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Published Feb 4, 2025
ASU's 2025 schedule analysis
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Hod Rabino  •  ASUDevils
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The Big 12 football schedule was released today, and the reigning conference champions Sun Devils will play seven games in Mountain America Stadium, a venue where they were undefeated in 2024, with five of those home contests pitting them against Big 12 foes.


Here are our thoughts about Arizona State’s 2025 schedule:

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Having those seven home games is certainly a benefit. And while those home games are distributed equally over the three months of the season (the first game of the year taking place on August 30th), it would probably be more beneficial to have three home games in November instead of just two. Then again, it may be logistically impossible in a 16-team conference.


On the other hand, having the second of two bye weeks taking place during the second week of November, coming off a longer road trip to Iowa State, could prove to be advantageous. There's no telling what aches and bruises that are commonplace that time of year could be adequately healed ahead of the home stretch of the season.


What really though stands out in the month of November are two road games that could undoubtedly present inclement weather: November 1st at Iowa State and November 22nd at Colorado. Needless to say, it was no secret that joining the Big 12 Conference was going to present more challenging games from a weather standpoint than ASU would normally encounter in the Pac-12. Nonetheless, the quest to defend their conference championship is not the most comfortable of circumstances. And yes, this is an aspect that will be mentioned much more by the media and the fans rather than the team itself. What I do think the consensus argument would be is that it would be hard to envision ASU qualifying for the Big 12 Championship Game if they lost those two November match-ups in Ames and Boulder.


If you're not a fan of weekday games you are in luck. True, you have to put the caveat of a later schedule change potentially taking place, as was the case with the 2024 road game at Texas State, which was switched to a Thursday. But barring that scenario, the only potential Friday game will be the Territorial Cup matchup in Tempe, which is currently TBD on whether it will be played on the Friday after Thanksgiving or the next day. Even those who loathe the Friday kickoffs can accept it on that day of the week as long as it comes right after Thanksgiving. Ultimately, it's much easier for fans, especially if it's a road game, to plan for a Saturday kickoff rather than a weekday kickoff, so that is a considerable benefit of the 2025 schedule.


Some on the ASU team were vocal about the fact that last year, the Sun Devils had to play a Friday game, albeit at home, against a Utah team that was coming off of a bye week. Well, this year, when ASU travels to Utah on October 11th, both teams will now be coming off bye weeks. Later in the year, ASU is actually going to have a potential advantage as they host West Virginia on November 15th, with the Mountaineers playing a game the weekend before. Arizona State having its first bye week after five games is definitely a well-timed hiatus when breaking up the season.


Needless to say, the most challenging non-conference game will be a road contest at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, though, are coming off a miserable 2-10 campaign winless in the SEC play. Having said that, a more ideal schedule would perhaps have ASU hosting NAU and Texas State in consecutive weeks before traveling to Starkville. Truth be told, Mississippi State was also the second game of the season in 2024 (played in Tempe) and did not adversely affect ASU. It will be interesting to see if that will be the case this year as well.


Having Baylor as your first Big 12 game of the season, even on the road, could be an advantage rather than facing the Bears later in the year. Before losing their bowl game to LSU, Baylor won six consecutive Big 12 games in 2024 and overall was 5-1 in contests played at Waco. This matchup is as challenging as any road game ASU will encounter in 2025, so facing this opponent earlier rather than later, perhaps in the figuring-out stage of the year, could hypothetically be a benefit.


On the other hand, facing Iowa State, the team ASU did beat in the Big 12 championship game, and Colorado, who came very close to playing in that same contest on the road in November, maybe the biggest test that sticks out in the Arizona State schedule. And much like Baylor, each lost just one home game in 2024. Having said that, let's not forget that ASU was undefeated last November, and with 15 returning starters, they are certainly capable of repeating that accomplishment, even though it appears to be more challenging than it was in 2024.


Three of the four teams that ASU is going to play on the road, Baylor, Iowa State, and Colorado, are likely to be some of the favorites to win the Big 12, and teams one can expect to be ranked in the upper echelon of the preseason media poll. Protecting your home field is a statement that is true each and every season. Yet, when examining the 2025 schedule for Arizona State, it would appear that this is a statement that carries more weight. Some will say that seven home games and not having any back-to-back road games are quite the launching pad for any team trying to repeat as conference champions, and ASU, on paper, would be the favorite in each of those Tempe contests.


Yet, the road to capturing the Big 12 crown for the second year in a row will still require ASU to replace the key starters it has lost from last year and, through its newcomers overall, improve the caliber of its talent. If they can effectively achieve that feat, then there is probably no apparent challenge the 2025 schedule presents that cannot be overcome..

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