On Jan. 30 of last year, the BYU Cougars football program released its schedule for the 2020 season, with six games against Power Five teams highlighting it.
That schedule, of course, got obliterated as the pandemic arrived.
In February, the BYU football program released its schedule for a 2021 campaign that surely everyone hopes will actually get to be played, and it is perhaps even more full of intriguing matchups than last year’s original slate.
Here’s a look at the Cougars schedule:
2021 BYU football schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 4 | vs. Arizona (Las Vegas) | 8:30 p.m. MDT | ESPN |
| Sept. 11 | vs. Utah | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sept. 18 | vs. Arizona State | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sept. 25 | vs. South Florida | TBD | ESPN Networks |
| Oct. 1 | at Utah State | 7 p.m. | CBS Sports Network |
| Oct. 9 | vs. Boise State | TBD | ESPN Networks |
| Oct. 16 | at Baylor | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 23 | at Washington State | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 30 | vs. Virginia | TBD | ESPN Networks |
| Nov. 6 | vs. Idaho State | 1 p.m. | BYUtv |
| Nov. 20 | at Georgia Southern | 2 p.m. | TBD |
| Nov. 27 | at USC | TBD | TBD |
Highlights of BYU’s 2021 schedule
The Cougars will open the season Sept. 4 on a neutral field in Las Vegas against the Arizona Wildcats, and then will play three straight home games. First is the rivalry game against the Utah Utes, followed by a contest against the Arizona State Sun Devils, then they will face the South Florida Bulls.
BYU won’t have to go too far for its first true road game of the season, as it will play the Utah State Aggies in Logan on Oct. 1. The Cougars will stay in the Mountain West Conference and play the Boise State Broncos the next week at home.
The next week will see a reunion with former offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos, as the BYU will travel to play Baylor, where that duo has assumed the same roles they had with the Cougars. Then there will be another game against a Power Five opponent, as BYU will face Washington State at home on Oct. 23.
Oct. 30 is sure to be emotional, as the Cougars will play against former head coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Virginia Cavaliers at home. BYU will face the Idaho State Bengals at home the next week.
After a bye, the Cougars will travel south to face Georgia State, and will close the campaign on Nov. 27 against their seventh Power Five opponent of the season, the USC Trojans.
BYU finished the 2020 season with an 11-1 record after athletic director Tom Holmoe remade the schedule on the fly. The Cougars ended the campaign ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings.