ASU football nearly controls its own destiny in Big 12 title hunt after BYU loses to Kansas
Nov 16, 2024, 11:34 PM | Updated: Nov 17, 2024, 10:17 am
Next week’s matchup between ASU football and BYU at Mountain America Stadium will leave the winner in good position to make the Big 12 title game, after the Cougars fell to Kansas 17-13 on Saturday.
The loss, paired with Arizona State’s win over Kansas State, meant the Sun Devils winning out would nearly guarantee a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The only scenario that doesn’t leave ASU in after winning out would include Iowa State (at Utah, vs. Kansas State) and Colorado (at Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State) both winning out, along with BYU losing out (at Arizona State, vs. Houston).
Arizona State’s loss to Cincinnati without Sam Leavitt is the key tiebreaker with the Cyclones, who beat the Bearcats in their matchup. That is the one that would matter because of common conference opponents, should the above scenario play out with BYU losing out preventing a three-way tie.
A win over BYU would not only put ASU in the driver’s seat for Arlington, it would also give the team its first undefeated home season since 2004.
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It’s been a remarkable turnaround for the Sun Devils, who have won eight games this season after winning six the previous two years combined.
Athletic director Graham Rossini told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday the home finale against the Cougars was already sold out more than a week in advance with a “robust secondary market.”
ASU and BYU will kick off at 1:30 p.m. MST on Nov. 23. Listen to play-by-play coverage on 98.7 FM, the Arizona Sports app or ArizonaSports.com, with the State of the Sun Devils pregame show broadcasting live from the stadium at 10:30 a.m.
This story was updated from initially saying ASU had full control of its own destiny.
