Ranking the Most Difficult Games on BYU's 2026 Schedule

Coming off a 12-2 season, the Cougars return the core of the 2025 team that made it to the Big 12 title game. That core, combined with some important additions from the transfer portal, will make BYU one of that favorites in the Big 12 going into next season.

To make a run, BYU will need to manage the schedul that is in front of them. In this article, we will rank the games on BYU's schedule from least difficult to most difficult.

12. vs Utah Tech - 9/5/26

The Cougars will kickoff the season with a tune-up game against Utah Tech. BYU will be heavily favored in this game and the outcome will probably look like other FCS games that BYU has played in recent seasons.

11. @ Colorado State - 9/19/26

BYU will take a trip to Colorado to take on former Mountain West foe Colorado State. The Rams will be led by a new coach in Jim Mora. Mora recently hired BYU assistant quarterbacks coach Matt Mitchell to lead the Rams' quarterbacks. Mora is a good coach - he turned around a UConn program that was one of the two worst programs in the country when he arrived.

Still, BYU should have a comfortable enough talent advantage to win this game.

10. vs Iowa State - 10/10/26

Nobody P4 has lost more starters to the transfer portal than Iowa State. The Cyclones will be unrecognizable from the teams that have been coached by Matt Campbell in the past. Iowa State comes to Provo for the second time since BYU joined the Big 12.

Given the roster turnover at Iowa State, we expect the Cyclones to be one of the worst teams in the league in 2026.

9. vs Cincinnati - 11/28/26

Since joining the Big 12, Cincinnati has really struggled in November. They come to Provo for the last game of the regular season. Between the Bearcats' poor track record in November and the loss of star quarterback Brendan Sorsby, this looks like one of the more manageable games on BYU's 2026 slate.

8. vs Baylor - 11/14/26

Dave Aranda is on the hot seat going into the 2026 season. Frankly, Aranda might not be the head coach by the time the Bears come to Provo. The Bears will be led by Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway.

Baylor lost multiple starters to the transfer portal and they lose their two best offensive players to graduation. Also, they were one of the worst defenses in the P4 in 2025. BYU should be heavily favored in this game.

7. @ UCF - 10/24/26

BYU takes on UCF in Orlando. The Knights can be hard to beat at home, but we expect this to be another rebuilding year for new UCF coach Scott Frost.

6. @ Kansas - 11/21/26

Kansas has been BYU's kryptonite in the Big 12. The Cougars are 0-2 agains the Jayhawaks and looking for their first win over Kansas since joining the Big 12. This time around, BYU won't have to face veteran quarterback Jalon Daniels.

5. vs Arizona State - 10/31/26

BYU and Arizona State played in an instant classic in 2024 that turned into a Big 12 championship play-in game. The Cougars and the Sun Devils will rematch for the first time since that game, this time in Provo. Arizona State will feature a lot of new faces in 2026.

ASU is bringing in one of the top transfer classes in the conference. If the new additions can gel for Kenny Dillingham, they could be very good in 2026. This game has the potential to be one of the three most difficult games on the schedule.

4. @ TCU - 10/3/26

BYU takes on TCU in Fort Worth one year after dominating the Horned Frogs in Provo. TCU will be without starting quarterback Josh Hoover who transferred to Indiana. Still, winning in Fort Worth has been hard to do dating back to the days in the Mountain West conference.

3. vs Arizona - 9/12/26

For the third time in as many years, BYU will play Arizona in Big 12 play. Arizona, UCF, and Utah are the only three teams that BYU will have played three consecutive years. BYU will kickoff conference play with an early week two game against the Wildcats.

Arizona will have one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Noah Fifita. The Wildcats gave BYU everything they could handle in Tucson in 2025. This will be a challenging test for BYU in week two.

2. @ Utah - 11/7/26

BYU and Utah are scheduled to play in Salt Lake City in 2026. It's never an easy game for BYU when they take on the Utes up at Rice Eccles. Look no further than in 2024 when BYU was clearly the better team than rival Utah. Still, the Utes took the Cougars down to the wire. BYU needed some late-game heroics to escape with a victory.

Until there is a larger talent discrepancy between the two teams, a rivalry game in Salt Lake will always be one of the most challenging on the schedule.

It's worth noting that Utah loses a lot of talent going into 2026. It's possible that Morgan Scalley's team will take a step back in 2026. If that's the case, this game might turn out to be more manageable than it looks on paper today.

1. vs Notre Dame - 10/17/26

Notre Dame will likely be undefeated when they come to Provo in October. It's also very possible that the Fighting Irish will be a preseason top five team. There's a scenario where this could be a matchup between two top 10 teams.

If that's the case, it will be one of the biggest games in the history of Lavell Edwards Stadium. The Fighting Irish will be the most talented team that BYU faces in 2026.