The 2026 Big 12 football schedule dropped on Wednesday with much fanfare from around college football. This gives fans the chance to set their calendars and figure out when to schedule the apple and pumpkin picking, and the Saturdays to tell their buddies to avoid getting married. But as always, the schedule is a lot to digest. Here are my four top things that stood out from the schedule release.
Big 12 Football Moves Championship to Friday
I don’t have a problem with the Big 12 moving the Championship Game to Friday night. The 11:00 a.m. slot has its perks, and the Big 12 has done well in it since bringing back the league championship game, but Friday night means you don’t have to rush to tailgate to have your first mimosa at 8:30 in the morning.
This likely was done as a favor to ESPN as they can move the ACC Championship Game into the early Saturday window, which is better than the league trying to compete with the Big Ten Championship Game in prime time. So the Big 12 would play Friday evening, and then the line up on Saturday, in order, would likely be: ACC, SEC and Big Ten, giving each conference an exclusive, stand-alone window.
While the day and time have changed, the venue will not as the game will still be played in Arlington at AT&T Stadium. I see this as a wash for the Big 12, and gives them some prime-time exposure on a Friday night that gives them an edge, and something different, that Brett Yormark continues to search for.
Week 7 is Absolutely Loaded
If there is a Saturday to avoid the apple picking and pumpkin patch, it’s Week 7, which is October 17th. Week 7 includes Arizona State at Texas Tech, TCU at Baylor, Kansas at Kansas State… and Notre Dame at BYU. My GOODNESS that is an absolutely fantastic weekend of Big 12 football. I say weekend because I would not be surprised if we get a Thursday and/or Friday game that week to balance this schedule. But that is as good as it gets with these rivalries, plus budding rivals in ASU and Tech, and then BYU/Notre Dame is just the chef’s kiss.
Early Season League Games
In the “old” Big 12 days, the league was always set up with three non-conference games, and then nine league games. We continue to see conference games earlier in the season, and that trend continues with BYU hosting Arizona in Week 2. And then in Week 3, Houston travels to Texas Tech and Arizona State and Kansas play in London.
It’s not better or worse, just different. The Big Ten and SEC have traditionally leaned into league games earlier than the Big 12 has, but the Big 12 is now doing more of it. This means that teams who traditionally liked to ramp up to league play will not have that option any more. Bill Synder famously liked a softer non-con to use as prep for the conference. Mike Gundy preferred it too. There was nothing wrong with that strategy, however those days are long gone.
Can We Get the Holy War in Week 13?
It’s a crime that Utah vs. BYU is not played on rivalry weekend. The Big 12 may think it can’t compete with SEC and Big Ten rivalries, but the Holy War can. It’s the best college football rivalry in the country. OK, Michigan vs. Ohio State may have a case, but it’s right there. And the Big 12 should not be afraid to own that.
Even if they try it in the late-night 10:00 p.m. ET slot, which is not my preference, it would do an enormous rating on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And this game, and this rivalry, deserves that kind of attention during what is dubbed “Rivalry Weekend” in the sport.
The Big 12 does put a couple of rivalry games into that final Saturday, like Arizona vs. Arizona State, and then Farmageddon between Iowa State and K-State (which is still not a protected rivalry, but you can fix this, Yormark!). However, it’s time to go all in and make the Holy War a Week 13 game moving forward.
