Report: BYU Moves Up Future Game Against Stanford For 2025 Season
Sep 11, 2024, 11:29 PM
BYU football will reportedly face the Stanford Cardinal on the 2025 nonconference schedule. (Photo courtesy of BYU Photo)
(Photo courtesy of BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football reportedly has completed its 2025 non-conference schedule.
FBschedules.com reported that BYU is moving up its game against Stanford in Provo from the 2031 season to September 6, 2025.
BYU football reshuffles nonconference schedule
The move is a byproduct of conference realignment that has impacted many schedules. In 2025, BYU initially had Utah as a non-conference opponent, while Stanford had annual meetings with Notre Dame on the schedule.
But when Utah moved to the Big 12, and Stanford moved into the ACC, where Notre Dame has a scheduling alliance, it created an opportunity for BYU to move up the game with the Cardinal.
FBschedules.com also reported that BYU is moving its 2025 game against Southern Utah to the 2031 date initially lined up for the Stanford Cardinal on August 31 of that season. Instead of the T-Birds, there have been reports that Portland State will slide into BYU’s 2025 non-conference schedule.
BYU last played Portland State to open the 2017 season.
2025 schedule
That would leave a three-game out-of-conference schedule, with home games against Stanford and Portland State and a road trip to East Carolina.
BYU AD Tom Holmoe confirmed with KSL Sports at Big 12 Media Days in July that the road game at East Carolina in 2025 remains on the schedule.
The Big 12 Conference requires its members to play one non-conference game against a Power Four opponent.
BYU has faced Stanford three times, with the Cardinal holding the series lead, 2-1. The Cougars won the last meeting 35-26 on The Farm in BYU’s regular-season finale as an Independent program in 2022.
Conference realignment has caused scheduling to be a top priority
While rounding out the 2025 schedule was a top priority in the summer, conference realignment has also caused Holmoe to look at future schedules.
“The interesting thing is, 2025 is close to finished. But we’re [also working on] ’26, ’27. We have to push some teams out into ’30, ’31, ’32, and ’33,” Holmoe said to KSL Sports at the Big 12 Spring Business Meetings in May.
“So even though it’s not 12 games a year like we had in Independence, non-conference scheduling when you’re in a conference like the Big 12 is still very important, even though you only have three games.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
