BYU football to host Houston on a Friday night in October on ESPN or ESPN2

BYU and the network move the game from Oct. 17 to Oct. 16; Kickoff time and specific network to be announced later

Published: Feb 18, 2020, 12:34 p.m. MST

BYU quarterback Taysom Hill (4) throws against Houston in Provo on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. BYU beat Houston 33-25 in their 2014 matchup and will host Houston in 2020, with the game moved to Friday, Oct. 16. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

By Jay Drew

Jay has covered sports in Utah for more than 30 years and has been writing for the Deseret News since 2019.

PROVO — BYU’s season opener at Utah and its rivalry matchup with Utah State won’t be the Cougars’ only non-Saturday football games this season after all.

The Cougars announced Tuesday that their October home game against Houston will be moved to Friday, Oct. 16, as a featured national television matchup on either ESPN or ESPN2. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Oct. 17.

BYU’s opener at Utah will be played on Thursday, Sept. 3; its game against Utah State will be played on Friday, Oct. 2.

BYU leads the series with Houston 2-0, having defeated the red Cougars 33-25 in Provo in 2014 and 47-46 in the inaugural matchup at Reliant Stadium in Houston in 2013.

The Oct. 16 game’s kickoff time and specific network will be announced later.

BYU is scheduled to host Missouri on Oct. 10 and will travel to Chicago the weekend after hosting Houston. BYU’s game against Northern Illinois on Oct. 24 will be played at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, and be called the “Huskie Chi-Town Showdown.