The Cougars announced today the three non-conference games for the 2023 schedule. BYU will play Sam Houston State, Southern Utah, and Arkansas. These will all be played early in the season. This will mark the first 3 games of BYU being in the Big 12 and playing as a Power 5 school.
Sam Houston State
The Bearkats come to Provo on September 2nd, 2023 to kickoff the Big 12 Era for BYU. They will officially be a part of Conference USA in 2023. This will be their first time meeting on the football. Sam Houston St will replace the Tennesse game that was supposed to occur that same day. In 2021 the Bearkats went 10-0 and brought home a national title. With this being their last season as on FCS they look to do it again.
Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds are coming to Provo for the second time in school history. The last time they came to Provo was in 2016, they got beat 37-7. This game will be played on September 9th, 2023 at Lavell Edwards Stadium. This will be an easy matchup and a fun game to watch. SUU went 1-10 in 2021 and was last in the Big Sky.
Arkansas
The first Power 5 matchup for BYU as a Power 5 school. The first matchup in this home-and-home deal will occur this season at home for the cougars. In 2023 BYU will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to play the Razorbacks. These two schools have never before met on the football field. The Razorbacks in 2021 went 9-4 and were third in the SEC.
Rest of their 2023 Schedule
Sometime in October BYU fans can expect their Conference Matchups to be announced. It will get interesting because the Big 12 still hasn’t decided if they will have divisions or not. When BYU joins the Big 12 there will be 14 teams in 2023. This will happen until 2025 when Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC.