Report: BYU's 2023 Game Against Arkansas Moved Forward One Week

On Thursday, Whole Hog Sports reported that the date of BYU's 2023 road game at Arkansas has changed. The two teams were originally scheduled to face off on September 23, 2023. Now they will square off one week earlier on September 16, 2023.

"The request for the change of date came last November, two months after the Cougars agreed to join the Big 12 for all sports in 2023. The contract amendment does not state which team requested the date change." - Matt Jones

On the surface, moving a game forward one week does not feel newsworthy. It is newsworthy, however, because it hints at what BYU's non-conference schedule will look like in 2023. The Cougars will be playing in the Big 12 for the first time in 2023. From a scheduling perspective, that means BYU will need to cancel at least seven previously games before it joins the Big 12.

BYU was previously scheduled to play at Utah State on September 16th. Either that game was moved or it was cancelled.

Today's report implies that 1) BYU will indeed play Arkansas in 2023 and 2) BYU will either have to cancel its home game against Tennessee or play two SEC teams as part of its non-conference schedule. BYU is scheduled to host Tennessee on September 2, 2023 for its season opener.

Playing a full Big 12 schedule and two SEC teams would make for a daunting schedule for a BYU program that has never been in a Power Five conference before.

Here are the games on BYU's 2023 schedule that have not been reported as being cancelled:

vs Tennessee - Sep 2

@ Utah State - Date TBD or cancelled

@ Arkansas - Sep 16

vs Rice - Sep 29

@ Fresno State - Oct 7

vs UNLV - Nov 4

@ UCF - Nov 11

vs Southern Utah - Nov 18

@ USC - Nov 25

These are the 2023 games that have been either postponed or cancelled.

@ Virginia - Sep 9