2026 Big 12 football schedule by team: Key games, dates as conference championship game moves to Friday night
The quest for the Big 12 title runs through reigning champion Texas Tech

The Big 12 Championship Game will move from its typical Saturday noon time slot to a Friday night for the 2026 college football season. The conference title game is set for Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. EST and will kick off the Power Four championship slate with the rest of the conferences determining their champions on Dec. 5. That change came as part of the Big 12's schedule release on Wednesday, which laid out every matchup for the 2026 campaign.
There will be no regular-season rematch of the 2025 conference championship game due to the league's schedule rotation. Texas Tech and BYU will not play against each other unless they meet in the postseason, whether it be in a second consecutive Big 12 Championship Game, the College Football Playoff or a bowl game. The Red Raiders trounced the Cougars twice in 2025 with a 34-7 rout in Lubbock and a 29-7 blowout in the conference title game.
Texas Tech will, however, headline the Big 12's 2026 schedule when it hosts Arizona State in Week 7. It is a clash between the two most recent conference champions and a pair of the most highly favored teams to represent the league in the CFP.
The Big 12 is set to participate in the first edition of the Union Jack Classic on Sept. 19 when it sends Arizona State and Kansas to Wembley Stadium in London, England for a neutral-site, overseas conference game. Commissioner Brett Yormark expressed a desire to expand the Big 12's global footprint, and this becomes the conference's third game abroad in two seasons. TCU will play a non-conference game on Aug. 29 in Dublin, Ireland against North Carolina to open the campaign.
While conference championship odds have yet to be released, the early 2026 CFP National Championship odds indicate the projected pecking order at the top of the Big 12.
Texas Tech has the best outlook for the national title at +1600, per FanDuel, good for the eighth-best odds of any team in the country. Utah, despite its coaching change with Morgan Scalley taking over for Kyle Whittingham, is +6000 to win the CFP. BYU (+10000), Kansas State (+22500), Arizona (+22500) and Arizona State (+40000) are the only teams with better than +50000 odds to win the title, and while they are longshots to do so, they comprise the list of the strongest conference championship contenders.
Below is the 2026 conference schedule for each Big 12 football team.
2026 Big 12 schedule
Arizona
Sept. 5 -- Northern Arizona
Sept. 12 -- at BYU
Sept. 19 -- Northern Illinois
Sept. 26 -- at Washington State
Oct. 3 -- Cincinnati
Oct. 10 -- at West Virginia
Oct. 17 -- BYE
Oct. 24 -- Iowa State
Oct. 31 -- at Texas Tech
Nov. 7 -- TCU
Nov. 14 -- Utah
Nov. 21 -- at Kansas State
Nov. 28 -- Arizona State
Arizona State
Sept. 5 -- Morgan State
Sept. 12 -- at Texas A&M
Sept. 19 -- Kansas (London, England)
Sept. 26 -- BYE
Oct. 3 -- Baylor
Oct. 10 -- Hawaii
Oct. 17 -- at Texas Tech
Oct. 24 -- Kansas State
Oct. 31 -- at BYU
Nov. 7 -- Colorado
Nov. 14 -- at UCF
Nov. 21 -- Oklahoma State
Nov. 28 -- at Arizona
Baylor
Sept. 5 -- Auburn (Atlanta)
Sept. 12 -- Prairie View A&M
Sept. 19 -- Louisiana Tech
Sept. 26 -- Colorado
Oct. 3 -- at Arizona State
Oct. 10 -- BYE
Oct. 17 -- TCU
Oct. 24 -- at Kansas
Oct. 31 -- at UCF
Nov. 7 -- Iowa State
Nov. 14 -- at BYU
Nov. 21 -- Texas Tech
Nov. 28 -- at Houston
BYU
Sept. 5 -- Utah Tech
Sept. 12 -- Arizona
Sept. 19 -- at Colorado State
Sept. 26 -- BYE
Oct. 3 -- at TCU
Oct. 10 -- Iowa State
Oct. 17 -- Notre Dame
Oct. 24 -- at UCF
Oct. 31 -- Arizona State
Nov. 7 -- at Utah
Nov. 14 -- Baylor
Nov. 21 -- at Kansas
Nov. 28 -- Cincinnati
Cincinnati
Sept. 5 -- Boston College
Sept. 12 -- Western Carolina
Sept. 19 -- Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 26 -- Kansas State
Oct. 3 -- at Arizona
Oct. 10 -- BYE
Oct. 17 -- at West Virginia
Oct. 24 -- Texas Tech
Oct. 31 -- Utah
Nov. 7 -- at Houston
Nov. 14 -- at Iowa State
Nov. 21 -- Colorado
Nov. 28 -- at BYU
Colorado
Sept. 5 -- at Georgia Tech
Sept. 12 -- Weber State
Sept. 19 -- at Northwestern
Sept. 26 -- at Baylor
Oct. 3 -- Texas Tech
Oct. 10 -- BYE
Oct. 17 -- Utah
Oct. 24 -- at Oklahoma State
Oct. 31 -- Kansas State
Nov. 7 -- at Arizona State
Nov. 14 -- Houston
Nov. 21 -- at Cincinnati
Nov. 28 -- UCF
Houston
Sept. 5 -- Oregon State
Sept. 12 -- Southern
Sept. 19 -- at Texas Tech
Sept. 26 -- at Georgia Southern
Oct. 3 -- UCF
Oct. 10 -- at Kansas State
Oct. 17 -- Oklahoma State
Oct. 24 -- at Utah
Oct. 31 -- BYE
Nov. 7 -- Cincinnati
Nov. 14 -- at Colorado
Nov. 21 -- at West Virginia
Nov. 28 -- Baylor
Iowa State
Sept. 5 -- Southeast Missouri State
Sept. 12 -- at Iowa
Sept. 19 -- Bowling Green
Sept. 26 -- Utah
Oct. 3 -- West Virginia
Oct. 10 -- at BYU
Oct. 17 -- BYE
Oct. 24 -- at Arizona
Oct. 31 -- Oklahoma State
Nov. 7 -- at Baylor
Nov. 14 -- Cincinnati
Nov. 21 -- at UCF
Nov. 28 -- Kansas State
Kansas
Sept. 5 -- Long Island
Sept. 12 -- Missouri
Sept. 19 -- Arizona State (London, England)
Sept. 26 -- BYE
Oct. 3 -- Middle Tennessee State
Oct. 10 -- at Utah
Oct. 17 -- at Kansas State
Oct. 24 -- Baylor
Oct. 31 -- at TCU
Nov. 7 -- UCF
Nov. 14 -- at West Virginia
Nov. 21 -- BYU
Nov. 28 -- at Oklahoma State
Kansas State
Sept. 5 -- Nicholls
Sept. 12 -- Washington State
Sept. 19 -- Tulane
Sept. 26 -- at Cincinnati
Oct. 3 -- BYE
Oct. 10 -- Houston
Oct. 17 -- Kansas
Oct. 24 -- at Arizona State
Oct. 31 -- at Colorado
Nov. 7 -- Oklahoma State
Nov. 14 -- at TCU
Nov. 21 -- Arizona
Nov. 28 -- at Iowa State
Oklahoma State
Sept. 5 -- at Tulsa
Sept. 12 -- Oregon
Sept. 19 -- Murray State
Sept. 26 -- at West Virginia
Oct. 3 -- BYE
Oct. 10 -- UCF
Oct. 17 -- at Houston
Oct. 24 -- Colorado
Oct. 31 -- at Iowa State
Nov. 7 -- at Kansas State
Nov. 14 -- Texas Tech
Nov. 21 -- at Arizona State
Nov. 28 -- Kansas
TCU
Aug. 29 -- North Carolina (Dublin, Ireland)
Sept. 5 -- BYE
Sept. 12 -- Grambling
Sept. 19 -- Arkansas State
Sept. 26 -- at UCF
Oct. 3 -- BYU
Oct. 10 -- BYE
Oct. 17 -- at Baylor
Oct. 24 -- West Virginia
Oct. 31 -- Kansas
Nov. 7 -- at Arizona
Nov. 14 -- Kansas State
Nov. 21 -- Utah
Nov. 28 -- at Texas Tech
Texas Tech
Sept. 5 -- Abilene Christian
Sept. 12 -- at Oregon State
Sept. 19 -- Houston
Sept. 26 -- Sam Houston State
Oct. 3 -- at Colorado
Oct. 10 -- BYE
Oct. 17 -- Arizona State
Oct. 24 -- at Cincinnati
Oct. 31 -- Arizona
Nov. 7 -- West Virginia
Nov. 14 -- at Oklahoma State
Nov. 21 -- at Baylor
Nov. 28 -- TCU
UCF
Sept. 4 (Friday) -- Bethune-Cookman
Sept. 12 -- at Pittsburgh
Sept. 19 -- Georgia State
Sept. 26 -- TCU
Oct. 3 -- at Houston
Oct. 10 -- at Oklahoma State
Oct. 17 -- BYE
Oct. 24 -- BYU
Oct. 31 -- Baylor
Nov. 7 -- at Kansas
Nov. 14 -- Arizona State
Nov. 21 -- Iowa State
Nov. 28 -- at Colorado
Utah
Sept. 4 (Friday) -- Idaho
Sept. 12 -- Arkansas
Sept. 19 -- Utah State
Sept. 26 -- at Iowa State
Oct. 3 -- BYE
Oct. 10 -- Kansas
Oct. 17 -- at Colorado
Oct. 24 -- Houston
Oct. 31 -- at Cincinnati
Nov. 7 -- BYU
Nov. 14 -- at Arizona
Nov. 21 -- at TCU
Nov. 28 -- West Virginia
West Virginia
Sept. 5 -- Coastal Carolina
Sept. 12 -- UT Martin
Sept. 19 -- Virginia (Charlotte)
Sept. 26 -- Oklahoma State
Oct. 3 -- at Iowa State
Oct. 10 -- Arizona
Oct. 17 -- Cincinnati
Oct. 24 -- at TCU
Oct. 31 -- BYE
Nov. 7 -- at Texas Tech
Nov. 14 -- Kansas
Nov. 21 -- Houston
Nov. 28 -- at Utah
















