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Starting next season, BYU will enter a new, exciting era of football. Though it seems like the rift between the SEC+B1G and the rest of the country seems to be widening, BYU finally has a home in the sport’s power structure. It’s good. While this will result in a massive increase in revenue, recruitment, and resources, there is one massive consequence of our new conference affiliation that we should probably brace for: more frequent daytime play. This is bad.
“You’re not in the afternoon anymore!” And get well soon. Nobody likes to cook in the sun when it’s hot outside. While you’re locked in a third and short way, your kids or other family members are complaining and asking when it’s time to leave.
But the truth is, the sun isn’t the only thing that sucks about daytime games. Since the start of the 2019 season, BYU has been 9-10 in games kicked off before 6 p.m. local time. It’s 21-1 in all other games during the same span.
BYU is 30-11 since the start of the 2019 season. That’s already a solid record, but considering BYU was 7-6 in 2019, it’s actually pretty incredible.
Ten of the 11 losses BYU has suffered since 2019 have come in games kicked off before 6 p.m. local time. It’s easy to assume that this is because TV decision makers wanted the better matchups to air earlier, but that wasn’t the case. BYU played four ranked teams before 6:00 p.m. and six ranked teams after 6:00 p.m., but we’ll cover those games a little later.
First, let’s take a look at the 10 teams BYU has lost to in day games since 2019:
- 2022 @ Oregon (12:30 p.m.)
- 2021 against UAB (3:30 p.m.)
- 2021 @ Baylor (2:30 p.m.)
- 2021 vs. Boise State (1:30 p.m.)
- 2020 @ Coastal Carolina (5:30 p.m.)
- 2019 @ Hawaii (3:00 p.m.)
- 2019 @ State of San Diego (6:00)
- 2019 @ South Florida (3:30 p.m.)
- 2019 @ Toledo (12:00 p.m.)
- 2019 vs. Washington (1:30 p.m.)
Now for the nine teams BYU has beaten in day games since 2019:
- 2021 @ Georgia Southern (4:00 p.m.)
- 2021 vs. Idaho State (3:30 p.m.)
- 2021 @ Washington State (12:30 p.m.)
- 2020 vs. North Alabama (1:00 p.m.)
- 2020 vs. UTSA (1:30 p.m.)
- 2019 @ UMass (12:00 p.m.)
- 2019 vs. Idaho State (1:30 p.m.)
- 2019 vs. Liberty (5:30 p.m.)
- 2019 vs. USC (1:30 p.m.)
BYU has gone 21-1 in all games started after 6 p.m. local time since 2019, with the only loss coming to Utah in 2019 Expenses. Not only have they won tough games, but they’ve avoided glitches and picked up upset victories over Boise State (2019), Utah (2021), and Arizona State (2021).
In just four games against ranked opponents in games kicked off before 6 p.m., BYU is 1-3. BYU earned an overtime win over #24 in USC but fell a yard behind #14 Coastal Carolina and was blown out by #22 Washington and #25 Oregon. However, BYU has dominated matchups against ranked teams on the night with victories over No. 14 Boise State, No. 19 Boise State, No. 18 Utah, No. 19 Arizona State and most recently No. 9 Baylor. The only ranked team to beat BYU overnight came against #14 Utah in the first game of the 2019 season.
When all is said and done, BYU just plays better at night. It’s hard to know why that is, but it is. And it might be something to keep an eye on as kick times against #10 Arkansas, Liberty, Boise State and Stanford are announced in the coming weeks.
Highlights:
- BYU is 30-11 since the start of the 2019 season
- 10 of those 11 losses occurred in games kicked off before 18:00 local time
- BYU is 9-10 in games starting before 6 p.m. since 2019
- BYU is 21-1 in games starting after 6 p.m. since 2019
- BYU is 1-4 against ranked teams before 6pm since 2019
- BYU is 5-1 against ranked teams after 6 p.m. since 2019