If there were 16,000 at the Washington game, I’d estimate there should be a little more for the Utah game.
The biggest negative is that the team is now 3-5 instead of 3-4.
Other than that, it depends on the demographics.
For families with children, a 7:30 game the night before Halloween is the absolute worst time possible, so I’d expect some more families.
The UCLA and Oregon games set records for student attendance. There was a big dropoff for the Washington game, but the Saturday night before Halloween is the absolute best night for parties, so, I’d expect more students at the Utah game.
For die hard sports fans, there should no longer be a conflict with the World Series.
For young professionals, it’s a mixed bag. If they work late or have a long drive,
it can be bard to make a Friday night game. But again, there’s less chance of a conflict with parties and other social events on Fridays.
Last, for opponents, there are a lot more UDub alums around than Utah alums, but Utah is doing well and could be the Pac 12 champions, generating more excitement, so this might be a push. Utah used to have what appeared to be a small contingent that flew in, but that seems less likely during a pandemic.
Overall, my prediction is 10-15% more than the Washington game.
The biggest negative is that the team is now 3-5 instead of 3-4.
Other than that, it depends on the demographics.
For families with children, a 7:30 game the night before Halloween is the absolute worst time possible, so I’d expect some more families.
The UCLA and Oregon games set records for student attendance. There was a big dropoff for the Washington game, but the Saturday night before Halloween is the absolute best night for parties, so, I’d expect more students at the Utah game.
For die hard sports fans, there should no longer be a conflict with the World Series.
For young professionals, it’s a mixed bag. If they work late or have a long drive,
it can be bard to make a Friday night game. But again, there’s less chance of a conflict with parties and other social events on Fridays.
Last, for opponents, there are a lot more UDub alums around than Utah alums, but Utah is doing well and could be the Pac 12 champions, generating more excitement, so this might be a push. Utah used to have what appeared to be a small contingent that flew in, but that seems less likely during a pandemic.
Overall, my prediction is 10-15% more than the Washington game.