No. 9 BYU’s next step in conference play now has a start time, and it comes with a national spotlight.
The Cougars will head to TCU on October 3 and kick off at 5:00 PM. The game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2, with the final call depending on how this weekend’s results shake out. Arkansas-Texas A&M is the other game in the mix for the main ESPN window, and if Texas A&M knocks off LSU, BYU-TCU is expected to land on ESPN2.
That still puts BYU in one of the better television slots on the Big 12 schedule that weekend. Elsewhere, Texas Tech at Colorado will be on FOX, Cincinnati at Arizona gets the extra-late FOX window, and Baylor will face Arizona State in the late-night slot.
The timing also works cleanly on BYU’s end. Since there is no longer a Saturday evening session for General Conference, the game will not overlap with any conference sessions.
The matchup is drawing plenty of attention beyond the league schedule, too. Some college football fans will be seeing BYU for the first time in 2026 when the Cougars and Horned Frogs take the field.
And the stakes around this stretch are easy to spot. BYU-Notre Dame has been the game everyone has had circled for months, and TCU stands as the biggest obstacle before that potential top-10 showdown.
Between now and the Irish, BYU has TCU and Iowa State left. The home game against Iowa State sets up as one the Cougars should be favored in, which makes the trip to Fort Worth the key test.
Using FPI game probabilities, there is a 58% chance BYU will be 5-0 when it takes on Notre Dame. If BYU beats TCU, that number jumps to 84%.
In Other News...
BYU Fans Just Got A Break For A Rare TCU Game Day
BYUs matchup with TCU on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, comes with an unusually fan-friendly twist for Cougar followers who also keep tabs on the church calendar. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MDT, with the game slated for ESPN or ESPN2 and radio coverage on KSL NewsRadio, giving fans plenty of ways to follow along.
The timing lands on the Saturday of the Semiannual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this year the schedule lines up in a way that avoids the usual conflict. With no Saturday evening session anymore, BYU supporters wont have to choose between conference and the game, a small but welcome break for a program whose fan base often has to juggle both. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Suddenly Has Company In A Big 12 Rankings Fight
BYUs rise to No. 9 after beating Colorado State was part of a strong early-season showing for the Big 12, which now has four teams in the latest AP Top 25. Texas Tech, Utah and Houston stayed in the rankings as well, giving the league three teams in the Top 15 and another at No. 25 heading out of Week 3. For a conference trying to build depth at the top, that kind of spread matters as much as any one headline result.
West Virginia is the team adding a little more pressure to the mix after upsetting No. 25 Virginia and drawing significant votes of its own. The Mountaineers are still just short of the rankings, but they are close enough to make the conference picture even tighter. For BYU, its a reminder that the margin for staying among the Big 12s elite may be about to get a lot thinner. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa Is Still Showing BYU Fans What Matters Most
AJ Dybantsa is already settling into life as a Washington Wizards rookie, but he is also making it clear that his time at BYU still matters. The former Cougars standout has started taking online classes to work toward finishing his degree in a timeline of about three to three-and-a-half years, all while juggling the demands of a pro basketball schedule and keeping up a strong academic record.
For BYU fans, it is another reminder that Dybantsas story is about more than where he was drafted or where he will make his NBA debut on Oct. 21. Being taken No. 1 overall by Washington put him on one of basketballs biggest stages, but he is still doing the quieter work that reflects what he values most, and that part of his journey may end up meaning just as much back in Provo. [Read more 🡒]