Big Noon Kickoff plans a London stop for Kansas vs. Arizona State

Big Noon Kickoff, FOX’s marquee college football pregame program, is making a rare international appearance. The show is headed to London for the early-season game between Kansas and Arizona State, according to Yahoo Sports, as excitement builds around a matchup that places two programs on a global stage before many conference storylines take shape.

For Kansas, the London trip is part of a broader push by major college football brands to widen the sport’s footprint beyond U.S. stadiums. International games typically carry a bigger spotlight for recruiting visibility, fan growth, and national attention than a standard early home or neutral-site contest. The early placement of Kansas in an overseas spotlight also matters because it gives the Jayhawks a chance to establish a national narrative early rather than waiting for later-season conference momentum.

Arizona State’s side of the equation is equally straightforward. The Sun Devils are a high-profile program with a national recruiting reach, and an overseas kickoff can translate into added exposure for players and staff before the Pac-12 era gives way to current conference realities. Regardless of how the season ultimately unfolds, games like this tend to become a reference point for program identity, particularly when coaches are trying to shape expectations for the season’s first critical weeks.

Big Noon Kickoff’s presence adds another layer. The program is known for its spotlight coverage, studio discussion, and game-day build-up, and London is an unusual backdrop for that kind of national live coverage. The show’s travel indicates that the network is treating the Kansas-Arizona State matchup as a tentpole nonconference event, not a quiet opener. When a broadcast brand puts its production on the line for a game, it usually reflects anticipated national interest that goes beyond the teams’ local fan bases.

At the same time, international matchups also bring practical questions that can influence preparation. Teams must plan around travel logistics, time-zone adjustments, and a different game-week routine than they would follow at home. Coaches usually emphasize maintaining normal habits in a condensed, high-energy stretch, but the overseas environment can still test depth and focus, especially for teams that have to coordinate early-season rotations on both sides of the ball.

Because this is an early-season game, the matchup also arrives before most teams fully settle into their typical offensive tempo, defensive communication patterns, and personnel packages. That makes it a useful measuring stick even if either team is still finding rhythm. For Kansas and Arizona State, the emphasis in those first weeks is often less about perfection and more about answers: Can the team protect the football, sustain drives, and limit explosive plays while still installing the wrinkles that define the coaching staff’s identity?

What to watch next is how the game-week buildup evolves as London nears. With Big Noon Kickoff involved, there is likely to be expanded national coverage of both programs’ storylines, including how each team frames its early-season goals and what aspects of execution it prioritizes after extended offseason work. The broadcast also suggests FOX intends to treat the Kansas-Arizona State matchup as a broad audience event, which could raise the profile of both programs even if their seasons diverge afterward.