Examining Clearest Path for ASU to Reach Big 12 Title Game

The Sun Devils have a realistic path to reach the title game, but numerous pieces must fall in place.

Dec 7, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) holds up the WWE Big 12 championship belt after the Sun Devils defeat the Iowa State Cyclones and win the 2024 Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils are heading into a battle with the surging West Virginia Mountaineers, who have put three consecutive strong performances together, on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.

The Sun Devils still have a realistic path to return to the Big 12 title game moving into the final three weeks of the season, but they must have numerous results fall into their favor - Arizona State on SI explores the ideal scenario to fall in place in the coming days below.

This aspect of the results is clear - the Sun Devils must win their final three games to have a shot to return to Arlington on the first Saturday of December. Jeff Sims is going to be tasked with facing a tough West Virginia defense at home.

This also marks the return of Rich Rodriguez to Tempe after spending six seasons as head coach at the University of Arizona.

Arizona Defeats Cincinnati

Nov 1, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham and Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell shake hands after the game at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

This is going to sting for Arizona State fans - as the Arizona Wildcats will always be a bitter rival.

Cincinnati faces Brigham Young next week, so the two one-loss conference teams will be handed another loss, but the ideal world is one in which the Bearcats have their second loss heading into the battle.

Arizona QB Noah Fifita needs to have a strong showing for an Arizona team that was two narrow losses away from sporting an 8-1 record.

Baylor Defeats Utah

Utah and QB Devon Dampier are heading into an undeniably difficult matchup on the road against Baylor.

Baylor's offense - which is headlined by QB Sawyer Robertson, RB Bryson Washington, and TE Michael Trigg - will present challenges to the Utah defense that they haven't encountered since their loss to Texas Tech.

Arizona State needs Utah to lose its third conference game to regain a lead in the standings - this is the most likely game that the Utes will drop over the final three games.

TCU Defeats BYU

This is the same concept as the Cincinnati situation - the most ideal scenario is that both squads go into their matchup next week with two conference losses each. This will be easier said than done, as TCU just lost a game to the heavily injured Iowa State Cyclones - they will also be making the trip to Provo, which makes the task all the more challenging.

Arizona State fans must hope for TCU QB Josh Hoover to have an incredible performance on Saturday night.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and three major takeaways following a gutsy win over Iowa State here

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