When the Big 12 football schedule came out last week, there was one game that stood out above the rest. Of course, that game was none other than the Holy War between BYU and Utah.
While it may be new to the Big 12, it has quickly become the best rivalry in the conference. Their history goes far back and with just 45 miles separating the two schools, what’s not to like about it? Plus, with the success both programs have had over the years, Big 12 title implications will likely be on the line more often than not.
The Big 12 Holy War Mistake
As great as the Holy War is, there is one thing that bothered me about it for 2026. The game is scheduled to be played on November 7th. It may not sound like a big deal but when you look at the rest of the college football slate for that weekend, it was certainly an interesting choice.
The first Saturday in November is not your normal Saturday. Instead, it is filled with a ton of big-time power conference matchups. Oregon-Ohio State, Miami-Notre Dame, Alabama-LSU, Georgia-Ole Miss, Oklahoma at Florida, Michigan State at Michigan and Penn State-Washington are all scheduled to be played that day.
Just in those games alone, there are six teams who made the College Football Playoff from this past season and the other schools are considered major brands in the sport. We could be looking at as many as seven Top 25 matchups, and eight if we throw in the Holy War.
Kickoff times have yet to be announced, but it’s almost certain that the Holy War will not get the prime-time treatment. It will likely be the late-night game, mostly likely on ESPN. It’s not exactly an ideal spot to be in if the conference wants to draw a ton of eyeballs.
If you look at last year’s game, it drew about two million viewers, which was lower than Texas Tech-Arizona State match up that was on right before it on FOX. While the Big 12 can’t control kickoff times, they could possibly try to put this game on a different day.
Move the Holy War
Traditionally rivalry weekend in college football is always saved for Thanksgiving weekend. Outside of the Arizona/Arizona State rivalry, the Big 12 hasn’t followed the rest of college football because they are placed throughout the year.
Of course, this entire argument could be meaningless if either BYU or Utah don’t meet expectations in 2026. But still, a rivalry game is a rivalry game, and putting your top rivalry game in the best chance possible to succeed should be the focus.
To be fair, this didn’t seem like a bad idea until the ACC and Big Ten released their schedules. We already knew what the SEC was doing, but maybe the Big 12 should have waited just a little bit longer to be more strategic of where they put certain high profile games.
Either way, the Big 12 needs to keep as many of these rivalry games together as humanly possible. Not making Farmageddon a protected rivalry was a mistake, and mistakes aren’t something that this conference can afford to make.
But for the rivalry games that do remain, the Big 12 should be doing whatever it takes to keep them intact and to get more eyeballs on them. Whether it’s creating your own rivalry weekend or putting some of these games on Friday night, the Big 12 needs to find creative ways to draw interest. And there’s no time to waste.
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