For Wildcats, Sun Devils, rivalry win could be a season-saver
With both the Arizona Wildcats and the Arizona Sun Devils having losing records, tonight's Territorial Cup rivalry game is mostly a matter of pride.
Arizona State coach Todd Graham was discussing the Territorial Cup the other day when he uttered one of the all-time rivalry-game bromides.
βYou can throw all the records out,β Graham said.
Can we? Please?
This is a Territorial Cup unlike any other β and not in a good way.
Both the Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats have losing records. That hasnβt happened entering this matchup since 2003. Arizona had a new coach the following season.
The UA and ASU have combined to lose 13 consecutive games. The last time both entered the Territorial Cup with losing streaks was 2011. Both had new coaches the next season β Graham and Rich Rodriguez.
Nothing that drastic is expected to happen after the 2016 Territorial Cup, regardless of the outcome. Ray Anderson already announced that Graham will be back. Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne has declined to comment on Rodriguezβs future in recent days, but all indications are that he is safe despite a 2-9 season.
Both teams are struggling for a variety of reasons, and only ASU, with a win, can qualify for a bowl game. That doesnβt render the Territorial Cup meaningless. Itβs anything but, according to the participants.
βItβs the biggest game we play every year, regardless of whatβs at stake,β Rodriguez said. βSome years thereβs been a whole lot at stake.β
The last time they won the Territorial Cup, in 2014, the Wildcats clinched the Pac-12 South. Friday night, theyβre just hoping to win a game, something they havenβt experienced in more than two months.
βItβs a feeling we havenβt had for quite a while now,β said UA quarterback Brandon Dawkins, whoβs likely to make his ninth start of the season with fellow QB Anu Solomon questionable because of a foot injury.
βI know all the guys are (eager) to get back in the locker room and sing our fight song. It means everything to us.β
For a select few Wildcats, 2016 feels a lot like 2011. Arizona had only two wins entering that yearβs Territorial Cup. Coach Mike Stoops already had been dismissed. Arizona defeated Arizona State 31-27 in Tempe. Two members of that team will be playing their final games as Wildcats on Friday night.
Defensive linemen Aiulua Fanene and Sani Fuimaono are the last vestiges of the Stoops era. Both went on two-year LDS missions after the 2011 season, extending their college careers into this year.
βGood game. Close game,β Fanene said of the 2011 Territorial Cup. βWe didnβt go to a bowl game, but it was a good feeling to be able to beat them.β
Said Fuimaono: βI remember that season very vividly. It kind of reminds me of this season. There is no better feeling than winning against ASU, and we beat them up there. It will be nice to get the victory on Senior Night.β
Winning β or losing β the Territorial Cup can have a lasting impact. As Rodriguez said this week, βitβs not going to erase all the stuffβ that preceded it. βBut at least for a moment,β he added, βitβll make you feel good.β
Maybe even longer than that.
Dawkins and other current players interacted with former Wildcats before practice Tuesday morning. The older guys were quick to remind the younger guys of the importance of Friday nightβs game.
βItβs all they would talk about,β Dawkins said. ββI played back in β68. We lost that year. Itβs all Iβve been thinking about ever since.β I donβt want to have any bad memories about it.β
Recent results have not been favorable for Arizona. The Wildcats have lost three of the past four meetings. Rodriguez would fall to 1-4 against Graham with another loss.
But at least those UA teams had something else to look forward to. The three Rodriguez-led clubs that lost to ASU went on to win season-ending bowl games.
Fuimaono is treating the Territorial Cup as Arizonaβs 2016 bowl. His position coach, Vince Amey, who has been on both sides of the rivalry, said the game is almost its own mini-season. No matter what happened before, the Wildcats can say βWe beat ASUβ if they win.
Sage veteran that he is, Fuimaono perfectly summed up the current squadβs situation and outlook heading into Friday night.
βIt would mean everything for our seniors, our program and for our fans, especially for our coaches who have put so much time into preparation for this season,β Fuimaono said. βAlthough this season hasnβt been what we expected and hoped for, this is the biggest game on our calendar every year. They need one more win to go to a bowl, so if we canβt go, they shouldnβt either.β
Fuimaono also provided a preview of what he might say to his teammates in the moments leading up to the game. For him and his fellow seniors, itβs their final game at Arizona. For all of them, itβs their final game together.
Fuimaono said he usually says whatever comes to him βin the spur of the moment.β But the basic message will be something like this:
βJust give it everything you have and bear down.β
