The Pac-12 is no more. Arizona State is officially a member of the Big 12 for the first time, and its first football schedule as a member of that conference will be a challenging one. The new season begins with five Big 12 teams ranked nationally, and ASU will play all of them — three of them on the road.
While ASU plays against the top five and seven of the top nine teams, the last-selected Sun Devils play only two of the six worst schools.
ASU will play its first Big 12 game on Sept. 21 at Texas Tech, which suffered a 7-6 loss in 2023. Its first conference home game will be two weeks later against Kansas, which finished 9-4. Let’s take a closer look at what awaits the Sun Devils in 2024:
August 31 vs. Wyoming, 7:30 p.m., Mountain America Stadium — This isn’t exactly the no-brainer that many Division I schools plan for their season opener. The Cowboys are 9-4 and return six starters on offense and seven on defense. RB Harrison Waylee, who rushed for 947 yards in 2023, is out with a knee injury. Wyoming was projected to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the Mountain West preseason poll. Jay Sawvel was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach following the retirement of Craig Bohl, the longest-tenured coach in school history.
September 7 against Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m., Mountain America Stadium — This will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-7 season, which prompted a coaching change as Jeff Lebby, previously offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, takes over the role. Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, who joined ASU in June 2019 and also planned to play baseball in Tempe, will likely start at quarterback for Mississippi State.
September 12 at Texas State, 4:30 p.m., UFCU Stadium — This could be a decoy game, as ASU travels halfway across the country on a short week and the game is on a Thursday. The Bobcats return nine starters on both sides of the ball and were picked to finish first in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. Redshirt senior Jordan McCloud, who previously played at ASU’s rival Arizona, will lead the team at quarterback. Last season, he threw for 3,657 yards and 35 touchdowns at James Madison.
Sept. 21, Texas Tech, Jones AT&T Stadium — The Sun Devils’ first conference game is against the Red Raiders, who have a familiar player in tight end Jalin Conyers, who transferred there after three seasons in Tempe. It will be the fifth meeting between the two schools, splitting the previous four times. Texas Tech will be led by senior running back Tahj Brooks, who is going for the school’s record for most career rushing yards set by Byron Hanspard (1994-96). Brooks is seventh all-time with 3,052 career rushing yards and needs 1,167 yards to reach that mark of 4,219 yards.
Oct. 5 vs. Kansas, Mountain America Stadium — This will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Jayhawks have flourished in the Lance Leipold era after winning just 16 games in the nine years before his arrival. Kansas was 0-9 the year before his appointment, then went 2-10, then 6-7 and jumped to 9-4, which included a bowl win last season. Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels is back and trying to stay healthy after playing just three games in 2023 because of a back injury.
October 11 against Utah, Mountain America Stadium — Another familiar opponent coming out of the Pac-12. There was a time when ASU played the Utes tough, but that hasn’t happened in recent matchups. Kyle Whittingham is in his 20th year and is the second-longest-tenured college football coach. Utah also has a veteran quarterback in Cameron Rising, who has been with Utah since 2019. He missed last season due to a knee injury sustained in the 2022 Rose Bowl. A veteran coach and a veteran quarterback are a formidable combination for opponents to deal with.
October 19th in Cincinnati, Nippert Stadium — This is another opponent with a familiar face. Both junior kicker Carter Brown and safety and kick return specialist DJ Taylor are former Sun Devils, with Taylor being a former All-Pac-12 selection as a return specialist. Cincinnati was just 3-9 last season, losing nine of its last 10 games after a 2-0 start. It returns 15 regulars and expects more in coach Scott Satterfield’s second year. The teams have played each other twice, but the last time was 48 years ago, in 1976.
November 2 at Oklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium — The teams played the last two years as part of a home-away non-conference schedule. The Cowboys won 34-17 in Stillwater in 2022 and 27-15 in Tempe last year. This is perhaps the most challenging game on the schedule, as ASU is the Cowboys’ home opponent. It’s another school with a longtime coach, as Mike Gundy — like Whittingham — is entering his 20th season. The Cowboys have 19 starters back. The roster includes OL Isaia Glass, a Queen Creek product who spent three years at ASU.
November 9 against Central Florida, Mountain America Stadium — The Knights had a 6-7 record last year — the first losing season since 2016, which featured the same record. UCF is coached by Gus Malzahn, who was Kenny Dillingham’s boss at Auburn in 2020. This is the Knights’ farthest trip west for a game since 2015, when they played at Stanford and lost 31-7. The schools’ only previous meeting came in 2002, when ASU won 46-13 in Tempe.
Nov. 16 at Kansas State, Snyder Stadium — This is the seventh meeting between the schools, but the first time the Wildcats have hosted. The last meeting was in the 2002 Holiday Bowl — the only meeting of those previous meetings that Kansas State won. The Wildcats are banking on newcomers because they have just four starters on an offense where the line is the biggest question mark. An opportunistic defense returns eight starters from a team that ranked fifth nationally in turnover margin.
November 23 vs. BYU, Mountain America Stadium — The Cougars had a 5-7 record in 2023, the first losing season for coach Kalani Sitake since going 4-9 in 2017. BYU is engaged in a battle for the quarterback position, with returner Jake Retzlaff and transfer Gerry Bohanon the leading candidates. Another contender is Treyson Bourguet, a Western Michigan transfer and younger brother of ASU senior quarterback Trenton Bourguet. This will be the 29th meeting between the two, with the Cougars winning the last one in 2021 in Provo, 27-17.
November 30th in Arizona, Arizona Stadium — ASU had a streak of five straight wins against its archrival, but the Wildcats turned the tide by winning the final two games. Arizona won its final seven games in 2023 to finish 10-3, with the three losses coming by a combined 16 points — two of them in overtime. Arizona’s strong passing offense, led by sophomore quarterback Noah Fifita, will pose a challenge for the ASU defense. New coach Brent Brennan took over a team with plenty of weapons.
