Arizona at Arizona State

TIME: 2 p.m. TV: Pac-12 Arizona

RADIO: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Preview and predictions by Michael Lev

All about Arizona

All about Arizona State

Head to head

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1 Stanley Berryhill III vs. 24 Chase Lucas

Expect Berryhill to be featured extensively in what’s likely his last game as a Wildcat. He needs seven catches to reach 80 this season. Berryhill has done it all in 2021 – except score touchdowns. He has only one. Scoring vs. ASU would be a fitting way to go out.

A veteran of 52 games, Lucas is as savvy a corner as you’ll find in the Pac-12. He’s one of five corners in the league with 200-plus coverage snaps who hasn’t allowed a touchdown this season. He has been targeted a team-high 51 times, per Pro Football Focus.

90 Trevon Mason vs. 61 Dohnovan West

Two of the past three games (Cal, Washington State) have been Mason’s best of the season, per PFF. He leads the team with 20 QB pressures. The 6-6 senior also is tied for team-high honors with four batted passes. He’s seeking his first sack since Oct. 22 vs. Washington.

West has allowed only five QB pressures this season — tied for 11th among FBS linemen with 330-plus pass-blocking snaps. West has improved significantly since his freshman year in 2019, when he yielded 19 pressures. He was charged with his first sack of ’21 last week at Oregon State.

The matchup

When Arizona has the ball …

Improved efficiency remains the goal for the Wildcats, who have run the most plays in the Pac-12 (72.4 per game) yet have scored the fewest points (17.4 per game). QB Will Plummer has gotten more comfortable and confident over the course of the season but remains a sub-60% passer. ASU leads the Pac-12 in total defense (322.6 ypg). Only three teams have had 400 or more yards vs. the Sun Devils. None has topped 455.

When Arizona State has the ball …

ASU is seeking better balance. The Sun Devils average 200 rushing yards per game and have topped 280 in two of their past three. They’ve had 166 or fewer passing yards in each of those games. QB Jayden Daniels’ TD-INT ratio has nosedived (22-3 entering 2021; 8-9 this year), but he remains a dangerous dual threat (584 rushing yards). The centerpiece of ASU’s attack is RB Rachaad White (908 yards, 14 TDs). He was MVP of last year’s game.

Prediction: Arizona 26, Arizona State 24

The circumstances were similar the last time Arizona won the Territorial Cup. The ’16 Wildcats had lost eight in a row, most by blowout. Few gave them a chance. Yet they came together in the most important game of the year and ran ASU out of Arizona Stadium. The locale is different this time, but the Cats are just as motivated. If they can play the way they did vs. Utah — confident and clean — they can pull this off.