.

We had Utah favored. It won.

Next: Arkansas lost to Georgia 45-17, Sat Sep 19

Next: Utah beat Utah State 33-0, Sat Sep 19

Top comment in the game thread

Scalley is so not Whitt and I love it

Q2 9:23 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Sep 12

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Utah a 93% chance, and the closing betting line (Utah was a 13.5-point favorite) put it at 86%.

FinalUtah 43-10 ArkansasUtah wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 9:23Utah fans celebrate the bold two-point conversion attempt after Dampier's touchdownESPN missed the 2pt conversion hell yar/CFB game threadQuoted at the top of the page.
Q2 8:37Utah fans decry soft pass interference call on Jackson's incomplete passWorst PI maybe everr/CFB game thread
Q2 5:00Arkansas fans lament Gilbert's missed field goal as Utah leads 15-3What do you have to lose if you’re Arkansas? No one is expecting you to win so why not go for it on every fourth down?r/CFB game thread
Q2 0:33Parker breaks ankles for touchdown as Utah leads Arkansas 29-3Is everyone in Arkansas doing okay, or is the whole place in a constant state of mourning or something? I feel so conflicted going through this game thread. Part of me wants Utah…r/CFB game threadWe look better against Arkansas than we did against Idaho lolr/CFB game thread

Utah’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Utah -13.5), at 87% for Utah (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Utah or Arkansas flair (1,237 and 756); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Utah’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Utah scored on 6 of its 11 drives; Arkansas on 2 of its 11.

Utah’s drives are teal, Arkansas’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

“We look better against Arkansas than we did against Idaho lol”

A Utah fan

How fans reacted

Steady

Fans were loudest in the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was busy.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Utah fans

dampier“Dampier too comfortable someone tell him to stop ****ing around and focus”

Arkansas fans

program“Because every coach in America heard our AD say he didn’t give Sam what he needed to be successful. Doesn’t breed a lot of confidence in the program.”

silverfield“We're going 1-11 this year. Every time the pan over to Silverfield he looks absolutely dumbfounded that this is actually happening.”

every“We're going 1-11 this year. Every time the pan over to Silverfield he looks absolutely dumbfounded that this is actually happening.”

least“At least this team doesn’t keep it close enough for me to be invested after half, unlike the heartbreakers from last year?”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: now, don, back, fun.

What it cost

Utah’s chance to make the playoff rose from 28% to 30%.

Make the playoff

Arkansas · lost0% → 0%

Utah · won28% → ▲30%

Win the conference

Arkansas · lost0% → 0%

Utah · won24% → ▲25%

Before the game (September 12, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Utah 43, Arkansas 10

Utah covered −13.5 by 19.5. The total, 53, stayed under 55.5.

Team totals	Arkansas	Utah
Total yards	305	442
Passing	22 of 48, 244 yds	20 of 28, 301 yds
Rushing	28 for 61 yds	34 for 141 yds
First downs	21	24
Third down	7 of 17	5 of 9
Fourth down	2 of 4	1 of 2
Turnovers	1	1
Penalties	7 for 56 yds	7 for 50 yds
Time of possession	31:57	28:03

Arkansas leaders

Passing KJ Jackson 14 of 34, 139 yds, 1 INT
Rushing KJ Jackson 7 for 34 yds; Cam Settles 6 for 25 yds
Receiving Chris Marshall 5 for 63 yds; Jamari Hawkins 3 for 47 yds

Utah leaders

Passing Devon Dampier 18 of 24, 261 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Wayshawn Parker 10 for 53 yds, 2 TD; Devon Dampier 11 for 50 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Noah Bennee 4 for 113 yds, 1 TD; Wayshawn Parker 5 for 65 yds, 1 TD

No rain and calm

82° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 9 mph from the southeast, mostly at an angle to the field, gusts to 22

Warmer than 9 in 10 of the 60 other games played at Rice-Eccles Stadium since 2016 (airport temperature during the game window). The usual here around this date is 74°, with about 7 in 10 games between 60° and 86°.

September game-day temperatures at Rice-Eccles Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 14:50 left8:31 p.m.

Arkansas 0, Utah 0 · Utah 87% to win

no rain · wind 5 mph from the west-northwest · 82°

Smith 1-yd run

Where this weather comes from

Measured at Salt Lake City International airport, 6.5 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games · 2025 season

Arkansas · 2-10

Rated 145th in our preseason ratings, 145th now.

Three straight losses.

L 17-31 vs MissouriTop 25 #15 of 667

lost by 14 as a 4.5-point underdog

L 37-52 @ TexasTop 25 #22 of 667

lost by 15 as a 10.5-point underdog

L 22-23 @ LSUTop 25 #22 of 667

lost by 1 as a 4.5-point underdog

L 35-38 vs Mississippi State #41 of 667

lost by 3 as a 5.5-point favorite

L 24-33 vs AuburnTop 25 #18 of 667

lost by 9 as a 2.5-point favorite

L 42-45 vs Texas A&MTop 25 #10 of 667

lost by 3 as an 8.5-point underdog

L 31-34 @ TennesseeTop 25 #11 of 667

lost by 3 as a 10.5-point underdog

L 13-56 vs Notre DameTop 25 #3 of 667

lost by 43 as a 5.5-point underdog

L 31-32 @ MemphisTop 25 #27 of 667

lost by 1 as a 7.5-point favorite

L 35-41 @ Ole MissTop 25 #4 of 667

lost by 6 as a 4.5-point underdog

W 56-14 vs Arkansas State #113 of 667

won by 42 as a 24.5-point favorite

W 52-7 vs Alabama A&M #180 of 667

won by 45 as a 45.5-point favorite

Last three games · 2025 season

Utah · 11-2

Rated 25th in our preseason ratings, 26th now.

Three straight wins, 2 over ranked or top-40 competition.

W 44-22 vs NebraskaTop 25 #87 of 667

won by 22 as a 13.5-point favorite

W 31-21 @ Kansas #66 of 667

won by 10 as a 10.5-point favorite

W 51-47 vs Kansas StateTop 25 #34 of 667

won by 4 as an 18.5-point favorite

W 55-28 @ Baylor #40 of 667

won by 27 as a 9.5-point favorite

W 45-14 vs CincinnatiTop 25 #40 of 667

won by 31 as a 9.5-point favorite

W 53-7 vs Colorado #63 of 667

won by 46 as a 14.5-point favorite

L 21-24 @ BYUTop 25 #32 of 667

lost by 3 as a 5.5-point favorite

W 42-10 vs Arizona StateTop 25 #47 of 667

won by 32 as an 8.5-point favorite

W 48-14 @ West Virginia #77 of 667

won by 34 as a 12.5-point favorite

L 10-34 vs Texas TechTop 25 #24 of 667

lost by 24 as a 3.5-point favorite

W 31-6 @ Wyoming #122 of 667

won by 25 as a 24.5-point favorite

W 63-9 vs Cal Poly #211 of 667

won by 54 as a 42.5-point favorite

W 43-10 @ UCLA #43 of 667

won by 33 as a 6.5-point favorite

Week by week

Utah

Wk 1Wvs Idaho66-14

Arkansas

Wk 1Wvs North Alabama31-14

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Utah’s rushing EPA against Arkansas, 74 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Utah’s rushing EPA against Arkansas’s defense
Utah offense, 92nd percentile · Arkansas defense, 18th
Utah’s EPA/play against Arkansas’s defense
Utah offense, 85th percentile · Arkansas defense, 23rd

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

ArkansasUtah

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Utah fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (76th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Utah favored by 13.5 · Total 55.5

How games like this usually go

Utah by 13.5, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 4 points toward Utah.

The total rose 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Warm and dry. Feels like 80° at kickoff.

Arkansas at Utah · Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 · Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City

80°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
97weather score, Comfortable
Bestof the day's 5 kickoff times

At kickoff, Sept. 12, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Later kickoff times scored higher that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 5 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was the best of the day's five kickoff times. At Rice-Eccles Stadium that day, a 4 pm kickoff would have scored 65, against 97 at 8 pm.

1:30 pm: 66, Rough
4 pm: 65, Rough
5 pm: 74, Rough
7 pm: 93, Comfortable
8 pm: 97, Comfortable (this game)

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Sept. 12, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

Utah is worth +3.4 points (±3.8) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 36th percentile.

81% at home, 61% on the road against FBS opponents (35-8 home, 27-17 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +2.1 at home vs. away over 95 games — inside the ±5.8 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. 4,631 ft of altitude — real, and smaller than the folklore: high venues run a point or two better against the number, noisily. The visitors travel about 1,008 miles to get here.

No. 20 Utah routs Arkansas 43-10