6 Takeaways From the 2026 BYU Football Schedule

On Wednesday, the Big 12 released BYU's 2026 football schedule. The Cougars will kickoff the 2026 schedule with a home game against Utah Tech. Here are our [x] takeaways from BYU's 2026 schedule.

1. A favorable home/away split

For the first time since joining the Big 12, BYU will play seven home games in 2026. BYU's five road games are against Colorado State, Utah, TCU, UCF, and Kansas. Therefore, BYU will leave the state of Utah just four times, and they will leave the Mountain Time zone only three times.

BYU will travel across two time zones only one time for an away game at UCF. Additionally, BYU will not have to play road games on back-to-back weekends.

BYU's home/away split is favorable and it positions BYU to be able to make a run at the Big 12 title game and the College Football Playoff.

2. The placement of the bye week is not ideal

In 2026, teams will get just one bye week due to the timing of Labor Day. BYU's bye week will come in week four. That leaves BYU nine games in nine weeks starting in early October. If BYU makes it to the conference championship game, it will have been 10 games in 10 weeks.

While BYU's favorable in a few different ways, the timing of the bye week certainly is not.

3. Two tough contests to start Big 12 play

Two of BYU's tougher Big 12 games, at least on paper, will come at the start of conference play.

BYU hosts Arizona in week two. Arizona returns Noah Fifita and a good core from a team that pushed BYU to overtime in 2025. The Wildcats will surely be seeking revenge after losing to BYU in two consecutive seasons.

Then, BYU will travel to Texas to take on TCU. Like Arizona, TCU will be seeking revenge after BYU crushed the Horned Frogs in 2025. Beating TCU in Fort Worth has been a challenge for BYU since the Mountain West Days. The last time BYU beat TCU on the road was in 2006.

If BYU can manage a 2-0 start to conference play, they will be positioned to make another conference title run.

4. The four-game stretch that will determine BYU's CFP hopes

If BYU is able to get out to another strong start, there will be a four-game stretch in the middle of the season that will determine their conference title hopes.

The four-game stretch begins with a home game against Notre Dame. If BYU can beat the Fighting Irish, the Cougars will have a strong enough resume to make the field as an at-large team.

The easiest game of the four-game stretch comes on the road at UCF. Then, BYU will take on Arizona State and Utah in back-to-back weeks.

BYU and ASU played in an instant classic in 2024 in a game that determined the Big 12 championship. The Cougars are looking for revenge after coming up two yards short against the Sun Devils. After that, BYU will take on Utah in Rice Eccles. Regardless of how good those two teams will be, it's always a tough game for BYU up in Salt Lake City.

5. After Utah, the November slate looks soft...and that comes with pros and cons

After the Utah game, BYU's November slate looks relatively soft. BYU hosts Baylor and Cincinnati in November and they make one road trip to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks.

That's both good and bad. On one hand, if BYU is in position to make the conference title game at that point, the Cougars would just have to take care of business to get to Arlington. On the other hand, a light November slate could prevent BYU from getting a signature win and making a late rise up the CFP rankings, if needed.

6. It looks like a 15-team race to face Texas Tech in the title game

While you can never draw too many conclusions about teams in January, it sure looks like there is a 15-team race to face Texas Tech in Arlington. The Red Raiders have perhaps the easiest draw of the league. Texas Tech avoids BYU and Utah, and their toughest games (Arizona State, Arizona, Houston) are all in Lubbock.

That leaves a smaller margin for error for teams like BYU and Utah. An 8-1 conference record might be required once again to make it to Arlington.