BYU Football: Three Key Takeaways from the 2025 Schedule
PROVO, Utah – After reviewing BYU’s 2025 football schedule, several key points stand out.
Here are three major takeaways from the 12-game lineup, starting with the placement of the rivalry game against Utah.
Big 12 Should Establish Consistency for the BYU-Utah Rivalry
The October 18 matchup between BYU and Utah feels unusual, but odd scheduling has been a trend in this series for the past 15 years.
Complaining about the rivalry game’s timing has become as routine as wishing for it to return to the final week of the season.
Since BYU and Utah left the Mountain West in 2010, only once has their game been scheduled for the season’s final weekend (2018). That was 15 years ago.
With conferences focused on securing multiple spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff, a non-traditional date for the rivalry makes sense. The ACC is even considering a title game without its top team. Leagues are exploring creative ways to maximize playoff opportunities.
The issue with BYU-Utah is that the Big 12 has scheduled it without consistency.
If the conference wants this rivalry to become its version of Texas-Oklahoma, it should pick a fixed date—whether mid-October, early November, or a Thanksgiving weekend showdown—and stick to it every year.
Establishing a permanent slot would help build the game’s national brand and attract viewers beyond the Big 12’s core fan base.
Last year’s November 9 meeting raised the stakes.
BYU was undefeated and ranked No. 9 in the CFP rankings, while Utah was fighting for bowl eligibility. A strong late-night TV audience tuned in.
Everyone familiar with this rivalry knows the game delivers no matter when it’s played. But the Big 12 shouldn’t take that for granted.
The conference needs to give the series an annual identity, something it has lacked since 2010.
BYU’s Early Bye Week
BYU’s first bye comes in Week 3 of the 2025 season, the earliest since 2013 when BYU was an FBS Independent.
This isn’t an ideal placement, as teams generally prefer to establish momentum before getting a break.
The second bye arrives on October 25, following a road game at Iowa State.
Between these two bye weeks, BYU will play six straight games, four of them away from Provo.
Typically, the Big 12 grants teams a bye after traveling two time zones for a road game. However, BYU’s East Coast trip to Cincinnati is set for November 22, the second-to-last week of the season, leaving no opportunity for a bye after that game.
Half of BYU’s 2025 Opponents Reached Bowl Games
Six teams on BYU’s 2025 schedule played in bowl games last season: East Carolina, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and TCU.
Four of those matchups will be road games for BYU.
Meanwhile, six opponents missed the postseason: Portland State (FCS), Stanford, Arizona, Utah, Cincinnati, and UCF. However, don’t be surprised if one or two of those teams become tougher challenges than expected.
A year ago, few would have predicted that Arizona State’s game in Tempe would function as a play-in for the Big 12 Championship.
The Big 12 is a conference where teams can turn things around quickly.
2025 BYU Football Schedule
(* = Big 12 Conference game)
August 30 – Portland State Vikings
September 6 – Stanford Cardinal
September 13 – BYE
September 20 – at East Carolina Pirates
September 27 – at Colorado Buffaloes*
October 3 (Friday) – West Virginia Mountaineers*
October 11 – at Arizona Wildcats*
October 18 – Utah Utes (Homecoming)*
October 25 – at Iowa State Cyclones*
November 1 – BYE
November 8 – at Texas Tech Red Raiders*
November 15 – TCU Horned Frogs*
November 22 – at Cincinnati Bearcats*
November 29 – UCF Knights*
December 6 – 2025 Big 12 Football Championship (Arlington, Texas)