Holy Score: On Utah's video, McAfee's response, the Holy War kickoff and reminders about who's really in charge

The weekend could not have gone better for Utah if coach Morgan Scalley had scripted it himself: the ESPN "College GameDay" revelry; the tense victory over Houston; the ascent to No. 6 in the AP poll; and, of course, BYU's loss.

Then Monday delivered a triple-shot of frustration.

The Big 12 announced a 10 a.m. (Mountain Time) kickoff for the Holy War next week on either ESPN or ABC, a brutal start for fans of both teams.

Then ESPN personality Pat McAfee complained about his experience at Utah went viral.

And then, around dinnertime, the university issued an apology to McAfee and ESPN.

There is much to unpack from those 12 hours of woe for the Utes and their fans, but a bigger issue hovers. Essentially, the day served to remind everyone of the ring that must be kissed.

McAfee has the right to feel the way he feels, even if he misrepresented what was in the video. Contrary to his description, nobody called him "creepy," and many media outlets that echoed his comments failed to make that critical distinction.

In fact, McAfee himself was responsible for the lowest blow when he connected Charlie Kirk's assassination, which happened in Orem, 40 miles away, to Utah's campus. He should have apologized to Utah for that ugly, erroneous insinuation.

Instead, the university issued an apology to McAfee late in the day that understandably infuriated Utah fans. The school had done nothing wrong except humorously poke ESPN's provocateur-in-chief, who didn't take kindly to the jokes.

But McAfee's employer writes the checks (along with Fox) that produce the cash the Big 12 distributes to its campuses at the rate of $30-something million per year.

The last thing Utah needs is a simmering feud — whether real or imagined (on his part) — with one of the key "GameDay" cogs.

In an ideal world, the Utes would tell McAfee to pound sand.

Alas, when the ATM needs oil to keep its rotors spinning, the campuses ask, how much?

The kickoff time for one of the most anticipated Holy Wars in history fits under the same category of ESPN's control over the Big 12, although there's some nuance to the situation that warrants examination.

Yes, the 10 a.m. (local) start time on Nov. 7 stinks for fans of both teams. But for the Big 12 and ESPN, the window makes sense. Both entities want to maximize eyeballs for a heated rivalry featuring top-10 teams. It should be one of the best matchups in a loaded day.

And precisely because it's a loaded day, ESPN wants the game in the early broadcast window, at 12 p.m. Eastern.

Why not prime time? Because the colossus known as Miami-Notre Dame is set for primetime (on NBC), and the Holy War would get buried if aired concurrently.

What about the afternoon window? That's not a good spot, either: Alabama-LSU is set for ABC at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, with Oregon-Ohio State on CBS at that time. Any game airing on ESPN in that broadcast slot would experience reduced visibility.

Given the options, with Alabama-LSU and Oregon-Ohio State in the afternoon and Miami-Notre Dame in primetime, the logical move — both for ESPN's business and the Big 12's quest for maximum visibility — was to place the Holy War in the early window.

The competition? Texas-Missouri on ABC or ESPN, whichever network doesn't air the Holy War, and a second-level Big Ten affair on Fox's Big Noon broadcast (probably Iowa-Northwestern).

That's a ratings race the Holy War has a shot to win.

Now, we can hear fans across the Beehive State grumbling about the elephant in the Big 12 schedule: Placing the Holy War on Nov. 7 and not the final Saturday of the regular season (i.e., rivalry weekend).

In its reconfigured form, the Big 12 is lacking in tradition-rich rivalries. Arizona-Arizona State and Kansas State-Iowa State have deep regional appeal but are not, by any stretch, circle-the-date games nationally.

The Holy War is arguably the conference's best rivalry. Clearly, it's the most competitively significant. And this year, the stakes are stratospheric with both teams pursuing a spot in the conference championship game and at-large bids to the College Football Playoff.

In fact, the outcome will have sweeping consequences for the entire Big 12 as it attempts to place a second team in the CFP.

Why schedule the Holy War for early November and not rivalry weekend?

Once again, it's a business decision made by the Big 12, which sets the conference schedule in consultation with ESPN and Fox. (All leagues work with their media partners on the schedules.)

The Big 12's goal is to place its best inventory in optimal spots for eyeballs, and the Holy War is atop that list. But the options are limited on the final Saturday of the regular season because of rivalries elsewhere.

Ohio State-Michigan, which airs on Fox at 12 p.m. Eastern, effectively eliminates the early window from consideration and leaves the afternoon and prime-time slots. The competition is fierce: Alabama-Auburn, USC-UCLA and Oregon-Washington are just three of the heavyweight games.

And don't forget: When the conference sets the schedule each winter, it does not know which games, in the Big 12 or other leagues, will be moved to the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend.

Nor does it know about the competitive significance any given game will carry.

Also, the Holy War has been played on rivalry weekend once in the past 16 years, in 2018, so its identity isn't tied to a particular Saturday. That's a major distinction from peers across the country.

For fans and perhaps the schools, as well, the Holy War works best on the final Saturday in either the afternoon or primetime windows. (Nobody wants it at night in late November.)

But for the sport's grandmasters, ESPN and Fox, a mid-season date makes sound business sense.

And in case anyone has forgotten — or missed the Utah-McAfee fuss — the rings must always be kissed. The networks run the sport.

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