BYU Football Has Never Played These 37 FBS Teams Before

PROVO, Utah – BYU football has always taken on a mantra of playing “any team, any time, and any place,” as seen on Zach Wilson’s headband during the 2020 season. As an Independent football program, BYU has experienced parts of the country they never thought possible when they were in a conference.

Any team, any time, any place. pic.twitter.com/Rs9ihEGfA8

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) November 21, 2020

The amount of different teams BYU has faced over the years highlights the willingness to play anyone in the college football landscape. Out of the 130 current FBS programs, BYU has faced 93 of them. That leaves only 37 FBS programs that BYU football has not played before.

BYU faced five programs for the first time in their unique COVID-19 impacted schedule in 2020. The Cougars were 4-1 in games against first-time opponents in 2020, with the lone loss coming against Coastal Carolina.

FBS teams BYU Football has never played against

ACC (6)

Clemson, Duke, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Big Ten (6)

Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers

Conference-USA (5)

Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Old Dominion, UAB

Independents (1)

Army West Point

MAC (8)

Akron, Buffalo, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio

SEC (6)

Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt

Sun Belt (5)

Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, South Alabama

BYU has first meetings lined up in the future

Of the 37 teams BYU football hasn’t faced in the FBS ranks, six of them have future meetings set up with the Cougars. Including one in the 2021 season.

BYU will travel to Statesboro, Georgia, this fall to play Georgia Southern for the first time. The Eagles moved up to the FBS level in 2014 and have won three bowl games in their brief stint in college football’s highest level.

Which FBS program do you want @BYUfootball to schedule in the future? #BYU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/XabQMaHADR

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 19, 2021

BYU has a pair of ACC opponents lined up in the future for two different home-and-home series in NC State (2024, 2030) and Virginia Tech (2026, 2030).

Arkansas from the SEC will be traveling to Provo in 2022, and then the Cougars will make a return trip to Fayetteville a year later in 2023.

Independence has allowed BYU to schedule more Big Ten programs. The Cougars have a future home game against Minnesota in 2025. BYU would have played the Gophers in 2020, but that game in Minneapolis was canceled due to the Big Ten going to a conference-only schedule amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Army West Point will travel to BYU in the 2032 season. BYU was supposed to travel to West Point for the first time in 2020, but the Cougars had a “small number of positive COVID-19 results,” leaving the game initially postponed. But Army never had any interest in rescheduling the game with BYU, leaving the 2020 contest canceled.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.