The Single Most Important Non-Conference Game in the Big 12

By Pete Mundo

Posted on August 14, 2025 at 12:57 pm

The Big 12 football season is days away with Week 0 action for three teams in the league. After that, it’s a loaded Week 1, where the Big 12 Conference will have some key non-conference games. There will be low-level FCS match ups, and huge SEC and Big Ten games for the Big 12. So which one is the most important?

There are some great games on the schedule, but there is one that stands above the rest: Arizona State vs. Mississippi State. This is, by far, the most important non-conference game that exists in the Big 12. Here’s why.

Big 12 vs. SEC

Of course, the Big 12 vs. SEC battle always matters, especially as prominent college football voices and TV partners try to build the gap between the SEC/Big Ten and the Big 12/ACC. There’s that. But in this specific case, the Sun Devils are projected to be at the top of the Big 12 standings this season. Meantime, Mississippi State was picked the finish dead last in the Preseason SEC Media Poll.

The Big 12 Conference cannot afford to have one of its top contenders lose to a team picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC. It would be a colossal disaster for the league, were this to happen.

If Arizona State were to lose this game, we know that the SEC fan boys, and their various media partners, would use this as an example of why the Big 12 can’t hang with the big boys. It will lead to topics like, “Should the Big 12 even be guaranteed one spot in the College Football Playoff?!” I can see the talking heads on ESPN having this conversation on one of their mind-numbing talk shows.

So as much as anything else, this is about self preservation. The Big 12 Conference cannot afford to let this one slip away.

Arizona State’s Encore

The Sun Devils are projected to be atop the Big 12, not just for this season, but potentially for the foreseeable future under Kenny Dillingham. With that being the case, if this program wants to keep its momentum going, it has to get a relatively easy win over Mississippi State.

If not, the overreaction of, “Was 2024 a fluke for ASU?!” will come back to the forefront, in some conversations. It’s not fair, but it’s the nature of our college football news cycle.

So for Arizona State, just make this non-conference match up an easy one for all of us, get the win, and let’s all move on!