The Big 12 was as wild and as entertaining of a league as any in college football a season ago. Arizona State emerged as the champion and almost pulled an upset versus Texas in the College Football Playoff. That and the talent that several Big 12 teams will be placing into the NFL Draft soon earned respect for the conference nationwide.
Now, the league as a whole will be looking to take the next step. Certain programs have more demanding roads than others. Here are the top five toughest slates that will have to be navigated by Big 12 teams in 2025.
Colorado faces a brutal 2025 football schedule, and Deion Sanders will have his hands full replacing Heisman winner Travis Hunter and first-round QB Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes open with Georgia Tech, an ascending ACC program boasting one of the nation’s most innovative and toughest rushing attacks to stop under offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. CU’s Big 12 slate is relentless, featuring home matchups against last year’s conference title contenders, Arizona State and Iowa State. The road schedule is even more daunting, with trips to Houston, TCU, Utah, and Kansas State—all hostile environments where wins won’t come easy. With significant personnel losses and a gauntlet of physical opponents, Colorado’s ability to stay competitive will be a defining storyline of 2025.
Iowa State’s 2025 schedule is a gauntlet filled with tough matchups and brutal travel demands. The Cyclones open with a massive challenge in Week 0, flying to Dublin, Ireland, to take on Big 12 rival Kansas State. Quickly after that game ends, they have to fly back to Ames and get ready on what will be a short rest for a matchup against South Dakota before hosting in-state nemesis Iowa in Week 2—a rivalry that’s always a grind. Then, in a scheduling oddity, ISU hits the road to face Arkansas State in a non-conference test. The Big 12 slate offers no relief, with road trips to Cincinnati, Colorado, TCU, and Oklahoma State, which are notoriously difficult environments. The home schedule isn’t much kinder, featuring two College Football Playoff hopefuls in BYU and Arizona State. With an exhausting start and no easy weeks in conference play, Iowa State’s ability to handle adversity will be a defining factor in its 2025 campaign.
Arizona gets to start with two what should be wins against Hawaii and Weber State at home, but after that, the Wildcats’ schedule gets tough and stays challenging. Brent Brennan’s squad has to face all of the top five finishing teams in the Big 12 a year ago. Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, and Iowa State all finished 7-2 in league play a season ago and should be ranked in the top 14 teams in the country preseason. Three of those games are away games for the Wildcats, with a trip to Iowa State on September 27, a November 1 trip to Colorado, and a regular-season finale at Arizona State on November 28. Add challenging games against Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State at home in addition to trips to Houston and Cincinnati, and it’s easy to see why Arizona comes in at third on this list. Bouncing back from a 4-8 overall record and a 2-7 mark in the conference a season ago will not be easy for the fellas in Tucson.
Rich Rodriguez does not get to ease his toe back into things in Morgantown. No sir. Rich Rod will open up with two easy non-conference games and then face Pitt at home in The Backyard Brawl in Week 3 of the season. After that, it’s a brutal Big 12 stretch, and the Mountaineers will face Kansas (away), Utah, BYU (away), UCF (away), TCU, Houston (away), Colorado, Arizona State (away), and Texas Tech. Like Arizona, West Virginia is, without a doubt, playing the upper echelon of the Big 12 from a year ago. It has the misfortune of having to go to CFP contenders BYU and Arizona State and also to the madhouse that is UCF with Scott Frost back in town. The way the schedule falls, West Virginia’s physicality and lines of scrimmage will be tested early with a stretch of Pitt, Kansas, Utah, and BYU. After the bye week, the remainder of the schedule will be marked by teams with tremendous skill players and explosiveness.
Take the same difficulties that Arizona and West Virginia face, then add an opening game road trip to North Carolina and an early season game hosting 2024 CFP participant SMU. That’s what TCU has to deal with in 2025. Road games at Arizona State and BYU will be challenging, particularly when each comes after home games against the aforementioned SMU Mustangs and a well-coached and 11th-ranked Iowa State team, respectively. TCU has to go to Bill Snyder Family Stadium to take on Kansas State and also to Mountaineer Field to play West Virginia. Playing eleven Power 5 opponents will take its toll on any team. Sonny Dyke’s squad will hope that the six-season pattern of Horned Frog football alternating between a losing season and a winning season comes to a stop. TCU was 9-4 a year ago and will have to be clicking early on to avoid taking a step back from that pace this fall.
Hopefully Oklahoma State resurrect & return to it’s winning ways & speaking of winning that something I would like Arizona State to have a encore of 2024.
Go Cowboys OKSU!!!
Go Sun Devils ASU!!!
@BGilmer18,
I would have written U the FBS contact form but I don’t use my email address listed. I use my x.com/HermannDeutsche account to communicate.
I’m a @BYUfootball Fan.
What R your empirical measures 4 choosing the 5 Teams in ‘5 toughest 2025 B12 Team Schedules’ article?
I readily saw some observable measurements in WVU w/ a coaching change & their distance from other Teams except 4 Cincinnatti, UA with a Non National FB Brand Pedigree & a 2nd Year Coach.
I c some of your ‘hardest schedule points’ about TCU & UCO but next to none regarding Matt Rhule’s ISU Franchise.
None of the 4 new to the Trust 4 Conference ranks Teams made your hardest sched. parameters.
I’d like know your go to sources 4 this article’s deciding factors.
How is Utah not number 1!? or even on this list!?