2026 BYU Football Schedule Released
Jan 21, 2026, 9:05 AM | Updated: 12:19 pm
PROVO, Utah – The 2026 BYU football schedule is here.
BYU enters 2026 with high expectations after finishing 12-2 and reaching the Big 12 Championship.
2026 BYU Football Schedule
Sept. 5 – Utah Tech
Sept. 12 – Arizona
Sept. 19 – at Colorado State
Oct. 3 – at TCU
Oct. 10 – Iowa State
Oct. 17 – Notre Dame
Oct. 24 – at UCF
Oct. 31 – Arizona State
Nov. 7 – at Utah
Nov. 14 – Baylor
Nov. 21 – at Kansas
Nov. 28 – Cincinnati— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 21, 2026
Since the 16-team Big 12 came together in 2024, BYU has the most wins in the league over the past two years with 23.
On Wednesday, the Big 12 announced the schedules for all 16 teams as part of a national TV/streaming release. With the schedule now set, BYU has its path to get back to Arlington and ultimately reach the College Football Playoff for the first time.
2026 BYU Football Schedule
* = Big 12 Conference Game
September 5 — Utah Tech Trailblazers
September 12 — Arizona Wildcats*
September 19 — at Colorado State Rams
September 26 — BYE
October 3 — at TCU Horned Frogs*
October 10 — Iowa State Cyclones*
October 17 — Notre Dame Fighting Irish*
October 24 — at UCF Knights*
October 31 — Arizona State Sun Devils*
November 7 — at Utah Utes*
November 14 — Baylor Bears*
November 21 — at Kansas Jayhawks*
November 28 — Cincinnati Bearcats*
December 4 (Friday) — Big 12 Football Championship Game (Arlington, Texas); 6 p.m. (MT) on ABC
Nonconference Schedule
BYU football has one road game and two home games in the out-of-conference portion of its 2026 schedule.
The headline game is a home contest against Notre Dame. BYU will host the Irish on Saturday, October 17.
It’s the first time BYU will host Notre Dame in Provo since 2004. BYU hasn’t defeated the Irish since that game at LES 22 years ago.
Notre Dame was the highest-ranked non-Playoff team in the 2025 final AP Top 25 at No. 10. BYU was the next highest-ranked non-Playoff team at No. 11.
The Cougars open the 2026 schedule against Utah Tech from St. George on Saturday, September 5. Utah Tech is coached by Lance Anderson.
BYU’s lone road game outside of Big 12 play is on the front range as they travel to take on former WAC and Mountain West rival Colorado State in Ft. Collins. The Rams are now coached by Jim Mora, who comes to CSU from UConn.
Colorado State is preparing for its first season in the relaunched Pac-12 Conference.
BYU/Utah rivalry in the Big 12: Year Three
Since Utah joined the Big 12 in 2024, BYU has been undefeated against the Utes. The Cougars are currently on a three-game winning streak against their heated in-state rival, dating back to the 2021 season.
BYU will travel to Rice-Eccles Stadium to take on the Utes on Saturday, November 7. It’s the same weekend that the Big 12 used for the rivalry game two years ago when BYU defeated the Utes in Salt Lake City.
Utah is set to kick off a new era with Morgan Scalley as head coach after Kyle Whittingham stepped down and took the Michigan job.
The Utes bring back quarterback Devon Dampier and star running back Wayshawn Parker to lead the offense.
Big 12 home opener
BYU will kick off Big 12 play early this season in week two when they host the Arizona Wildcats, who finished with nine wins last year.
BYU is 5-0 against Arizona in the Kalani Sitake era. Last season, the Cougars defeated Arizona in Tucson, 33-27 in double overtime. The Wildcats are led by star quarterback Noah Fifita, who earned First Team All-Big 12 honors in 2025.
The rest of BYU’s 12 home games
Iowa State, October 10: The Cyclones are kicking off the Jimmy Rogers era after Matt Campbell left for Penn State. Rogers won the FCS National Championship in 2023 at South Dakota State. He spent last season at Washington State.
Arizona State, October 31: BYU welcomes ASU to Provo for the first time as Big 12 foes. The Sun Devils are making their first trip to Provo since 2021. Two years ago in Tempe, BYU and Arizona State played a classic game with Big 12 Championship implications, which ultimately came down to the final play and led to a premature field storming by Sun Devil fans. Arizona State won that game 28-23.
Baylor, November 14: The Bears enter the 2026 season with all eyes on head coach Dave Aranda. Baylor finished 5-7 last season but decided to retain Aranda while the school searched for a new athletics director. BYU has defeated Baylor in both of the previous two meetings, which includes a thrilling double-overtime win in 2022 in Provo.
Cincinnati, November 28: BYU is 4-0 all-time against Cincinnati, including two wins against the Bearcats since the two programs joined the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
Road games on BYU’s Big 12 schedule
TCU, October 3: TCU finished the 2025 season ranked No. 25 in the final AP Top 25 poll. The Horned Frogs won nine games last season. BYU will be looking for its first win in Ft. Worth since 2006.
UCF, October 24: For the third consecutive year, BYU will face the UCF Knights. The Cougars defeated UCF to close out the regular season last year, and also beat the Knights 37-24 in Orlando in 2024.
Kansas, November 21: The Jayhawks are one of two teams in the 16-team Big 12 that BYU has yet to beat. BYU lost to Kansas in its first-ever Big 12 game in 2023, then suffered a gutwrenching setback in 2024 to spoil a perfect season.
Big 12 teams not on the BYU football schedule in 2026
- Colorado
- Houston
- Kansas State
- Oklahoma State
- Texas Tech
- West Virginia
BYU will not get a chance to get revenge for last year’s two losses against Texas Tech in the regular season. The only hope BYU has of facing Tech in 2026 is in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Last season, Tech defeated BYU in the regular season and the Big 12 Championship Game.
BYU misses Houston, K-State, and Oklahoma State for the second consecutive year. All three of those teams are expected to be on the 2027 schedule, according to the Big 12 schedule matrix.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
