Arizona
Iowa State vs Arizona State score updates, analysis for Big 12 championship game today
ASU wins Territorial Cup against Arizona and claims a Big 12 championship spot
ASU wins Territorial Cup against Arizona and claims a Big 12 championship spot
Sun Devil Athletics
The Arizona State football team continues its 2024 season with the Big 12 Championship Game against Iowa State today.
Follow our live updates of the game, played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the latest score, news, notes, highlights and analysis of the Big 12 title game between the Sun Devils and the Cyclones on Saturday.
Arizona State beat Arizona last week, 49-7. Iowa State defeated Kansas State, 29-21.
ASU football is 10-2 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 play. Iowa State also went 10-2 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
The winner of this game earns a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Watch Big 12 title game on FUBO (free trial)
ASU football vs Iowa State preview, prediction
Who has the edge in today’s Arizona State vs Iowa State Big 12 championship game?
The Arizona Republic’s Michelle Gardner previewed and predicted the game in her scouting report, writing that the lack of an Arizona State kicking game could have an outcome on the game.
She wrote: “The Sun Devils are playing with house money at this point. They hardly expected to be in this position. They will be hard-pressed to overcome the loss of one of their premier playmakers, Jordyn Tyson. Championship games often come down to the small things, and the fact that ASU does not have a reliable kicker is no small thing.”
You can read her Big 12 title game preview and see her prediction for the game here.
What’s at stake in Big 12 title game between Iowa State, Arizona State
The Big 12 championship is obviously on the line in today’s Iowa State vs ASU football game at AT&T Stadium, but there’s a lot more on the line.
The winner of this game will earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, which has expanded to 12 teams this season and the bragging rights that come with it.
Just being in this game is a huge accomplishment for the Cyclones and Sun Devils. A victory and College Football Playoff appearance would be a incredible feat for both teams and no doubt help in exposure, recruiting and recognition for either program.
So, saying a lot is on the line in this game is an understatement.
Jordyn Tyson injury looms large for Arizona State vs Iowa State
The Sun Devils lost their leading wide receiver in their win over Arizona last week to injury and it is a huge blow for Arizona State, which has relied heavily on Jordyn Tyson all season.
Tyson had 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns before going down with the injury.
No one else is even close to matching that receiving production for ASU.
How will ASU respond without Tyson? That’s a key to the Big 12 championship game against Iowa State today.
How Arizona State, Iowa State got to Big 12 championship game today
The Sun Devils were 5-2 on the season after falling to Cincinnati on Oct. 19 (and 2-2 in the Big 12). They then rattled off five straight conference wins to earn their berth in the title game today, beating Oklahoma State, UCF, Kansas State, BYU and Arizona.
Iowa State started the season 7-0, before losing two straight games to Texas Tech and Kansas. The Cyclones rebounded to make the championship game with wins over Cincinnati, Utah, and Kansas State.
Colorado, BYU, Arizona State and Iowa State all finished 7-2 in Big 12 play, but ASU and ISU got in the title game due to the conference’s tiebreaker scenarios falling their way.
First-ever matchup between Arizona State, Iowa State in college football
The Big 12 championship game is the first-ever matchup for Iowa State and Arizona State in football.
That’s hard to believe, but true. The Cyclones and Sun Devils have never faced off on the football field.
Now Big 12 rivals, these schools should start playing each other often, even with 16 teams in the conference.
Playing in the Big 12 championship game with the conference title and a College Football Playoff spot on the line is certainly an amazing way to start a rivalry.
Big 12 championship game uniforms: What Arizona State, Iowa State are wearing today
The Cyclones are going with their white uniforms for the game today.
The Sun Devils are wearing their maroon jerseys with gold pants and gold sparky helmets.
How to watch or stream Arizona State vs Iowa State in Big 12 championship
The game can be seen at Noon Eastern time on ABC.
The Big 12 title game will stream on streaming services that carry ABC, including FUBO.
Joe Tessitore (play-by-play) and Jesse Palmer (analyst) are scheduled to be the Big 12 championship game announcers.
What channel is the Big 12 championship on in Arizona?
The game can be seen on ABC affiliates in Arizona, which is Channel 15 in the Phoenix area and Channel 9 in Tucson.
The game starts at 10 a.m. MST, which is also 10 a.m. Arizona time today. It is at 11 a.m. Central time.
The game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Iowa State is now a 1-point favorite over Arizona State in odds for the conference title game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook (ASU opened as a 2.5-point favorite).
The Sun Devils are -110 on the moneyline. The Cyclones are also -110.
The over/under for the game is set at 50.5 points.
ESPN gives Iowa State a 55% chance to defeat Arizona State in the college football game today, with ASU given a 45% shot.
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
Apache Stronghold leader’s propane lines severed
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie’s propane tank lines were severed. Nosie claims it is related to the controversy surrounding Oak Flat mine.
Three lawsuits aiming to keep the U.S. Forest Service from turning over Oak Flat to a mining company for a massive copper mine go in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Jan. 7.
The British-Australian firm Resolution Copper has long sought the exchange to build a mine that bodes to obliterate a site Apaches and other Native peoples hold sacred. It also is one of Arizona’s few functional wetlands.
Two lawsuits filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona challenged the land exchange, authorized by a last-minute amendment to a “must-pass” defense bill in December 2014. The arguments in the lawsuits are based on the tribe’s religious beliefs and on environmental concerns, including disputes over water usage and possible damage of one of central Arizona’s key aquifers.
In the third suit, the latest to be filed, a group of Apache women who have spiritual and cultural connections to the site argue that the exchange would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment’s religious rights protections and two environmental laws.
Their lawsuit also brought two new factors into play: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirms parental rights to direct their children’s religious education and references to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear another case related to the land exchange.
A three-judge panel will hear the cases at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.
Religious rights advocates and First Amendment experts have said the ability of Native peoples to exercise their religious rights is at stake.
Oak Flat story: As an Apache girl enters womanhood, lawsuits and tariffs cast shadows
The struggle over Oak Flat nears 30-year mark
For more than two decades, Oak Flat Campground, known to Apaches as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” has been ground zero in a battle over Native religious rights on public lands as well as environmental preservation for a scarce Arizona ecosystem.
The 2,200-acre primitive campground and riparian zone, within the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, also lies over one of the nation’s largest remaining bodies of copper ore.
To obtain the copper, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across, obliterating Oak Flat.
Resolution Copper, a British-Australian mining firm, sought Congressional approval to exchange other parcels of land it had purchased with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other officials engineered a late-night rider to a must-pass defense bill in December 2014. Then-President Barack Obama signed the bill and ever since, tribes, environmentalists and their allies have fought to stop the exchange.
Resolution has said that the mine would bring much-needed jobs and revenues to the economically challenged Copper Triangle to the tune of about $1 billion a year. The company has provided funding to support recovery from the floods that devastated downtown Globe in October and has supported other community organizations.
In November, Resolution announced it had completed rehabilitation of the historic No. 9 shaft at the Magma minehead, including deepening it to nearly 6,900 feet and connecting it to the No. 10 shaft, which plunges about 6,940 feet below the surface.
Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution, said the shaft project was a huge milestone, employing homegrown talent from surrounding communities to get the job done.
Despite the ongoing litigation, she said, “We are ready to advance this important copper project, enabling thousands of high-paying jobs, billions in economic development for rural Arizona, and access to a domestic supply of copper essential to American security and modern infrastructure.”
Grassroots group Apache Stronghold, led by former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie, filed the first lawsuit to stop the exchange. That litigation was declined twice by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, but Apache Stronghold continues to fight the land exchange as the group supports the other three lawsuits.
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.
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President Donald Trump endorsed not one but two Republicans in a highly watched Arizona congressional primary, boosting a new candidate after his first pick met resistance from some in the GOP.
In a Jan. 6 social media post, Trump said he was backing Jay Feely, a former Cardinals kicker and sports commentator who recently switched his campaign into Arizona’s Scottsdale-area 1st Congressional District, in addition to Gina Swoboda, the state GOP chair whose candidacy has divided Republicans despite her securing Trump’s support in October.
The president praised both Feely and Swoboda as “Highly Respected America First Patriots.”
“JAY OR GINA WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” he wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns.
The announcement is a blow to Swoboda, a polarizing figure among Arizona Republicans. Her longtime rivalry with Turning Point, the network of conservative advocacy groups founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, has shadowed her candidacy, prompting attacks and infighting among Arizona Republicans.
The president’s team had not publicly confirmed his endorsement of Swoboda before the Jan. 6 social media post.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Feely said he thought the endorsement came back to his “friendship” and shared values with the president.
“I love what he’s doing. I believe in what he’s doing. I’m committed to the same principles that he and his administration have,” Feely said.
“We wish Gilbert resident Jay Feely well in his latest campaign for Congress, but nothing has changed,” Swoboda campaign consultant Chris Baker shot back in a written statement to The Republic. “Gina Swoboda will be the Republican nominee in AZ01.”
The endorsement will also set back two other high-profile GOP candidates in the race, the ultra-conservative state Rep. Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough, who both told The Republic they, too, had been in touch with the White House.
Though Trump’s endorsement will be a boon in the Republican primary, it could become a liability in the general election. The district, which includes wealthy pockets of Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, and north Phoenix, has a hot-and-cold relationship with the president.
National GOP leaders encouraged him to run in Scottsdale, Feely says
Feely initially launched his campaign in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which includes much of Chandler, Queen Creek and Gilbert, where he lives with his family. He billed himself as a home-grown candidate with a “heart to serve,” and a MAGA devotee who has a personal relationship with Trump.
His prospects in that district dimmed after the president endorsed one of his opponents, Mark Lamb, the well-known former sheriff of Pinal County. Early polling showed Lamb with a large advantage in the race.
But Trump took a liking to Feely, encouraging the former football player in a November social media post to “run in a different district, or for a different office.”
Feely followed the president’s advice. He switched his campaign into the Scottsdale district on Dec. 19. Trump’s endorsement followed about two weeks later.
In an interview Feely said national Republican leaders in D.C., and “grassroots leadership” in the Valley, encouraged him to pivot to the Scottsdale seat. He said he spoke several times with House Speaker Mike Johnson on the matter.
“I wanted to do what was best for the team,” he told The Arizona Republic.
“If they wanted me to run in CD1, and they felt like I was the best candidate, and the one that could hold that seat, then I was willing to do that.”
It’s rare but not unheard of for the president to endorse multiple candidates in a single race.
Last year Trump endorsed two congressional hopefuls in a West Valley-area Republican primary, including the eventual winner, U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh.
And in Missouri’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, Trump left election-watchers scratching their heads when he endorsed “Eric,” a first name shared by the race’s two front-runners. Both campaigns claimed the endorsement as their own.
For years the Scottsdale-area district has been considered one of the most competitive races in the country. Its incumbent, U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, announced last year he would not seek re-election in 2026, winding down his 15-year tenure on Capitol Hill and setting up a bitter contest for the rare open congressional seat.
Across the aisle, about half a dozen high-profile Democrats are fighting for their party’s nomination.
The candidates have already raised millions of dollars between them, with campaign spending only expected to escalate leading up to the Aug. 4, 2026 primaries. The Nov. 3, 2026, general election will bring millions more expensive television advertisements, mailers, and social media ads to the district, much of it financed by national Republican and Democratic groups wrestling for control over the U.S. House.
Feely has raised more than $1 million, about a third of which he has loaned himself, according to a report filed this fall. His personal financial disclosure shows he is worth at least $15 million, giving him a piggy bank that could help finance a campaign.
Swoboda has raised “quite a bit” of money, said campaign consultant Chris Baker, though her fundraising receipts aren’t yet public.
Rivals slam Feely’s out-of-district residence
Feely’s rivals have slammed him for running in a district where he doesn’t live.
“If Jay Feely wants to travel 50 minutes every day to run in Arizona’s 1st Ccongressional District, where he’s never lived, we will pay for his Uber,” Alfredo Rodriguez, a strategist with the Trobough campaign, wrote in a news release. “Tell him to send us the bill.”
“If Gilbert carpetbagger Jay Feely foolishly thinks he can win in AZ01, then more power to him I guess. But the outcome won’t change – Gina Swoboda will win the Republican primary,” Baker wrote in a statement to The Republic.
Feely said in an interview he has connections to the Scottsdale district, even though he doesn’t actually live there. The district is “about economics” and “represents the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.
“I’ve invested in companies in this district. My friends and family live in this district. And I want to be an asset to all of them,” Feely said.
Arizona remains one of the fastest-growing states in the country, but new migration data suggests that growth is starting to level out.
According to the latest numbers from U-Haul, Arizona ranked number seven nationwide for growth in 2025. While that is down one spot from the year before, it marks the sixth consecutive year the state has remained in the top ten.
The rankings are based on more than 2.5 million one-way moving transactions for the Arizona-based company.
What stands out in the data is how close those numbers are.
In 2025, 50.3% of U-Haul’s one-way moves came into Arizona, while 49.7% moved out. In practical terms, that means for nearly every family moving into the state, there is another one packing up and leaving.
That does not mean Arizona is losing population. However, it does suggest the margin of growth is getting thinner than it has been in recent years.
Even with that shift, the greater Phoenix metro area continues to be a major driver of growth. Phoenix ranked fifth nationwide among U.S. metro areas, fueled by job creation and new housing across the Valley.
U-Haul leaders point to continued development tied to major employers, including chip manufacturing and data centers, as well as ongoing residential construction, as reasons Phoenix remains a top destination.
Experts who study migration trends say when in-migration and out-migration numbers get this close, it can be a sign that affordability pressures are starting to play a role, especially when it comes to housing.
The latest data does not point to a mass exodus, but it does show Arizona entering a period of transition, balancing opportunity and growth with affordability concerns.
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