Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' win over ASU

TEMPE — In historic fashion, the 15th-ranked Arizona Wildcats routed Arizona State 59-23 to win the Territorial Cup on the road for the first time in a dozen years. 

The 36-point win for the Wildcats is the largest margin of victory in Tempe, passing a record that was originally set in 1953. Arizona's 59 points are also the most it has scored in a Territorial Cup game since 1946. 

Arizona ended the regular season with six straight wins, which hasn't happened since 1998, and a 9-3 overall record — 7-2 in Pac-12 play to finish third in the conference standings. 

Here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes from the Wildcats’ triumph over the Sun Devils on Saturday: 

Fisch's vision

When Jedd Fisch interviewed for the Arizona head coaching vacancy in 2020, he told athletic director Dave Heeke and UA president Robert Robbins, "I didn't say I just wanted to win five games or four games." 

“I had high aspirations for what we were going to do here," Fisch said. "If I didn’t think we could win nine games, I wouldn’t have moved my family here. This is what we wanted to do. We wanted to win.”

Added Fisch: "Now it's our goal to get to 10 (wins), which has only happened three other times since 1930. If our guys can continue to believe and trust the process and keep getting better, I think we can do that not just in one year, but I think we can do that each year."

Wait, huh? Arizona consistently winning nine games a season? The Wildcats haven't had back-to-back nine-win seasons since 1974 and ’75, when they played in the WAC and were coached by Jim Young. But Fisch, who took over a hollow program in 2020, has the Wildcats believing — and they have every right to be. 

Arizona has six multi-possession wins this season, three of them against ranked opponents. The Wildcats only had two multi-possession wins combined in Fisch's first season. Arizona outscored Utah and ASU 101-41 in the final two games of the regular season. 

"He's been preaching the same stuff since Day 1," said safety Gunner Maldonado, who had a team-high 10 tackles along with a forced fumble and interception against ASU. "It really hasn't changed much. He preaches being a family, playing together, playing hard, but it's really us buying in to what he's saying. He's believed in us from the jump and he's brought a lot of great people around us. We play for each other. We play for him."

The secret ingredient to Arizona's rise from 1-11 to 5-7 to 9-3 in a three-year span under Fisch: joy. 

"If you play with joy, you're going to win," Fisch said. "That's where our culture has really been about family, about joy, and they play for one another. That's the biggest thing for our program: We wanted to recruit players that are of high character. Recruit players that love the game of football and love each other.

"We're a very close-knit team with the coaches and players alike. You can see they love playing for one another, which is probably the biggest part of our culture." 

'Backyard football at a high level'

A connection that dates back to their youth football days in the eighth grade, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan both entered the history books on Saturday.

Fifita, who was named the Bob Moran MVP on Saturday, set a program record with 527 passing yards to go along with a 73% completion rate and five touchdowns. His yards on Saturday are also a Territorial Cup record for both schools. McMillan had 11 catches on 15 targets for a career-high and Territorial Cup record 266 yards and a touchdown. McMillan's yards are the second-most by an Arizona receiver in a single game. Arizona senior running back Michael Wiley called the chemistry between Fifita and McMillan "backyard football at a high level."

"Obviously they're very professional but they have that feel and that connection. Noah trusts T-Mac a lot and T-Mac can go get it, so it's fun watching it," Maldonado said. "It gets the defense better, for sure, because you have to have perfect coverage against that duo. So it's fun to watch and I'm just glad we're on the same team." 

Fisch said, "Noah knows where T-Mac is at all times. ... Clearly there's something to that."

After all, Fifita's relationship with McMillan "was a huge part of" getting the star receiver to come to Tucson and become the program's highest-rated recruit in the modern recruiting era. Now, their on-field connection is ahead of schedule. 

“We felt like if we stayed strong with T-Mac all the way through, in the end he was going to play with his buddy, and I think it’s worked out well for him,” Fisch said.

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Fisch said Fifita's "super-hot hand" has "enabled us to be able to go on a six-game win streak. It's been a lot of fun."

Contract extension 'sounds good to' Fisch

Arizona fans collectively exhaled over the weekend when Michigan State hired Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith and Texas A&M reportedly hired Duke's Mike Elko — two football programs with deeper pockets than the UA.

Arizona doesn't have to worry about those schools potentially poaching Fisch, but other jobs are bound to open in the near future, and Fisch is currently the second-lowest paid coach in the Pac-12, ahead of Washington State's Jake Dickert.

Fisch signed a contract extension with the UA in December 2022 that goes through 2027. The updated five-year deal was valued at the time at $16.3 million. The Star has learned, however, that its actual value is $18.3 million in guaranteed compensation. Fisch is set to earn $3.4 million in 2024, $3.6 million (plus a one-time $400,000 retention bonus) in 2025, $3.65 million in 2026 and $4 million in his final season in 2027.

When asked about another contract extension for Fisch, Heeke told reporters on Saturday that Arizona will “do everything we can” to keep the coach in Tucson.

“We want him here for a long time," Heeke said. "We’ve told him that.”

Said Fisch with a broad smile: "Yeah, that sounds good to me. That's up to Dave. It sounds good to me. I'm certainly all for it."

By the numbers

11: Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing hauled in his 11th touchdown catch of the season, tying the single-season program record.

76: Tanner McLachlan's seven catches put him at 76 for his career, passing Rob Gronkowski for the most career receptions by an Arizona tight end.

34: Arizona has thrown 34 passing touchdowns this season, the most for the program in the Pac-10/12 era.

23-22-1: Arizona's record against ASU in the Pac-10/12 era. 

93%: The Wildcats are 50 of 54 in red-zone scoring this season, which ranks 12th in college football. Arizona went 6 for 7 in the red zone at ASU.  

They said it

Wiley, on scoring eight touchdowns in his Territorial Cup career and beating ASU in back-to-back seasons: "A lot of my past brothers that used to go here, they never got to experience beating this school, so going into each of these games I always play for them and leave it out there." 

Fisch, on defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen elevating Arizona from 126th nationally in total defense to 29th: "I can't believe he's not one of the 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach of the year. I don't know anybody who has made statistically the jump that he made. I'm not exactly sure how that happened. ... He's done a fantastic job of getting our defense better every single week, as has the entire staff. ... It's been a heck of a job by Coach Nansen and hats off to him. I'm not sure 15 guys have done a better job than he's done."

Fisch, on Fifita's poise as a quarterback: "That's where he separates himself, his poise. He's certainly shown throughout his career as a high school quarterback and last year in every opportunity he had in practice that he just plays with incredible composure in the pocket, poise in the pocket, balance in the pocket. Whenever he comes off the field, I can never get him to smile. Finally, we went up 59-23 with (3:54) left and said, 'You are now clear to smile.' Finally he did, but it was hard to get him to smile because he's so locked in the game."  

Looking ahead

Arizona, now ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, will have to wait less than a week to determine its bowl game.

The Wildcats could potentially play in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, but most bowl projections have Arizona in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio. 

"I'm just happy to go to a bowl game," said Wiley, who grew up less than three hours from San Antonio in Houston. "I'm happy to see my last year to end like this. ... It would mean a lot to end it like that. Of course I'm playing in that game.

"It's going to be fun."