Three months after being picked to finish last in the Big 12, the Arizona State football team will play for the conference championship next weekend.
The Sun Devils (10-2, 7-2) hammered rival Arizona 49-7 on Saturday afternoon, then sat back and watched the usual Big 12 drama unfold. When Cincinnati lost to TCU later Saturday, Arizona State officially clinched a berth in the Big 12 title game.
Then ASU had to wait for its opponent.
Iowa State (10-2, 7-2) beat Kansas State 29-21 to stay in the hunt and eliminate BYU. Then BYU beat Houston 30-18 in the late game to give Iowa State the second spot in the title game. If BYU had lost to Houston, Colorado would have earned the final championship game berth.
Iowa State, picked to finish sixth in the preseason Big 12 media poll, won its first seven games of the season and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country. The Cyclones stumbled in early November, losing back-to-back games to Texas Tech and Kansas, then rallied to win their final three games.
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, a redshirt sophomore, has passed for 2,884 yards and 18 TDs this season. He has also rushed for 237 yards and 6 touchdowns. Becht has two outstanding receivers in seniors Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Higgins has 77 catches for 1,015 yards and 8 receptions, while Noel has 61 catches for 976 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Arizona State will likely have to play the championship game without star receiver Jordyn Tyson, who left the Arizona game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. After going into the locker room, Tyson returned to the sideline with his left arm in a sling. His injury is reportedly a broken collarbone, which would sideline him for the rest of the season.
The Big 12 football championship game is Saturday, Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT. The winner will earn an automatic berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff, which comes with a $4 million check, plus $3 million to cover expenses.
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl – the first BCS National Championship Game – at Sun Devil Stadium.
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