BYU-TCU set for 5 p.m. MDT kickoff on Oct. 3

ESPN announced the Cougars' trip to Fort Worth will begin at 5 p.m. MDT, keeping it clear of general conference sessions.

BYU's road game at TCU on Oct. 3 will kick off at 5 p.m. MDT in Fort Worth, Texas, ESPN announced. The game will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2.

The start time ensures the matchup does not overlap with either Saturday session of the semiannual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

BYU has not played on a general conference Saturday since 2005, Bronco Mendenhall's first season as head coach, when the Cougars lost 31-10 at San Diego State in a game that began after that evening's session ended.

The format changed this past November, when the church's First Presidency discontinued the Saturday evening session to place more emphasis on the earlier sessions. Before that, BYU usually received a Thursday or Friday game or a bye during the first weekend of October; the program played Thursday or Friday before conference 17 times and had a bye three times over the past two decades.

BYU has a bye this weekend before the trip to Texas. TCU travels to UCF looking for its first win over a Power Four opponent this season.