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Times listed in Mountain (Arizona does not observe daylight saving time). All games air on ESPN networks, FOX, FS1, TNT, truTV, or HBO Max.
Arizona Football Schedule 2026: Full Wildcats Slate, Dates, and Key Games
Games That Will Decide Arizona’s Season
| Sept 12 at BYU | A Week 2 conference opener in Provo against a top-15 Cougars team, in a midday FOX window. An unusually early swing game. |
| Oct 31 at Texas Tech | Halloween in Lubbock against the reigning Big 12 champions, on a short turnaround before a Friday night home game. The hardest week on the schedule. |
| Nov 14 vs Utah | Utah returns to the Arizona schedule after the Big 12’s rotating matrix brought the Utes back. Morgan Scalley’s team arrives a week after the Holy War. |
| Nov 28 vs Arizona State | The 100th Territorial Cup, at home, to close the regular season. College football’s oldest rivalry trophy reaches a milestone in Tucson. |
A Week 2 Conference Opener
BYU was originally a non-conference opponent for 2026 and 2027. When the BYU-Cal series was cancelled, the game was converted to a Big 12 date and a Washington State home-and-home filled the open slot.
A Rich Rodriguez Reunion
The Oct 10 trip to West Virginia pits Arizona against its former head coach, who led the Wildcats from 2012 to 2017.
A Perfectly Placed Bye
Arizona’s bye lands on Oct 17 with six games behind and six ahead. After it, the Wildcats play four of their final six in Tucson.
How the Schedule Sets Up
The sequencing is genuinely odd — a home tune-up, then a conference game at BYU, then back to non-conference play for two weeks. Arizona is coming off a 9-4 season that ended with five straight regular-season wins before a 24-19 Holiday Bowl loss to SMU, and Noah Fifita returns for his senior year, so the early conference date is less daunting than it might be. October is where it tightens: Cincinnati at home, West Virginia away, the bye, Iowa State at home, then Halloween in Lubbock. The Friday night TCU game follows on a short week. November finishes with Utah at home, Kansas State on the road, and the Territorial Cup. The rotating Big 12 matrix means Arizona misses Oklahoma State and Kansas this year while adding Utah and TCU. For the postseason picture, here’s how the College Football Playoff works under the 12-team format. Conference scheduling across the NCAA FBS continues to trend toward deeper league slates.
The Bottom Line
Seven home games, a Week 2 conference opener in Provo, a Friday night against TCU, and the 100th Territorial Cup to close — Brent Brennan’s third Arizona schedule is oddly sequenced but genuinely winnable. Bookmark this page; times, networks, and results are updated throughout the season.