The Big 12 has announced its 2025 Friday night football schedule, which includes a total of 11 contests.
Two of the Friday night Big 12 games were previously announced when the league revealed its complete schedule for 2025 in February — Wagner at Kansas (Aug. 29) and West Virginia at BYU (Oct. 3).
Nine contests have been added to that schedule, including a pair of Week 1 non-conference games, including Georgia Tech at Colorado and Auburn at Baylor.
Two Big 12 matchups conclude the Friday night schedule on Nov. 28 (Black Friday) — Arizona at Arizona State and Utah at Kansas.
Below is a complete listing of Big 12 football games on Friday nights this season. Each game will be televised by an ESPN or FOX network to be determined:
2025 Big 12 Friday Football Schedule
Friday, Aug. 29 – Georgia Tech at Colorado
Friday, Aug. 29 – Auburn at Baylor
Friday, Aug. 29 – Wagner at Kansas
Friday, Sept. 12 – Colorado at Houston
Friday, Sept. 12 – Kansas State at Arizona
Friday, Sept. 19 – Tulsa at Oklahoma State
Friday, Sept. 26 – TCU at Arizona State
Friday, Oct. 3 – West Virginia at BYU
Friday, Nov. 7 – Houston at UCF
Friday, Nov. 28 – Arizona at Arizona State
Friday, Nov. 28 – Utah at Kansas
The 2025 Big 12 football schedule begins in Week Zero on Saturday, Aug. 23 with Iowa State and Kansas State squaring off in Dublin, Ireland, while Kansas will host Fresno State. The season concludes with the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Arizona State-Arizona would fit nicely for Black Friday & I am happy that My Oklahoma State Cowboys get to host a Friday evening game with OOC cross state rival Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.
ASU and Arizona have played on Black Friday a lot in recent years, most notably 2012, 2014, and 2016. All those contests were in Tucson, this on will be in Tempe.
Thank you Evan for giving me a little history when Arizona State-Arizona played on Black Friday in the past.
Greatly appreciate it.
Kevin, is college football going to completely avoid going against NFL on September 6?
September 6 is a Saturday.
Correction: will college football avoid going against the NFL on September 5th?
We’ll see. Last year, there were 3 games on that Friday. There’s still time to put games on that day.
For anyone asking, “Why September 5?”, it’s because the NFL has a game on that Friday night, with the Chargers playing a non-yet-identified team in Brazil, that will probably be “streamed” by either Peacock or Amazon Prime Video.
The Big 12 should drop to 7 conference games with the 16 teams organized into pods as follows:
Central: Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia
Texas: Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech
West: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Utah
Each team would play its pod rivals every year and rotate among the other pods on a 6-year schedule. Each year two pairings of pods would be paired with each other.
The drop to 7 conference games by the Big 12 and SEC is mainly to pave the way for lots more OOC games against other power conference teams but also to preserve rivalries that would otherwise be lost to realignment like Bedlam. It could also lead to the Border War between KU and Mizzou being revived annually.
Also these could be the Thanksgiving weekend games:
Arizona-Arizona State
BYU-Utah
Cincinnati-Iowa State
Colorado-Oklahoma State
Kansas-Kansas State
UCF-West Virginia
The Texas schools can take turns playing each other at the end of the season, since there are no two rivalries that really stand out among them.
The proposed schedule format I have made is very similar to the NFL’s own scheduling rotation for non-division play.
The regional pod head-to-head winners would get automatic bids to the following Big 12 bowls starting in 2026, provided they are eligible and not in the CFP:
Central: Liberty
East: Pop-Tarts
Texas: Alamo
West: Guaranteed Rate
I like the pods idea while also noting that Iowa State is a bit of a loser in that arrangement, as it would end up in a group with neither any geographic nor any historic Big 8 rivals.
I like the idea better using nine-game schedules that include two games in addition to the own pod / rotating pod you’ve outlined.
Whether that’s pure rotation or historic rivals (Farmageddon and OK State playing some Texas schools, as examples), I wouldn’t want to be too dogmatic. But I don’t see any of these mega-conferences trimming to seven-game conference schedules.
Z-All Thanksgiving Man More power 4 OOC games would likely result in increased neutral site games & potentially international destinations like in London, Hamburg & Sao Paulo.
Jesper Mega-Conferences trimming to seven game conference schedules would be ridiculous CFB needs nine game conference schedules especially SEC however I really would like to see Bedlam make a comeback Oklahoma State-Oklahoma would fit perfectly as it’s annual OOC game between Cowboys & Sooners just like Iowa-Iowa State Cy Hawk battle.
Another OOC game I would like to see play annually is Illinois-Missouri.
I like the pods idea, but there’s no value in dropping to 7 conference games. I could see them dropping to 8 conference games to potentially getting an extra quality non-conference matchup, but there’s no way they’d drop to 7, that just isn’t enough.
The 9 game schedule works for the Big 12. 3 annual opponents, and then you play half of the remaining 12 in even years, and the other half in odd years (or you could go 2 on, 2 off). That way you play everyone twice in a four year span. That’s unlike the SEC and ACC where sometimes schools go 6 years without playing another school.
Evan I am satisfied with Big 12 9 game conference schedule & as a fan of Oklahoma State Cowboys here would be My OKSU OOC opponents
1. Jackson State (FCS)
2. Rice
3. Oklahoma (Bedlam)
Overall your comments are fantastic nice article.
As the disparity generated in athletic revenue between conferences grows, the number of non-conference games with shrink. The future of college athletic is going to mandate the paying of the athlete. That means revenue sharing (the athletes and the athletic departments) and, because of the Civil Rights Act, that means sharing EQUALLY across both gender and all sports whether they are profitable or not. So… conferences like the Big Ten and the SEC, which generate the largest amount of revenue, will provide the largest salaries and will attract the better athletes, leaving the remnant of athletes to fill the rosters to the lesser conferences like the ACC and the Big 12. Thus, non-conference meetings between the former and the latter of these groups, will become more and more non-competitive until eventually extinct. More conference games will be mandated, not less.
Cincinnati-Iowa State is something of a geographic rivalry is that it involves the only two Big 12 schools in states that are also in the Big Ten footprint, while UCF-WVU are the only two Big 12 schools in East Coast states (notwithstanding the fact that West Virginia is landlocked).
Spencer Bedlam Oklahoma State-Oklahoma is only rivalry that I would like to see make a comeback however other than that I am in huge favor of increase conference games.
Alright, Z-Man, if you can come up with something as clever as Farmageddon for Iowa St-Cincinnati, then I’ll concede it’s a (burgeoning) rivalry.
I am not going to let Z-All Thanksgiving Man Farmageddon & Burgeoning rivalry name bother me.
Cincinnati-Iowa State can be called The Not-Quite-Big-Ten-But-Close-Enough Bowl as a means of poking fun at the Big Ten which also has a presence in Iowa and Ohio.
The trophy would be a depiction of a hawk perched on an Ohio buckeye tree, referencing the respective nicknames of Iowa and Ohio State.
Ironically, the Ohio buckeye tree can also be found in parts of Iowa.
Keep Poking at Iowa State-Cincinnati all you want Z-All Thanksgiving Man however I am happy & satisfied with Iowa State & Cincinnati being part of Big 12 & I am happy & satisfied with Iowa & Ohio State being part of Big 10.
Neither Iowa State nor Cincinnati is “close enough” to be of Big Ten stature. To name their rivalry as you have suggested, would not be “poking fun at the Big Ten” but instead would lambasting their shared conference reality. As well, citing your intrastate rivals by name and through aesthetics within your proposed trophy – would be more of an accolade to the Big Ten, the University of Iowa and Ohio State University, than an admonishment.
PS – West Virginia and Cincinnati are from states that border each other (at least on the US maps I have seen) and are just over 300 miles apart. They should be playing in this end of the season-ending rivalry game you propose. Isn’t 7 of 8 actually rivalry games for the Big 12 better than the preposterous construct you have offered?
Spencer, UCF and WVU should be playing each other at the end of each season because both are located in an East Coast state, the fact that the latter is in a landlocked state notwithstanding.
Meanwhile both UC and ISU are Midwestern.
Z-Man Please, Please STOP attacking people.
Z-Man Please, Please STOP attacking people.
Z-Man Please, Please STOP attacking people.
Post you did 3/9/25 at 7:17PM was TOTALLY unacceptable & this time you were a racist again about Big 12 with Iowa State & Cincinnati & called it The-Not-Big-Ten-But-Close-Enough-Bowl this is just as BAD racist Mason-Dixon line what you post for College Football Playoff.
Z-Man older Brother should really, really watch him more & if any more racist post comes up Z-Man should be discipline & I do not want this to happen I really, really care for you Z-Man I mean it.
Will the Friday August 29 games all be at night? I’m a big Lifelong Auburn fan and was a little surprised and excited to see the Tigers getting to play their first game on a Friday. It will be, needless to say, different.
Remember Jim this is a Big 12 neutral site game where your Auburn Tigers will play at Baylor & I am surprised & excited too.
I am a Chicago Bears Fan & should Bears select a Running Back in upcoming NFL Draft I like Auburn Jarquez Hunter.
Fan of Da Bears, Dan. I’m sorry for your suffering.
Jesper I live & die for Bears & My next to big favorite NFL team after Da Bears is Eagles Super Bowl LIX Champions.
Dan would like to see two Michigan Wolverines Defensive Tackle Kenneth Grant selected by Da Bears & Edge Rusher Josaiah Stewart selected by Eagles.
Yes, they will be 6pm ET or later.
West Virginia is a cool opponent for the guaranteed Friday Night game.
Hope you do not mind me having Oklahoma State Cowboys & Arizona State Sun Devils as my co-favorite Big 12 teams however I do have full respect of your BYU Cougars.
No issues at all