Mark your calendars; ASU Football’s first Big 12 schedule is here.
The Sun Devils will play 12 games next season, including three non-conference games, nine Big 12 games and two bye weeks. The season kicks off this summer with ASU hosting Wyoming on Aug. 31 in a scorching Mountain America Stadium. The team will host Mississippi State on Sept. 7 before traveling to face Texas State on Sept. 14.
The team's Big 12 schedule is the hardest of the conference 16 programs. Head coach Kenny Dillingham's squad will be tested against a gauntlet of nine opponents that combined for a .578 winning percentage and seven bowl game appearances.
ASU's Big 12 era will kick off in the Lone Star State against Texas Tech on Sept. 21 for the first time in Lubbock. The Sun Devils have only played the Red Raiders four times, but one of those meetings saw fireworks galore. That 2016 game featured future two-time Super Bowl champion and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, who fell short in a 68-55 ASU victory despite passing for 540 yards.
The Sun Devils' first Big 12 home game will be two weeks later against Kansas on Oct. 5, marking the first-ever meeting between the two programs. ASU will host former Pac-12 foe Utah on Oct. 11 to wrap up a two-game home stand.
On the road again, the Sun Devils will face Cincinnati on Oct. 19 and Oklahoma State on Nov. 2. The Cincinnati matchup is the team's first meeting since 1976, whereas ASU has faced Oklahoma State for three straight seasons.
The season's final stretch includes a home game against UCF on Nov. 9, a visit to Kansas State on Nov. 16, and BYU's trip to Tempe on Nov. 23.
Keeping to tradition, the much-anticipated Territorial Cup against UA will be ASU's final regular season game on Nov. 30. The Wildcats crushed the Sun Devils in Tempe last season and look to follow up their win with another in Tucson. Yet, UA head coach Jedd Fisch's departure to Washington may give ASU the edge to get back on top.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at jcbarron@asu.edu and follow @jackcbarron on X.
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Jack is a senior studying sports journalism. This is his fourth semester with The State Press. He has also worked at Radio Sucesos and XPR Sport Experience in Argentina.
