Big Ten and Big 12 headline Fox Sports' Friday college football schedule
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The countdown to Friday Night Lights in college football is officially on.
Fox Sports released its 12-game slate of Friday night games on Friday, May 8. The schedule features mainly Big Ten and Big 12 conference games, but it does include a pair of non-conference games, with one being the Border War rivalry on Friday, Sept. 11 between Missouri and Kansas at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrenceville, Kansas.
It also features three teams that played in the College Football Playoff last season, including defending national champion Indiana.
Fresno State vs. USC kicks off Fox’s third year of doing Friday night college football games on Friday, Sept. 4 at 9 p.m. ET. As noted by The Athletic, Fox’s Friday night game averaged a slightly higher audience number last season (2.3 million) than its Saturday mid-afternoon (2.1 million) or Saturday primetime (1.9 million) games.
Texas Tech hosts Houston on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. ET, marking Fox’s first conference matchup of the season. The Red Raiders enter 2026 with top‑10 expectations but have uncertainty at quarterback with Brendan Sorsby remaining away in rehab for a gambling addiction. Sorsby is under investigation by the NCAA and is awaiting potential NCAA penalties, including possible permanent ineligibility.
Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will host Northwestern for its Big Ten opener in Bloomington on Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers, who landed TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to be the successor to Fernando Mendoza, are No. 3 in USA TODAY Sports’ Big Ten post-spring football rankings.
Speaking of Northwestern, Fox will broadcast the Wildcats’ first game at Ryan Field on Friday, Oct. 2 against Penn State, which enters the season under first-year coach Matt Campbell. As noted by USA TODAY, Northwestern’s $862 million state-of-the-art stadium has been built on the grounds of the old Ryan Field, and was funded mostly by the Ryan Family and their company Ryan Sports Development.
Both Northwestern and Washington will be featured on Fox’s Friday night game twice this upcoming season. Fox will also once again broadcast the Mountain West championship game.
Fox College Football Friday Schedule 2026
Here’s a full look at Fox’s College Football Friday Schedule for the upcoming 2026 season:
All times Eastern
- Sept. 4: Fresno State at USC, 9 p.m.
- Sept. 11: Missouri at Kansas, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 18: Houston at Texas Tech, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 25: Northwestern at Indiana, 8 p.m.
- Oct. 2: Penn State at Northwestern, 8 p.m.
- Oct. 9: Iowa at Washington, 9 p.m.
- Oct. 16: Washington at Purdue, 8 p.m.
- Nov. 6: Nebraska at Illinois, 8 p.m.
- Nov. 13: Illinois at UCLA, 9 p.m.
- Nov. 20: Oregon at Michigan State, 8 p.m.
- Nov. 27: West Virginia at Utah, 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.
- Dec. 4: Mountain West Championship, 9 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football schedule 2026: Fox Sports announces Friday games
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