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Top Takeaways From the Big 12 Football Kick Off Times Announcements
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Top Takeaways From the Big 12 Football Kick Off Times Announcements

Originally posted on Heartland College Sports
By Pete Mundo  |  Last updated May 29, 2025 4:41 PM ET

With its television partners ESPN, FOX, and TNT Sports, the Big 12 announced more than 40 television selections across linear and streaming platforms for games involving Big 12 teams on Thursday. And fans are already scurrying around marking their calendars, praying there is no conflict with a wedding on the schedule, and hoping their significant others don’t ask to go pumpkin picking on key dates.

So with several of these announcements coming out on Thursday, here are some of the top takeaways.

 

Take Off Friday, August 29th

The Big 12 Conference usually has a ho-hum Week 1. But not this season. We actually have some quality Week 1 games to look forward to, but they’re all on Thursday, August 28th, and Friday, August 29th. And it would behoove the die-hard fan to take off on Friday, August 29th.

On Thursday night, the Big 12 features Cincinnati vs. Nebraska from Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, at 9:00 ET. This is likely to be a 12:30 a.m. ET end time, which will make for a late night for Cincinnati fans who need to turn around and get to the office on Friday morning. But you can wet your whistle with some early games on ESPN+, including UCF vs. Jacksonville State and Houston vs. Stephen F. Austin. They aren’t great games, but for two teams who struggled in the Big 12 last season, these games will at least give us a look into what we might be getting in 2025 with each program.

Then on Friday, you can start the early pregame for two prime-time games with Colorado playing Georgia Tech at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and Baylor kicking off vs. Auburn at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX. You’ll need side-by-side TVs for this one, or the YouTube TV dual-screen. Two great non-conference games in the Big 12 going on at the same time on a Friday night? A new definition for Friday Night Lights.

 

Hello, Big Noon Kickoff

Big Noon Kickoff announced it’s coming to the Big 12 for Week 2 when Iowa State hosts Iowa in the annual Cy-Hawk matchup. Considering that ESPN’s College GameDay has forgotten about the Big 12, it’s nice to see a pre-game show remember the value of one of their conference partners and highlight them for a great non-conference matchup this early in the season.

The last six meetings have been decided by 10 points or less. It seems like it’s a great game every fall in Week 2, and FOX was wise to jump on it at this time.

Week 2 in a 14-Hour Marathon

In every major time slot on Saturday, September 6th, there is a must-watch non-conference game in the Big 12 Conference.

The day starts with the aforementioned Cy-Hawk matchup at 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX, followed by Oklahoma State at Oregon in the 3:30 ET slot on CBS, with Kansas vs. Missouri also at 3:30 ET on ESPN2, which leads into a 7:00 p.m. kickoff in Manhattan between Kansas State and Army, and if you haven’t fallen asleep, BYU hosts Stanford with a 10:15 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN.

This is a fantastic Week 2 slate for the Big 12 Conference. It’s too early for pumpkin picking anyway, but if you have a wedding that Saturday, I feel bad for you. And shame on your friend or family member, anyway!

 

Weird Week 3

In Week 3, we start to kick off multiple conference games, but they are all being played on Friday night, September 12th.

The Week 3 slate is not great, but on Friday night, fans will get Houston vs. Colorado at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by Arizona vs. Kansas State at 9:00 p.m. ET. Now, here is also a catch to this: The Arizona vs. K-State game is not a Big 12 conference game, as this series was scheduled before Arizona joined the Big 12, so it will remain a non-conference game. This matchup was also played on a Friday night last year in Manhattan.

Saturday features two worthy games to watch: West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh and Texas Tech vs. Oregon State. However, both games are scheduled to start at the same time, 3:30 p.m. ET, with the Backyard Brawl airing on ESPN and the TTU vs. Oregon State game on FOX.

Plan Your Naps Accordingly, BYU Fans

BYU knew that when it joined the Big 12, it would be stuck with a lot of late-night games to appease TV partners. And boy, they’re going to have to really embrace those.

To their credit, at least BYU’s social media team is doing that. Here’s how they played their announcement on social media.

This is not new for BYU since joining the Big 12, but I’m sure the fan base would not mind some earlier kick-offs throughout the season. But they’ll have to wait for the rest of the season to unfold before they find out whether or not they will get to enjoy a game when the sun is still up.

This article first appeared on Heartland College Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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