The 2026 football season is right around the corner. Fall camp is just a few weeks away and BYU kicks off against Utah Tech in just over 50 days. With that in mind, let’s scan over the football schedule and pinpoint where BYU will be tested the most.
Almost no game on the schedule is a surefire win. The Big 12 Conference will be plenty competitive. Let’s discuss the three toughest tests on the 2026 football schedule for the Cougars.
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3. at TCU (October 3)
The Cougars seemed to exorcised all of their TCU demons all at once last year, when they walloped the Horned Frogs 44-13 in Provo. Bear Bachmeier turned in one of the best games of his freshman season for the Cougars, with 296 passing yards, 59 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. That was after TCU had won the previous five matchups in a row, dating back to 2008. Surely, the Frogs will have revenge on their minds when the Cougars make the return trip to Fort Worth this season. That alone will make it tough.
TCU is trending upward. Even after losing quarterback Josh Hoover to the portal, the Horned Frogs enter the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason Top 25. This is certainly due to them finishing 9-4 last year and winning their last three games. which included a win over a ranked USC squad in the Alamo Bowl. This will likely be the most anti-BYU crowd outside of Salt Lake City the Cougars will experience.
2. at Utah (November 7)
There is a reason why Rice-Eccles Stadium has the reputation it does. And there’s a reason why BYU has only won in Salt Lake once in the last two decades. The Utes always play the Cougars tough, no matter how good or bad each team is year-to-year. That’s especially true in Salt Lake. Utah is pretty sick and tired of hearing about BYU’s growing winning streak (up to three) in the Holy War.
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A lot can happen on either side before their early November matchup, but Utah enters the season ranked No. 18. It feels likely that both teams will have Big 12 Championship Game hopes still on the line when they lock horns. This will be the first team Utah has a head coach not named Kyle Whittingham on the sidelines for the Holy War since 2004. Morgan Scalley will certainly want to make a good first impression with the Utes fanbase and beat BYU in his first try as head coach. The veteran quarterback Devon Dampier returns to face another highly touted BYU defense. Paging BIG Noon Kickoff. This is going to be a dandy.
1. vs. Notre Dame (October 17)
The news of the Fighting Irish agreeing to come to Provo was a great early Christmas present last year. It felt like it was never going to happen, until USC and Notre Dame failed to reach an agreement on a renewal of their storied rivalry. This will be Notre Dame’s first trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium since 2004.
Not only is Notre Dame one of the true blue blood brands that rarely comes to Provo. But this year, have serious national title hopes, ranked No. 4 in the preseason Top 25. Blue-chip prospect quarterback CJ Carr will certainly get national headlines. As long as both BYU and Notre Dame play up to expectations, this could be one of the more important matchups anywhere in college football. Plus, BYU has lost four in a row to the Fighting Irish. Getting them in a likely ranked matchup in Provo would be the perfect spot to knock them off. Easier said than done. Notre Dame is likely on a mission to lay waste to the sport after feeling disrespected by being left out of last year’s playoff.
