The Washington Huskies will open their 2026 college football schedule with a primetime 12:30 p.m. kickoff against Washington State on September 6 before ending the rest of their non-conference schedule on the Big Ten Network.
Uniquely, the season-opener against the Cougars was slated for the first Saturday in September. Now, it’s been pushed back one day to Sunday before Labor Day, a truly first-of-a-kind Apple Cup to begin Jedd Fisch’s third season in Seattle.
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Following the 2026 opener at Husky Stadium against coach Kirby Moore and the Cougars, the Huskies finish their non-conference schedule against Utah State on Sept. 12 at 12:30 p.m. and Eastern Washington on Sept. 19 at 4:15 p.m. Pacific. Both games against the Aggies and Eagles, respectively, will air on the Big Ten Network.
Prior to Wednesday’s schedule announcement and slight adjustment, two other UW football games in 2026 had already been announced with kickoff times. The Huskies’ third conference game against Iowa on October 9 will kick off at 6 p.m. on FOX or FS1, and following the Big Ten matchup at Purdue on October 16 at 5 p.m. on FOX, both of which are on a Friday, were revealed back in the spring.
According to a press release from UW, all remaining kickoff times and TV information will be announced during the season, generally on Monday, 12 days before each game.
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The 4:15 p.m. kickoff against EWU to end the non-conference slate is the latest kickoff time, a significant change from the 2025 season—all three of which came after 4:30 p.m. Pacific—and more in line with what Fisch and co. got their first year at UW, which featured a pair of 12:30 p.m. PST kickoffs against Eastern Michigan and WSU, along with an 8 p.m. season-opener against Weber State.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies get unique Apple Cup time slot to open 2026 season
