BYU Football: Can Cougars avoid repeating last season’s disaster?
By Zach Bigalke
2018 BYU Schedule and Predictions
| WEEK | DATE | SCHOOL | OPPONENT |
| 1 | Sep. 1, 2018 | BYU | @ Arizona |
| 2 | Sep. 8, 2018 | BYU | vs. California |
| 3 | Sep. 15, 2018 | BYU | @ Wisconsin |
| 4 | Sep. 22, 2018 | BYU | vs. FCS McNeese State |
| 5 | Sep. 29, 2018 | BYU | @ Washington |
| 6 | Oct. 5, 2018 (FRI) | BYU | vs. Utah State |
| 7 | Oct. 13, 2018 | BYU | vs. Hawaii |
| 8 | Oct. 20, 2018 | BYE | WEEK |
| 9 | Oct. 27, 2018 | BYU | vs. Northern Illinois |
| 10 | Nov. 3, 2018 | BYU | @ Boise State |
| 11 | Nov. 10, 2018 | BYU | @ UMass |
| 12 | Nov. 17, 2018 | BYU | vs. New Mexico State |
| 13 | Nov. 24, 2018 | BYU | @ Utah |
There is no warm-up game against an FCS opponent this year. BYU will dive right in to its biggest stretch of tests in 2018. The Cougars open up with a trip to Tucson to face an Arizona team excited about its first game under new head coach Kevin Sumlin. The home opener in Provo comes against another Pac-12 opponent, California, before BYU heads to Camp Randall Stadium to take on Wisconsin.
After the test against the Badgers, BYU comes home for its FCS showdown against McNeese State. September concludes with another big test, this one against Washington in Seattle. Once October rolls around, things lighten up with a string of Group of Five and independent opponents. BYU stays home for the entire month, with home games against Utah State, Hawaii, and Northern Illinois.
November is bookended by a couple of major road tests to conclude the regular season. BYU heads to Idaho for a showdown on the Smurf Turf with Boise State on the first weekend of November. They end the year with another Holy War battle against rival Utah in Salt Lake City. In between, the Cougars face winnable matchups against fellow independents UMass and New Mexico State.
What’s next for BYU?
The Cougars will focus their attention on getting ready for Arizona. A strong start to the year could put BYU on the national map. But a weak showing in Tucson will derail any hopes of a breakthrough year in Provo. Getting out of September no worse than 4-1 will be critical if the Cougars have any hope of making waves in the College Football Playoff Top 25 in 2018.
Prediction: 7-5
BYU is going to offer up a batch of fool’s gold to start the year. They will follow up a tough statement win over Arizona on the road with a surprise blowout of California at home. Then things will fall back to earth, as Wisconsin and Washington deal the Cougars a pair of September defeats.
Next: Post-spring Top 25 projections
Sitake’s side will blow one of their October games at home, and losses to Boise State and Utah will close out a seven-win regular season that gets BYU back to a bowl game in 2018.