Narrowing Down the Options on BYU's 2023 Schedule
Beginning in 2023, BYU athletics will join the Big 12 in all sports. The announcement was made last September when the Big 12 added BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. BYU has waited years for an opportunity to be part of the five autonomous conferences - that opportunity has arrived and BYU has 17 more months to prepare for it.
One of the most urgent matters of business is football scheduling. Over the next 7-8 months, BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe will have to unwind multiple previously scheduled football games. The Cougars had an independent scheduled prepared for 2023, meaning they already had 12 non-conference games scheduled.
As a member of the Big 12, BYU will likely play nine conference games and three non-conference games according to a report by Dennis Dodd which was confirmed by other outlets. Dodd wrote that "A source within the league said the Big 12 is most likely going to stick with its current nine-game conference schedule."
So what does that mean for BYU's 2023 schedule? The Cougars have to trim the number of non-conference games from 12 down to three by October - a process that BYU has already started.
Why October? Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told BYU Sports Nation in February that the 2023 Big 12 schedule will be released in October of 2022.
2023 Games that have been Cancelled
Over the last six months, reports of BYU cancelling 2023 games have been leaked by various outlets.
BYU’s scheduled away games at Fresno State and Virginia have reportedly been cancelled. Same with the home game against Boise State and Rice. The 2023 game against USF was moved to 2026. That leaves seven uncancelled games on BYU's schedule.
In February, 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.
BYU was previously scheduled to play at Utah State on September 16th. Given the news about the Arkansas series, either that game was moved to a different week or it was cancelled.
Remaining Games on BYU’s 2023 Schedule
Here are the games that remain on BYU’s 2023 schedule.
vs Tennessee - Sep 2
@ Utah State - Date TBD or cancelled
@ Arkansas - Sep 16
vs UNLV - Nov 4
@ UCF - Nov 11
vs Southern Utah - Nov 18
@ USC - Nov 25
The report about the Arkansas game 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.
It’s hard to imagine BYU cancelling a home game against a storied SEC program, but crazier things have happened.
It also appears that the game at USC will be cancelled. BYU won't sign up for 12 P5 games in one season and it has already played one home game and one away game against the Trojans in recent seasons. The Deseret News reported in February that it is "highly unlikely" that BYU will play USC.
The game against UCF will either fold into a conference game or it will be easily cancelled.
With that being said, here is what BYU's 2023 schedule could look like:
Narrowing Down the Options
vs Tennessee - Sep 2
vs UNLV OR Utah State OR Southern Utah - Sep 9*
*In theory, this game could be played on Sep 23 and swapped for a conference game on Sep 9. However, all future members of the Big 12 have non-conference games scheduled for September 9th so that looks unlikely. Southern Utah, Utah State, and UNLV already have games scheduled for September 9th as well. Therefore, there are three options remaining for BYU on that day:
- One of those three teams (SUU, Utah State, UNLV) will need to adjust its schedule to fit BYU on September 9th - that is probably the best-case scenario.
- BYU could schedule a bye this week. Having a bye week scheduled for the second week of the season is not ideal. It would be much better for BYU to have a bye during conference play.
- BYU will have to find a new opponent for that day.
@ Arkansas - Sep 16
Nine-game conference schedule in the Big 12 - Sep 23 through Nov 25
BYU's 2023 schedule will continue to take shape in the coming months.
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