Defending Big 12 football champions face daunting 2025 road schedule
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If the Arizona State Sun Devils want to repeat as Big 12 football champions, they're going to have to go through Salt Lake City, Utah and Ames, Iowa to get there.
The 2025 Big 12 football schedule was officially released on Tuesday, and ASU's road schedule is daunting.
The Sun Devils were 3-2 on the road in their first season in the Big 12, with wins at Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arizona. They lost at Texas Tech and at Cincinnati.
ASU was a perfect 6-0 at home, including upsets of Kansas, Utah and BYU.
Toughest Road Schedule In Big 12?
Arizona State only has to play four road games in 2025, but those games will be much tougher: at Baylor; at Utah; at Iowa State; at Colorado.
- Sept. 20 at Baylor
- Oct. 11 at Utah
- Nov. 1 at Iowa State
- Nov. 22 at Colorado
Arizona State's most difficult road game might be its matchup at Utah on Oct. 11. The Utes were picked to win the Big 12 in 2024, but quarterback Cam Rising went down with an injury early in the season and it derailed Utah's offense.
Utah should finally have a healthy quarterback, and ESPN has already picked Utah to win the Big 12 in 2025.
Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils have a bye week before the Utah game, which should be an advantage. ASU was 2-0 coming off byes in 2024, with wins over Oklahoma State and Kansas.
ASU's game at Iowa State on Nov. 1 could have significant Big 12 title implications. The Cyclones return a good portion of their team that went 11-3 and lost 45-19 to the Sun Devils in the Big 12 championship game.
BYU Has 5 Road Games
BYU should be in the mix for the Big 12 title again in 2025. And the Cougars will have to play five road games this time.
With a 16-team conference, the Big 12 alternates how many road games a team has to play each year. Last year the Cougars only played four — and they lost the final one at Arizona State, 28-23.
Playing five will be more challenging, but BYU's road schedule is arguably easier than ASU's. The Cougars have to go to Colorado, Arizona, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.
Of the conference title contenders, Iowa State appears to have the easiest road schedule: at Cincinnati; at Colorado; at TCU; at Oklahoma State.
Here's the full 2025 Big 12 football schedule.
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
-66e6aeb5014b4c4eeac84ca997f034c9.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.
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