A Way-Too-Early Look At BYU’s 2019 Season

PROVO, Utah – After a 7-6 season in 2018, including a dominating win over Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, BYU will have a tall task in 2019 to start the season.

Their schedule includes four Power-5 schools with three teams from the Pac-12 Conference and one from the SEC.

They will take on three teams from the Mountain West Conference, two independents and one FCS team.

BYU will face four opponents who they have never faced before and two rivals.

Here is a look at BYU’s 2019 football schedule:

Utah, Home, August 29

The Cougars will open their season against their rival Utah for the first time in rivalry history. BYU is 31-58-4 against the Utes and have lost the last eight games including a 35-27 loss in 2018.

Utah Utes linebacker Cody Barton (30) and Utah Utes defensive back Julian Blackmon (23) gang up to stop Brigham Young Cougars running back Matt Hadley (2) at the goal line as BYU and Utah play at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Scott Winterton, Deseret News)

The Utes finished the regular season with a 9-4 and lost to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game after winning the south division title.

Utah will bring back their starting quarterback Tyler Huntley with the possibility of running back Zack Moss and defensive end Bradlee Anae if they don’t skip their senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Tennessee, Away, September 7

BYU will travel to Knoxville for their first ever meeting against the Volunteers. Tennessee finished the 2018 season with a 5-7 record and just 2-7 in the SEC.

They will bring back quarterback Jarrett Guarantano as well as running back Tim Jordan.

USC, Home, September 14

The Cougars will host the USC Trojans in Provo for just the second time ever. It will be the third meeting between BYU and USC with the Trojans winning the other two meetings. They beat BYU 35-18 in 2003 in Los Angeles and picked up a 42-10 victory in Provo when they were ranked No. 1 in the country.

USC finished the 2018 season with a 5-7 record. They will bring back starting quarterback J.T. Daniels and have hired former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury to be the offensive coordinator.

Washington, Home, September 21

It will be the 11th meeting between the Huskies and Cougars with Washington leading the series 6-4. The Huskies dominated BYU in 2018 with a 35-7 win in Seattle. Washington has won the last two matchups.

Washington finished the regular season with a 10-3 record and won the Pac-12 Championship. They will face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

They will be looking for a new quarterback and running back after Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin graduated.

Toledo, Away, September 29

BYU and the Rockets will face each other for just the second time. The Cougars won the first meeting 55-53 in a wild shootout in Provo. Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside had 505 passing yards and 5 touchdowns while BYU running back Jamaal Williams racked up 286 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground.

In 2018, Toledo had a 7-6 record and lost to Florida International in the Bahamas Bowl. They will bring back quarterbacks Eli Peters and Mitchell Guadagni.

USF, Away, October 12

BYU will play South Florida for the first time in school history. The Bulls ended the 2018 season with a 7-6 record after losing to Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl.

South Florida will bring back quarterback Blake Barnett and running back Jordan Cronkrite.

Boise State, Home, October 19

BYU hopes to get a win over the Broncos in 2019 after the Broncos have won seven of the nine meetings between the two teams. Boise State beat the Cougars on the blue turf 21-16 in 2018 and have won the last three games.

The Cougars finally won a game in Boise but it was in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Western Michigan.

The Broncos had a 10-3 record in 2018 including a loss to Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference Championship game. Their bowl game against Boston College was cancelled in the first quarter due to severe weather.

Utah State, Away, November 2

BYU leads the all-time series against Utah State 48-37-3 but the Aggies have won the last two games and three of their last five. Utah State picked up a 45-20 win in Provo in 2018 and a 40-24 victory in Logan back in 2017.

Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Tanner Mangum (12) gets stripped of the ball by Utah State safety Jontrell Rocquemore (3) during the Utah State versus BYU football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, October 5, 2018. Rocquemore recovered the ball for the turnover. (Steve Griffin/Deseret News)

Utah State finished the season with an 11-2 record and beat North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl. They will return quarterback Jordan Love and running back Gerold Bright. The Aggies will also bring back head coach Gary Andersen after Matt Wells left to be the head coach at Texas Tech.

Liberty, Home, November 9

It will be the first meeting between the Cougars and Flames. Liberty ended the 2018 season with a 6-6 record. They hired former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze to be the head coach.

Quarterback Stephen Calvert will return for his senior season and running back Frankie Hickson will be back.

Idaho State, Home, November 16

BYU will play Idaho State for the first time in 2019. The Bengals finished the 2018 season with a 6-5 record and 5-3 in the Big Sky Conference.

They will be looking for a new quarterback after with Tanner Gueller graduating. The Bengals will have running back Ty Flanagan back for his senior season.

UMass, Away, November 23

The Cougars and Minutemen will face each other for the fourth time. BYU is 2-1 in the series after winning 51-9 in 2016 and 35-16 at Gillette Stadium in 2018. UMass won the 2017 meeting in Provo 16-10.

Neil Pau’u makes a catch for BYU against UMass, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachussetts. (Jaren Wilkey, Deseret News)

UMass had a 4-8 record in 2018.

San Diego State, Away, November 30

BYU will end the regular season against the Aztecs who were 7-6 at the end of the 2018 season after losing to Ohio in the Frisco Bowl.

Harvey Unga #45 of BYU Cougars gets tackled by Brandon Kohn #11 of San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium on October 17, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images)

These two teams have a long history dating back to the Mountain West Conference and the WAC. It will be the first meeting between the Aztecs and Cougars since 2012. BYU leads the series 27-6-1 and have won six straight, 10 of the last 11 and 15 of the last 17 matchups.

Quarterback Ryan Agnew and running back Juwan Washington will return for their senior season.