(Tempe, AZ) Reigning Big 12 Champion Sun Devil Football has its 2025 schedule, as it is set to play host seven times throughout one of the most anticipated campaigns in team history.
Third-year head coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils will welcome Arizona, Houston, Northern Arizona, TCU, Texas State, Texas Tech and West Virginia to Mountain America Stadium, while paying a visit to Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State and Utah, along with Mississippi State.
Buy Season Tickets Today! /// Big 12 Football Opponents Over Next Four Seasons
The four Big 12 opponents the Sun Devils will see on the road combined for a 33-19 record in 2024, including three bowl game appearances. While ASU was the only Big 12 team to win all its home games in 2024 (6-0), Iowa State (6-1), Baylor and Colorado (5-1 each) all had just one loss.
The Sun Devils will meet Houston, TCU, West Virginia and Baylor for the first time as conference foes, while their tilt with Iowa State will serve as a Big 12 Championship rematch. They’ll close the regular season with the annual Territorial Cup, looking to beat rival Arizona for the first time at home since 2021.
After reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time, the Sun Devils are expected to return a majority of its roster in 2025, led by quarterback Sam Leavitt, wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and many more.
About that home record
For the first time in 20 seasons and just the second time in 28 seasons , ASU went undefeated at home in 2024 (6-0) a stretch that included wins over No. 16 Utah and No. 14 BYU. ASU also was undefeated at home in 2004 (6-0), 1996 (7-0) and 1981 (7-0) in the Pac-12 era, and racked up undefeated seasons in Tempe in 1975 (7-0), 1973, (6-0), 1971 (6-0), 1970 (6-0), 1964 (7-0) and 1959 (7-0). ASU was one of 16 teams to go undefeated at home in 2024, one of just 10 in the P4 and the only one in the Big 12 Conference.
ASU opens with Northern Arizona on Aug. 30, then travels to Mississippi State (Sept. 6) and then hosts Texas State (Sept. 13) in non-conference action.
Aug. 30 vs. Northern Arizona
The reigning Big 12 Champion Sun Devils will open the 2025 slate with Northern Arizona at Mountain America Stadium. The Lumberjacks posted their highest win total in a decade with an 8-4 campaign under first-year head coach Brian Wright, resulting in an appearance in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2017. They’ll return their starting quarterback in 2024 in Ty Pennington, who totaled more than 2,200 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 starts.
Sept. 6 at Mississippi State
The Sun Devils will hit the road for the first time in 2025 when they visit Mississippi State in Starkville. The Bulldogs are eager for a clean slate after a 2-10 record in 2024, as they were bottom-three in the SEC in both scoring offense and defense in Jeff Lebby’s first season at the helm. They’ll turn the page with a young and exciting signal-caller under center in 2025, as Michael Van Buren played in 10 career games with eight starts in his true freshman season, throwing for 1,886 yards, 11 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns. They’ll also return running back Johnnie Daniels, who ran for the ball for 500-plus yards and scored four times in 2024.
Sept. 13 vs. Texas State
ASU survived a 31-28 game on Thursday, Sept. 12, last year at Texas State, as ASU scored on its first drive, going 69 yards in 10 plays in 4:46, but then had to rally from deficits of 14-7, 21-7 and 28-21. Sam Leavitt threw for 246 yards and had a 40-yard touchdown scamper, and also forced three turnovers. TSU had more than 400 yards and was 8-of-17 on third down and held Cam Skattebo to 62 yards on 24 carries. Jordyn Tyson had six catches for 120 yards.
Sept. 20 at Baylor
One of the most high-powered offenses in the Big 12 Conference, Baylor went 8-5 and 6-3 in league play. They averaged 34.4 points per game, winning their final six games of the regular season, before dropping the Kinder’s Texas Bowl to LSU, 44-31, on Dec. 31. The Bears went 5-1 at home in 2024, serving as a tough test for the Sun Devils next fall.
Sept. 27 vs. TCU
TCU ran away with the New Mexico Bowl, handling Louisiana with a 34-3 victory, for their ninth win of the 2024 season. Sophomore quarterback Josh Hoover broke TCU’s season record for passing yards and threw for four touchdowns in the bowl win. The Horned Frogs (9-4) closed the season with a four-game winning streak and victories in six of their final seven games. TCU has now won nine games or more 14 times dating back to the 2000 season.
Oct. 11 at Utah
A year after surrendering a 55-3 loss to Utah, the Sun Devils responded with a 27-19 win against the No. 16 Utes in early October. Utah finished with a 5-7 record, its first losing season since 2013, in Kyle Whittingham’s 20th season at the helm of the Utes. Whittinham has perennially developed Utah into a contender, and the Sun Devils will look to steal their first win at Rice-Eccles Stadium in eight years.
Oct. 18 vs. Texas Tech
The Sun Devils will look to avenge a one-score loss they suffered to the Red Raiders last season in Lubbock. Texas Tech finished with an 8-5 record, complete with a 39-26 loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. Junior quarterback Behren Morton threw for 2,976 yards and 25 touchdowns, as the Red Raiders’ 37.6 points per game were the most in the Big 12 Conference.
Oct. 25 vs. Houston
The Cougars managed a 4-8 record in 2024, including a 1-5 clip on the road. A midseason four-game stretch saw wins over TCU, Utah and No. 17 Kansas State, the highlight in head coach Willie Fritz’s first season in Houston. Fritz’s 212 career wins ranks fourth nationally among active FBS head coaches, while Houston’s 63 new players in 2024 tied Colorado for most in the country. The Cougars were one of the Big 12’s top defensive and special teams units, ranking 22nd nationally in first downs defense (214) and sixth in punt return defense (3.50).
Nov. 1 at Iowa State
Like Colorado, Iowa State also posted a 7-2 record in conference play in 2024, as they met the Sun Devils in the Big 12 Championship game. The Sun Devils masterfully exploited one of the conference’s top defensive units, as Iowa State’s 22.9 points allowed per game was the fifth-best mark in the league. The Cyclones rallied to win the Pop-Tarts Bowl, beating No. 15 Miami, 42-41, for their school record 11th win of the season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht totaled four game-winning drives in 2024, positioning himself as one of the conference’s best returning signal-callers in the fall.
Nov. 15 vs. West Virginia
West Virginia, led by former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez, will return to the Valley for the first time in nearly 10 years, when they last clashed with the Sun Devils in a 43-42 Mountaineers win in the Cactus Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016. West Virginia finished 9th in the Big 12 in 2024, ending their season with a 42-37 loss to Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl.
Nov. 22 at Colorado
The Sun Devils will see a new-look Colorado in 2025 after the departures of Heisman winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Sheduer Sanders. Regardless, the Buffaloes posted a 7-2 record in the Big 12 in 2024, as they were one of three schools to be top-six in scoring on both sides of the ball alongside Arizona State and BYU. They fell to No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl, 36-14.
Friday, Nov. 28 (OR Saturday, Nov. 29) vs. Arizona
The Sun Devils brought the Territorial Cup back to Tempe with a 49-7 thrashing against their in-state rivals on November 30 in Tucson. The Sun Devils are looking to win back-to-back games against the Wildcats for the first time since stacking five consecutive wins from 2017-21.
Rankings notes
The Sun Devils are expected to open the 2025 campaign as one of the top squads in the nation, ranking as high as No. 11 in The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy’s preseason polls, the highest among all schools in the Big 12. McMurphy listed Iowa State as No. 22, teeing up a potential top-25 match up in the conference championship rematch.
The last team to be unranked in the preseason poll and finish in the top-10 was Missouri (No. 8) in 2023. The Sun Devils’ No. 7 ranking in the final AP poll of the season was also the first top-10 finish since 1996 (4th).
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Doug Tammaro
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