The Big 12 Championship Game for 2024 is set with the No. 16 Iowa State Cyclones facing the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils. The game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Four teams ended the 2024 regular-season tied atop the Big 12 standings with 7-2 records, including BYU and Colorado to go along with Arizona State and Iowa State. Arizona State claimed the No. 1 seed in the title game by virtue of the second tie-breaker. Iowa State then claimed the No. 2 seed by virtue of the fourth tie-breaker, which is explained in detail below (via Wikipedia):
As there were four teams tied for the best record in the conference, the “Multiple-team tiebreaker” was used. No team had defeated or lost to the other three, so step 1 was skipped. On step 2, the teams were assessed on their records against common opponents: Kansas, Kansas State, UCF, and Utah. Arizona State was 4-0, BYU 3-1, Iowa State 3-1, and Colorado 2-2 against those four teams, so Arizona State received the #1 seed. The tiebreaker then reset to determine the #2 seed from the other three teams. Again, record against common opponents was used, with Baylor joining the four teams listed above. As all three teams had beaten Baylor, BYU and Iowa State were still ahead of Colorado, which was eliminated. BYU and Iowa State proceeded to the two-team tiebreaker, and since they had the same results against each common opponent, steps 2 and 3 were indecisive. Step 4, assessing Big 12 strength of schedule, resolved the tie in favor of Iowa State: Iowa State’s opponents had a combined record of 36-45 within the conference, while BYU’s had a record of 31-50.
Arizona State finished the regular-season on a five-game winning streak and now hold a 10-2 overall record. Iowa State won its final three games of the season and holds the same record as Arizona State at 10-2.
Arizona State and Iowa State have never squared off on the gridiron in their history. The Sun Devils will be making their first appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game, while the Cyclones lost in their only appearance back in 2020, falling to Oklahoma, 27-21.
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network currently projects Arizona State to win the Big 12 Championship and advance to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a College Football Playoff First Round game in South Bend, Ind. He projects that Iowa State will play the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Big 12 Championship Game: 2024 matchup
Matchup: (16) Iowa State vs. (15) Arizona State
Site: AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX
Date: Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024
Time: Noon ET
TV: ABC (Streaming via ESPN3)
Crew: Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst), and Katie George (reporter)
Tickets: Buy Tickets
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Go Iowa State!!!
Go Arizona State!!