College football fans on the east coast will want to make sure they stay up for this week’s Arizona State vs. BYU game, as the two top-25 ranked schools face off on ESPN Saturday, Sept. 18, at 10:15 p.m. ET.
One of the few head-to-head ranked matchups of college football week three will see the No. 19 Arizona State Sun Devils head to Provo, Utah, to battle it out with the No. 23 BYU Cougars. Can Arizona State continue the impressive start to the year for Pac 12 schools? Or will BYU defend their home field and leapfrog ASU in the rankings?
Here’s what you need to know about the Arizona State vs. BYU game, including how to watch it.
Arizona State vs. BYU matchup preview
This is the first time that Arizona State and BYU are playing each other since 1998, a game that saw BYU upset a ranked Arizona State team 26-6. So what’s in store for the one time rivals (both schools were previous members of the Western Athletic Conference)?
Arizona State comes to Provo as the No. 19-ranked team in the country by the AP following home wins against Southern Utah (41-14) and UNLV (37-10). The Sun Devils look to continue the impressive start by the Pac 12 so far this season (No. 4 Oregon upset Ohio State and No. 13 UCLA beat LSU), with a signature win of its own before conference play gets underway.
Former NFL coach Herm Edwards is the coach at ASU, where he heads up an offense with one of the most dangerous rushing attacks in the country. In just two games the Sun Devils have three 100 yard rushers, including quarterback Jayden Daniels (who leads the team) and running backs Rachaad White and Daniyel Ngata. According to ESPN, ASU has 23 rushing touchdowns in its last five games, which is the most by any FBS team during that stretch.
ASU also has a star on the defensive side of the ball in Darien Butler, a senior linebacker who leads the Sun Devils in tackles, sacks and interceptions early in the season.
BYU has a very similar outlook to the Sun Devils, at least at the start of their season.
BYU is another run-heavy team, with its own QB and RB duo that have had success thus far, Jaren Hall and Tyler Allgeier, respectively. Linebacker Keenan Pili has also been the Cougars’ key defensive player thus far. Where the Cougars may have an edge is in the receiving game, as Neil Pau’u is leading the team in all receiving stats, including touchdowns (three), and has more than double the stats of any ASU receiver.
For as good as other teams in the Pac 12 have been so far this year, BYU has owned the conference, winning its first two games against Pac 12 schools Arizona (24-16) and then-ranked Utah (26-17).
However, perhaps the most interesting stat heading into this game is that BYU has yet to turn the football over this year, while Arizona State has forced the most turnovers (38) in the country since 2019. Which statline will give?
As of Sept. 16, Arizona State is a 3.5 point favorite over BYU.
How to watch Arizona State vs. BYU in the U.S.
After a full day of college football, be sure to tune into ESPN at 10:15 p.m. for this Arizona State vs. BYU nightcap. The major cable sports network will broadcast the game on its flagship network, which is available on just about all major cable and satellite pay-TV providers, though you may have to double check your subscription details to ensure that you have access to the game.
If you’ve opted to move away from the old-school pay-TV setups to a live TV streaming service, among the ones carrying ESPN are Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
A subscription to any of the above services will allow viewers to watch the game through either the Watch ESPN app or WatchESPN.com, should they not be in front of their TV at game time. ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN Plus, will not be carrying the Arizona State vs. BYU Game.
How to watch Arizona State vs. BYU in the U.K.
Football fans all the way across the Atlantic in the U.K. will be able to watch this matchup of west powerhouses as well, as BT Sport will offer live coverage of the Arizona State vs. BYU game. The live broadcast will begin at 3:15 a.m. BST on Sunday, Sept. 19.
BT TV subscribers can add BT Sport to their package for £10. BT Sport can also be added as a standalone service for anyone, costing £25.
How to watch Arizona State vs. BYU from anywhere
Sun Devil or Cougar fans the world over can tune in for Arizona State vs. BYU by using a virtual private network, or for short, a VPN. A VPN is designed to route network traffic through a specific set of servers in a specific country, allowing viewers to watch content on an encrypted feed over a computer.
