Arizona State is heading into Provo with a chance to steady its season, and the assignment is a big one: No. 8 BYU, a team that has owned this matchup lately and is still trying to recover from last week’s loss to Central Florida.
The Sun Devils and Cougars are meeting on the field for the first time since 2024, when ASU’s win in Tempe helped punch its ticket to the Big 12 title game. This time, the rematch comes with Arizona State at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in league play, while BYU enters at 6-1 and 3-1.
Kickoff is set for Saturday, October 31 at 12:30 p.m. AZ Time (3:30 p.m.
EST) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, which seats 62,073. The game will air on FOX, with Connor Onion on play-by-play, Robert Griffin III as analyst and Alexa Landestoy reporting from the sideline.
For ASU fans following along on the radio, the Sun Devil Radio Network broadcast will be on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, with Tim Healey on play-by-play, former Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst as analyst and Kevin Turner on the sideline. The game will also be available on ESPN 620 AM and the Arizona Sports App.
Recent history has tilted toward BYU, which has won three of the last four meetings. Still, Arizona State holds the edge in the overall series, leading 21-8. The Sun Devils also put together an eight-game run from 1966 to 1973.
The part that stings for ASU is what’s happened in Provo. Arizona State has not won there since 1994, and its last trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium came in 2021, when the Cougars won 27-17 under Herm Edwards in the Pac-12.
Now Kenny Dillingham is making his first trip to Provo, and he’ll do it against a BYU team that has plenty to prove after stumbling last week.
In Other News...
Arizona State Gets A Big Jonathan Griman Boost With Uncertainty Still Ahead
Arizona State picked up a meaningful boost this week with Jonathan Griman cleared to suit up for the Sun Devils home opener, giving the program immediate help in the frontcourt while the rest of his eligibility case plays out. The 6-foot-11 forward transferred from Cal Baptist and had been dealing with an NCAA ruling that treated his international experience as an extra collegiate season, creating a complication that had threatened to keep him off the floor.
Grimans path to getting on the court now runs through the legal system, after a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocked the NCAA from enforcing the eligibility denial for the time being. For Arizona State, the short-term gain is obvious, but the larger question remains unresolved as the lawsuit continues and the broader status of his eligibility is still being fought over. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona States BYU Trip Suddenly Rests On One Huge Freshman Test
Arizona State is heading into a tricky spot in Provo with freshman quarterback Jake Fette expected to get the call against No. 8 BYU. Kenny Dillingham and his staff had already seen enough in the previous game to trust Fette with a late-quarter look after the starter went down, and the early returns were encouraging enough to keep this path open as the Sun Devils prepare for a hostile road environment.
Now the challenge shifts from a brief cameo to a full start, and the timing could hardly be tougher. Fette will be learning on the fly against one of the better defenses in the country, with a loud BYU crowd waiting to make every first-year mistake feel bigger, so Arizona States trip suddenly comes down to how quickly the freshman settles in and how much the staff can simplify the moment around him. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Has A Real Reason To Watch The Big 12 Now
Arizona State had plenty of reasons to keep an eye on Brett Yormark after joining the Big 12, and now there is a clearer sense of how long that era is expected to last. Yormark, who took over as commissioner in 2022, has been a central figure in the leagues recent makeover, overseeing the additions of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State while also helping steer the conference through a new media rights deal.
His run has also included one of the more notable league rulings in recent memory, when he acted decisively in the Brendan Sorsby eligibility case involving Texas Tech. Even with the pressure from the sports bigger leagues, the Big 12 has held firm as the No. 4 conference in college athletics, and Arizona State will now be watching to see how much of that stability carries into the next chapter before Yormark departs on Jan. 31, 2027. [Read more 🡒]
