Breaking down Arizona State's 2024 Big 12 football schedule

Let the buzz begin.

Arizona State now has its official football schedule, although game times have yet to be announced. It is the first season in the Big 12 for the Sun Devils, who are leaving the Pac-12 along with their rivals Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

The Sun Devils are looking to improve on back-to-back 3-9 seasons and have again reloaded through the transfer portal with head coach Kenny Dillingham heading into his second season at the helm.

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024 opponents:

Nonconference

Aug. 31, Wyoming (H) — The Cowboys visit for the first time since 1977. The Sun Devils are 9-6 all-time against Wyoming, with the teams having played every season from 1965-1977, 1951, and 1963. Wyoming defeated Toledo in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl to finish its 2023 season at 9-4, third for fourth in the Mountain West with Air Force and behind Boise State, San Jose State and UNLV. Recently retired head coach Craig Bohl took the Cowboys to six bowls and is the only coach in the school's history to lead the team to multiple bowl wins. The Cowboys are now headed by Jay Sawvel, who has served as the team's defensive coordinator and safeties coach since 2020.

Sept. 7, Mississippi State (H) — The Bulldogs face ASU for the first time. It's the first of a home-and-home with Bulldogs that will see the Sun Devils visit Starkville in 2025. Mississippi State concluded 2023 with a 5-7 record, which included a 1-7 mark in the SEC. Mississippi State's lone conference victory came at Arkansas. Jeff Lebby has taken over as head coach for the departed Zach Arnett. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma.

Sept. 14, at Texas State — Another game in which the Sun Devils will face an opponent for the first time. The Bobcats will return the game with a trip to Tempe in 2025. They went 8-5 last season, defeating Rice in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl 45-21. Texas State was second in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference behind Troy.

Big 12

Sept. 21, at Texas Tech — This marks the Big 12 debut for the Sun Devils. The teams have split four previous meetings, including a 52-45 loss in a 2017 meeting in Lubbock, Texas, the only previous meeting at the Red Raiders home. The Red Raiders are coming off a 7-6 showing in 2023 which includes a 34-14 win over California in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Texas Tech finished eighth in the conference with a 5-4 record. There will be a familiar face playing on the other side in this one as tight end Jalin Conyers, a native of Texas, transferred to Texas Tech after three seasons as a Sun Devil.

Oct. 5, Kansas (H) — The first Big 12 home game comes after a bye week. The Jayhawks are coming off a 9-4 season in which they won nine games for the first time since 2007 and only the seventh time in team history. Kansas placed seventh in the Big 12 and capped off its season with a 49-36 victory over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl held here at Chase Field. The most notable win by Kansas during the regular season was a 38-33 win over Oklahoma. The meeting will be the first between the two programs.

Oct. 11, Utah (H) — This is a foe with whom ASU is all too familiar with both squaring off in Pac-12 play and the Utes getting the better of the battles as of late. ASU is 22-12 all-time in the series although the Utes have won the last four with lopsided scores of 34-13 in 2022 and 55-3 in 2023. The Utes went 8-5 this past season, highlighted by a 34-32 win over USC. They played in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, losing to Northwestern 14-7. Utah looms as one of the leading contenders to win the Big 12 next season with the return of quarterback Cam Rising who missed all of last season after sustaining a knee injury in the 2022 Rose Bowl. It will be his seventh college season, the sixth at Utah.

More Sun Devils: ASU heads to Texas Tech for first Big 12 game; ends season vs. Arizona

Oct. 19, at Cincinnati — This will mark the longest trip of the season for the Sun Devils. The previous two meetings in the series were wins by the Bearcats in Tempe during the 1954 and 1976 seasons. Cincinnati finished the 2023 season with a 3-9 record, with a 1-8 conference record that left the Bearcats in last place. Three former Sun Devils were part of the program last year and two of those have remaining eligibility in kicker Carter Brown and defensive back and return specialist D.J. Taylor. Brown was 15-for-19 in field goals last season with a long of 54 yards while Taylor had 16 tackles in a reserve capacity.

Nov. 2, at Oklahoma State — The teams meet for the third straight season after a pair of non-conference outings in 2022 and 2023, both won by the Cowboys. OSU is 3-2 in the series, and they have split two matchups in Stillwater. The Cowboys went 10-4 last season and played in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game where they lost to Texas 49-21. They ended the season with a 31-23 victory over Texas A&M in the TaxAct Texas Bowl played in Houston. Oklahoma State had a five-game conference win streak, highlighted by a 27-24 win over state rival Oklahoma. This is another game with a former Sun Devil on the other side as offensive lineman Isaia Glass has transferred to the school after missing the balance of last season with a foot injury. The Queen Creek product played for ASU for three seasons.

Nov. 9, Central Florida (H) —  The Knights were 6-7 overall with a 3-6 mark in the conference that placed them ninth of 14 schools. Despite the record, UCF appeared in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, losing to Georgia Tech 30-17. That came after winning the last game of the regular season against Houston to become bowl-eligible. The Knights' last visit – the only previous meeting in the series – was a 46-13 win by the Sun Devils during the 2002 season.

Nov. 16, at Kansas State — This will be the seventh meeting in the series with ASU up 5-1 but it will be the first game between them since the 2002 Holiday Bowl and will be the first in Manhattan, Kansas. K-State capped a 9-4 season in 2023 by defeating North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl 28-19. The most compelling game of the season came against eventual conference champion Texas with the Longhorns slipping past Kansas State 33-30 in overtime in Austin.

Nov. 23, Brigham Young (H) — ASU leads the series with the Cougars 20-8, but the teams have only played once since 1998 and that came in 2021 and was won by the Cougars 27-17. The teams last met in Tempe in 1997. BYU completed its inaugural season in the Big 12 at 5-7 overall and 2-7 in the conference with only Cincinnati faring worse.

Nov. 30, at Arizona — There had been speculation on when this game would be scheduled with both schools transitioning to a new conference, but it remains the regular season finale. The Sun Devils have won six of the past nine meetings in the series, including five straight from 2017-2021 but the Wildcats have won the last two. Arizona went 10-3 last season and defeated Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl 38-24. Coach Jedd Fisch, who led the school's resurgence, jumped ship in favor of Washington and took most of the staff with him. Brent Brennan came over from San Jose State and kept the balance of the roster in place, most notably freshman phenom quarterback Noah Fifita. Arizona will be one of the title favorites.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Analyzing the teams on Arizona State's 2024 Big 12 football schedule