Official BYU Football Schedule For 2024 Has Been Released
On Tuesday morning, the BYU's 2024 roster is still under construction and the dates for the 2024 schedule have not been announced. That won't stop us from taking an early look at the 2024 schedule as it stands today.
August 31, 2024 vs Southern Illinois
BYU kicks off the 2024 season with a home game against FCS foe Southern Illinois. This will be a good tune-up opportunity for the Cougars who could feature a lot of new faces on defense and potentially a new quarterback.
September 6, 2024 @ SMU
SMU is coming off an AAC championship in 2023. The Mustangs will become members of the ACC for the 2024 season. Road wins in the state of Texas have been hard to come by, and this will be a very challenging game for BYU. SMU attracts a lot of talent in the transfer portal and they're surrounded by some of the best high school talent in the country. BYU will likely be an underdog in this game.
September 14, 2024 @ Wyoming
If you look up "trap game" in the college football dictionary, it might just say BYU-Wyoming in 2024. Wyoming will be the second consecutive road game for BYU. Wyoming fans hate BYU and this will be the biggest home game for a Wyoming team that has proven dangerous over the last few years. If BYU is going to make a bowl game in 2024, this is a must-win game.
This is the kind of game that BYU should not schedule in the future.
September 21, 2024 vs Kansas State
BYU kicks off its conference slate at home against Kansas State. Kansas State has established itself as one of the top-tier teams in the conference. BYU gets to host Kansas State at home next season. This game will test BYU's defensive front seven.
September 28, 2024 @ Baylor
The last time BYU played at Baylor, the Bears ran all over the Cougars on their way to a Big 12 championship. Baylor was arguably the worst team in the conference in 2023. While rosters are still in flux, this looks like one of the more winnable games on the conference schedule.
BYE Week - October 5th
BYU's first bye comes five weeks into the season.
October 12th vs Arizona
After a bye week, the Cougars host Arizona for their second home game of the conference slate. The Wildcats have some of the best skill players in the country and they are led by star quarterback Noah Fifita. If Arizona can improve its offensive line, they will be very, very hard to beat.
October 18th vs Oklahoma State
A Friday night game at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Oklahoma State is one of only two conference opponents that BYU will play in its first two seasons in the Big 12. The Cowboys, who lost to Texas in the Big 12 championship, have to come to Provo this time.
BYU has been very good in revenge games. The Cougars have an opportunity to get revenge after they lost in double overtime to the Cowboys in November.
October 26th @ UCF
BYU faces UCF for the first time as a conference foe in 2024. Having an extra day to prepare for this one will be beneficial. The Knights have quickly become one of the top recruiting programs in the conference. UCF will have the speed advantage, so the Cougars will have to win this game in the trenches.
BYE Week - November 2nd
BYU will have a bye week to prepare for Utah.
November 9th @ Utah
BYU-Utah will not be played on the last weekend of the season. In the opinion of this author, that's a failure by the conference.
The Big 12 only protected four matchups to be played annually - one of the four was BYU-Utah. TCU-Baylor, Kansas-Kansas State, and Arizona-Arizona State will be played annually as well. It's clear that the conference and the TV partners value the rivalry between BYU and Utah.
The Holy War is always entertaining, but it's so much better when it's a conference game.
November 16th vs Kansas
After what will likely be an emotional game against Utah, BYU returns home to face Kansas.
Kansas handed BYU its first loss of the 2023 season. The Jayhawks relied on Jayden Daniels to win that game with his legs and they paid a price. Daniels suffered an injury in that game and he never returned to the lineup.
Not only will be face a familiar foe in Kansas, but Jeff Grimes will make his return to Provo. Grimes was hired by the Jayhawks as their offensive coordinator.
November 23rd @ Arizona State
This is a road game, but BYU fans will show up in bunches to support the Cougars in the desert. Arizona State was not a good team in 2023. How much progress can they make in their second season under Kenny Dillingham?
November 30th vs Houston
Houston comes to Provo for the first time as a member of the Big 12. With new coach Willie Fritza at the helm, Houston will be looking for its first ever win over BYU. Houston is 0-3 all time against BYU.
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