The Arizona Wildcats defeated Arizona State 38-35 Friday afternoon at Arizona Stadium. Here are some pertinent notes, quotes and statistics from the UA’s victorious season finale:
Notes
Arizona won the Territorial Cup for the first time since 2016, snapping a five-game skid in the series. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 50-45-1. They’re 32-21 against the Sun Devils in Tucson and 25-20 at Arizona Stadium.
The Wildcats finished the season with five wins, a four-win improvement over the 2021 squad. Four wins is tied for the second-best year-over-year improvement in program history. Arizona has experienced a five-win jump two times (1967-68, 1997-98).
ASU suffered its ninth loss of the season — the most in program history. The Sun Devils have lost eight games on four occasions: 1937, 1942, 1994 and 2009.
The Wildcats had a season-high five takeaways. ASU’s five turnovers were the most by a UA opponent since Hawaii had six on Aug. 24, 2019.
Arizona had 16 takeaways for the season, 10 more than last year. The Wildcats were 5-2 when they won or broke even in turnover margin, 0-5 when they lost the turnover battle.
Arizona’s 280 rushing yards were a season high (previous: 178 vs. Colorado) and the most the Wildcats have gained under Jedd Fisch. Arizona last had 280-plus rushing yards on Sept. 14, 2019, vs. Texas Tech.
The Wildcats averaged 10 yards per carry. It’s the sixth time they’ve averaged 10 or more yards per rush in a game since 2000 and the first time since Oct. 7, 2017, at Colorado.
Arizona had 51 total plays on offense, its lowest total of the season. ASU had 87 plays, the most by a UA opponent this year.
The Sun Devils were credited with 39 first downs, tied for the most by a UA opponent since 2000 (Nevada, 2012 New Mexico Bowl).
Arizona matched its season high, set the previous week, with eight tackles for loss. The Wildcats had 23 TFLs over the final three games after recording only 31 in the first nine games.
The Wildcats finished the season with 45 offensive touchdowns and 370 points. They had 206 points and 20 TDs last year.
RB Michael Wiley set career highs with 214 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Wiley became Arizona’s first 200-yard rusher since J.J. Taylor vs. Oregon in 2018.
Wiley rushed for the second-most yards in Territorial Cup history, behind only Trung Canidate, who gained 288 yards in 1998. Wiley also tied for the most rushing touchdowns in series history. He received the Bob Moran Award as the game’s MVP.
WR Jacob Cowing made a reception in a game for the 44th straight time, the longest streak in the nation. Cowing finished the season with 85 catches for 1,034 yards – the third-most catches and eighth-most yards in a season by a Wildcat.
WR Dorian Singer had three catches for a team-high 91 yards. He finished the season with 1,105 receiving yards, sixth most in school history.
QB Jayden de Laura failed to produce a touchdown for the first time this season. But his 200 passing yards gave him 3,685 for the year, third most in UA history. His 25 passing touchdowns rank sixth.
LB Jerry Roberts led Arizona with 11 tackles, one shy of his career high. His 1.5 tackles for loss tied his career best.
Safeties Jaxen Turner and Isaiah Taylor recorded interceptions, doubling the Wildcats’ total for the year. It was the second interception of Turner’s career and the first for Taylor.
Quotes
Fisch on the win: “In the end, we felt like we were gonna run to win. And we were gonna get takeaways on defense. And that’s what we did. I’m so proud of the whole team.”
Fisch on freshman LB Jacob Manu, who was involved in both ASU turnovers in the fourth quarter: “He’s relentless. We were talking about it, the first couple of weeks of the season when he was on our field for scout team. Jayden would say, ‘Hey, tell 59 to slow down. ‘We’re trying to get looks on our scout team, and he’s just making incredible plays.’ ”
De Laura on the significance of the win: “I feel like this win means a lot, especially for our older guys, all the trials and tribulations they’ve been through throughout their careers here. And for the young guys, it just helps them see that this is how it should be here. This is what expected with our team that we have.”
De Laura on deferring to the running game: “It’s good. It’s whatever Coach asks of me this, just go out there and execute it. I have a lot of faith in our O-line and our running backs, whoever’s in the game. Just give them the ball, let them go to work.”
Wiley on his career-best rushing performance: “It wasn’t just me. It was my O-line and the receivers blocking downfield. They played a hell of a game. I always love them up. Every time I get a big run, it’s not just me out there.”
DE Jalen Harris on his career at Arizona: “If I had one word to describe it, I’d say adversity. I’ve had to deal with a lot of adversity here, and it’s just something that I think is gonna help me whether that’s on the next level or in the real world. Hard situations that I’ve had ... and ending up on top.”
Roberts on the back-and-forth nature of the game: “I kept telling the defense, it’s a rivalry game. We didn’t expect this to be easy. We knew it was gonna be a battle. It’s a four-quarter battle. It’s just a matter of who can come out on top when the time hits 0:00. We wanted to make sure that that was us.”
ASU interim coach Shaun Aguano on his future in Tempe: “We didn’t get the job done, and it’s a win business. I get it, and I’m so good because I took care of those kids. I always will be a Sun Devil. This is one of the greatest things that has happened in my life and my family’s life. We made a difference ... The higher-ups are gonna make that decision. The new coach that comes in is going to make that decision. Here’s what I know about Shaun Aguano: I’m never an ego guy, and I want Sun Devil Nation to win and be successful. So if that includes me, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that we win football games.”
ASU quarterback Trenton Bourguet, who played at Marana High School, on starting and passing for 376 yards and three TDs at Arizona Stadium: “Growing up, I didn’t miss a (UA) home game from the time I was born to the time I was 14. This tunnel where we run out of, I was in that first row, I was booing the guys, I was booing (Mike) Bercovici when he’d run out – and now I’m that guy running out. So it’s crazy how it all worked out. But I wouldn’t change anything for the world. To walk on at Arizona State, to have another former walk-on (Gio Sanders) make big plays today over and over, it just proves (that) everybody out there ... you may be overlooked, but control what you can and good things can happen.”
Stats
ASU had 537 total yards; Arizona had 480
Arizona averaged 9.4 yards per play; ASU averaged 6.2
Arizona had 10 penalties for 126 yards; ASU had 8 for 94
ASU possessed the ball for 37 minutes, 39 seconds; Arizona had it for 22:21
ASU converted 7 of 10 third downs; Arizona converted 5 of 10
ASU scored on 5 of 6 trips into the red zone; Arizona went 3 of 5
Arizona’s average starting field position was its 31-yard line; ASU’s was its 25
ASU tailback Xazavian Valladay had 24 carries for 97 yards and 2 TDs
ASU tight end Jaylin Conyers had 10 catches for 76 yards and 1 TD
Sanders had 8 catches for 120 yards and 1 TD
ASU receiver Elijhah Badger had 8 catches for 92 yards and 1 TD
Taylor had 9 tackles and 1 INT
Turner had 8 tackles, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery
Manu had 7 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup
Harris had 6 tackles, 2 TFLs (1 sack) and 1 forced fumble
