What is Most Crucial Stretch of Arizona State's Season?

Arizona State is set to enter year three of the Kenny Dillingham era as favorites to repeat as Big 12 champions.

That doesn't mean the path will be seamless to reach those heights again.

Actually, the schedule looks to be shaping up to be tougher overall this season - but there is one defined stretch of games that stand above the rest.

The toughest stretch of the 2024 Arizona State season is undoubtedly the set of four games from September 20 to October 18.

During that month, ASU is set to play in two road games against Baylor in Waco, Texas, and Utah in Salt Lake City. They are also set to welcome Texas Christian and Texas Tech to Tempe.

A team-by-team rundown as to why this remains the toughest set of games for the Sun Devils in 2025:

Baylor

The Bears will come into this game battle-tested, as they are set to face Auburn and Southern Methodist in non-conference play.

Head coach Dave Aranda has also done work in the transfer portal in an effort to reshape what was previously a tepid defense.

Sawyer Robertson is the signal caller of a Baylor offense that should be near the very top of the Big 12 - this being a road game likely increases the difficulty of the matchup as well.

TCU

TCU goes into the season in a similar boat as Baylor - they are seen as a potential 'sleeper' in the conference, but with a bit less hype surrounding them.

Sonny Dykes had the same challenge of rebuilding a leaky defense during the off-season, while Josh Hoover is a great quarterback - but may not be quite as physically gifted as Robertson.

The Friday night game will be a major litmus test for the Sun Devil faithful in what will be a warm night.

Utah

Arizona State is set to make the dreaded trip to Utah on October 11.

The Sun Devils typically don't enjoy favorable results when playing the Utes on the road - and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham will be motivated to secure a victory after losing last season's game.

Watch out for Devon Dampier - the natural playmaker could add stability to a Utah offense that has struggled in recent seasons.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders could pose the biggest threat to the Sun Devils repeating as conference champions.

Joey McGuire brings in a top-tier transfer portal class and several key starters - including Behren Morton - are set to return to what was a quality team in Lubbock a season ago.

Read more about an unheralded player on the defensive side of the ball for Arizona State here, and on an offensive player of the same status here.

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