Big 12 fans get their first look at 2026’s nonconference slate, including games in Ireland and London

Yahoo Sports released a ranking of the top Big 12 nonconference football games for 2026 on Monday, reflecting the way fans start planning this far ahead, from tickets to travel to whatever routine keeps game days running smoothly. The underlying reality is that the Big 12’s nonconference set matters more than ever in a College Football Playoff era where strength of schedule and “early proof” can affect everything from national perception to end-of-season résumé debates.

The conference’s official schedule release back in January framed 2026 as a marquee, outward-looking year. Big 12 schools will play nine conference games, with members combining for 13 nonconference matchups against Power Four opponents and Notre Dame. It also includes two high-profile Europe games, starting with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, Aug. 29, featuring TCU vs. North Carolina. The overseas run continues with the Union Jack Classic on Saturday, Sept. 19, featuring Arizona State vs. Kansas at Wembley Stadium.

Before conference play even settles in, Big 12 nonconference dates kick off with a “who are you?” series against major brands. The Big 12 schedule highlights a Week One slate on campuses led by Cincinnati hosting Boston College, Kansas hosting Missouri, Oklahoma State welcoming Oregon, and Utah facing Arkansas at home. Those games land early enough to influence how the league gets seeded in national conversations before the first wave of conference results.

As the calendar turns, the centerpiece home-and-national-spotlight matchup arrives in the late summer. The Big 12 schedule release calls out BYU hosting Notre Dame in Week Seven as the kind of nonconference game that typically changes what teams can credibly claim about their ceiling. For the Cougars, the stakes are partly about national relevance, but also about what a marquee win indicates for the internal Big 12 race that follows, since those first conference weeks can be decisive.

Beyond the Big Ten-style “headline” games, the league’s nonconference footprint includes several other matchups that will likely draw attention from bettors and projection models alike, including Baylor vs. Auburn in Atlanta, Arizona at Washington State, Arizona State at Texas A&M, Colorado at Georgia Tech, Oregon State at Houston, Iowa State at Iowa, and TCU vs. North Carolina in Ireland. The point for fans is not just which names appear, but the variety of settings, from Power Four campuses to neutral venues, which tends to produce different-looking football than a purely home-and-home rhythm.

For teams, nonconference games can also function as the first real stress test for coordinators and depth charts. In 2026, that stress test arrives while the Big 12 is also in the middle of broader exposure changes, including a championship date that emphasizes a national audience. The Big 12 Football Championship Game is set for Friday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. CT on ABC at AT&T Stadium, launching a Friday-Saturday rotation intended to enhance visibility.

One caveat for planning is that kickoff times for many of these early matchups will not be final everywhere. The Big 12 noted that TV partners will make selections for the first three weeks of the season at a later date, and that some Saturday games may be moved to select Fridays, along with other special dates. That means fans can lock in the date on the calendar, but the final “when and where to tune in” will continue to come into focus over the summer.