Arizona and ASU's success 'adds a little extra juice' to Territorial Cup rivalry

There are two sides to every rivalry. 

For the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry, the UA fanbase often refers to ASU as the "school up north" or the Sun Devils as "Scum Devils" — or "scummies," if you're Arizona legend Chuck Cecil.

Some Arizona fans wear "basura" (Spanish for garbage) shirts with the letters A-S-U capitalized. 

On the other side of the coin, ASU fans have often referred to the Wildcats as "rats" and use "no pity for the kitty" as a rally cry. It's not Territorial Cup week this week in Tempe, it's considered "hate week" — and the "a" in hate is a "Block A."

"So many people in the state of Arizona went to one school or the other, and that just adds a bunch of fuel to the fire," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. 

Despite the emotions of an intense rivalry, both programs are entering Friday's showdown in Tempe — the 99th edition of the Territorial Cup — with respect and admiration for each other.

Both teams are 8-3, and this year marks just the second time since 1978, when the Pac-10 was formed, that both the Wildcats and Sun Devils have eight wins entering the Territorial Cup — the first since 2014.

It's the second time since 1993 that Arizona has eight wins as a road opponent in the Territorial Cup. It's also the first time both teams are bowl eligible in a Territorial Cup since 2017. 

Brennan said the Wildcats "got a lot of respect for Coach (Kenny) Dillingham and the team up north."

"I think it's one of the best rivalries in all of college football," Brennan said. "It's such a unique thing being in the state of Arizona. There are so many families divided by these two schools. ... It's a really special thing. We're excited to play. We're on a short week, so we're working our tails off." 

Dillingham told reporters on Monday that the Wildcats, riding a four-game winning streak after routing Baylor in the home finale, "are playing very, very good football" and "they're playing as good of football as anyone in our league right now." 

Arizona's success in its second season under Brennan isn't a surprise to Dillingham, even though the Wildcats were 4-8 last season. Dillingham noted the Wildcats still have several parts of the nucleus that led Arizona to a 10-win season and Alamo Bowl victory in 2023. 

Among the list of UA players Dillingham mentioned, quarterback Noah Fifita, who has the third-most passing yards (2,677) in the Big 12 this season, was at the top of the list. The last time Arizona visited Tempe, Fifita set Arizona's single-game passing record with 527 yards to go along with five touchdowns.

Arizona safety Genesis Smith — who had 16 tackles, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss against Baylor — "is the most valuable player on their defense," and sixth-year defensive back Treydan Stukes, "who's the same starter that's been there forever," Dillingham said. The Wildcats also have fifth-year safety Dalton Johnson, who forced the fumble that sparked Arizona's come-from-behind win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. 

"The core of that team is still there, so it's not a shock that they're having this amount of success," Dillingham said. "It's the same group and same core of kids who've stayed there through and through and have been loyal to the program, stayed true to the program and now they're playing really good football. I really think it's the core and root of people that are still there from that (2023) team. They're doubling down and people are rallying behind them." 

ASU, a year after winning the Big 12 championship and going to the College Football Playoff, has an outside chance of returning to the conference championship and will need to beat the Wildcats on Friday and BYU to lose to a rebuilding UCF team on Saturday — or have both Texas Tech and Utah lose their regular-season finales. 

The Sun Devils have won four of their last five games and, similarly to Arizona, have two one-possession losses and a blowout road loss. Arizona's multi-possession loss was to Iowa State in September, while ASU lost to Utah by 32 in Salt Lake City. 

ASU lost star quarterback and preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Sam Leavitt to a season-ending foot injury, but the Sun Devils have won the last three games with 6-4, 220-pound dual-threat quarterback Jeff Sims under center.

The Sun Devils' three-game spark has been powered by their rushing attack, which ranks third in the Big 12. ASU has averaged 256 rushing yards over the last three games and had 355 rushing yards and three touchdowns in its 42-17 win over Colorado on Saturday. ASU running back Raleek Brown had 22 carries for 255 yards against the Buffaloes.

ASU is also fifth in the Big 12 in total defense, while the Wildcats rank second and have the sixth-best passing defense nationally.

"They're one of the best teams in the conference," Brennan said of ASU. "You see how effectively they're running the football right now and how much they've changed with the quarterback and what that has become, finding ways to win football games, finding ways to run the hell out of the football.

"Rivalry games have so much to them that make them so fun and exciting. But when you have two teams coming together that are both playing good football, it adds a little extra juice to it."

'On the edge, but not off the cliff'

In Arizona's win over Baylor, the Wildcats had three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after touchdowns. 

The first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was after Arizona wide receiver Kris Hutson took his helmet off after a goal-line touchdown in the second quarter.

"I'll tell you, I don't want him to take his helmet off when he scores a touchdown," Brennan said after the game. "I like the touchdown, not the helmet off."

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The second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed to offensive lineman Rhino Tapa'atoutai, who subbed in for Arizona's seven-man offensive line on the goal line, in the third quarter following running back Kedrick Reescano's 1-yard touchdown. The final penalty was given to defensive end Dominic Lolesio after linebacker Jabari Mann's pick-six to cap the Wildcats' 27-point run in the second half. 

"It's unacceptable," Brennan said. "We don't want any part of that. We don't want that to be who we are. Our team knows that, our players know that, our coaches know that." 

Because of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after touchdowns, the Wildcats were forced to kick off from their 20-yard line instead of the 35-yard line. Baylor kick returner Kole Wilson's longest return was only 27 yards, but the kickoff attempts impacted kickoff specialist Ian Wanger's kickoff statistics for the season. Wagner had a 95% touchback rate entering Saturday; now, he's 63-for-69 (91%).   

"I can't say publicly what I said to the guys in that moment," Brennan said. "We talk about those things a lot. Discipline is so important to this football team. In those moments, we lost our composure and that's not OK. I don't care who you are or how you impact our team; player, coach, nobody is worth 15 yards. The thing I did like was how we responded with our kickoff team after those two that backed us up and put us at a disadvantaged spot. I was proud of that and I thought it was a great showing by them."

In a rivalry game where emotions are high, and both Arizona and ASU are eyeing nine wins to end the regular season, "you want your team to play right up on the edge, but not off the cliff," Brennan said.

"That's something we have to do a really good job of talking about — and we have to play with composure, we have to play with poise," Brennan said. "It's a big football game. The most important thing is playing good football. When you do things that hurt your chances to do that, because you can't control yourself, it's unacceptable. It's treason." 

Johnson named Big 12 DPOW

After a career performance in his last game at Casino Del Sol Stadium, Johnson was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. 

Johnson recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the Wildcats' 41-17 win over the Baylor Bears. 

Johnson shared the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honor with Houston defensive back Will James.

Kansas State running back Joe Jackson and BYU running back L.J. Martin were named Big 12 Offensive Players of the Week. Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy and UCF kicker Noe Ruelas earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season. Kansas State's offensive line and BYU's defensive line earned the weekly "Beef of the Week" award.  

Johnson is the fourth Wildcat to receive Big 12 weekly honors this season. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week twice. UA running backs Ismail Mahdi and Quincy Craig also earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors this season. 

Arizona's offensive line was presented with the "Beef of the Week" award following the Wildcats' win over Kansas State in September. 

Johnson's 18 tackles against Baylor are the most by a Wildcat since former All-American linebacker Scooby Wright III tallied 19 tackles against UCLA in 2014 — arguably the best season by any Arizona defensive player.

Johnson is on pace to become the first Arizona safety since Darrell Brooks in 2004 and '05 to lead the Wildcats in tackles in back-to-back seasons. Johnson's 94 tackles this season match his season total from last year. 

"Anyone that follows Arizona football knows Dalton Johnson is a household name around here," said Arizona senior defensive back Treydan Stukes. "As the guys who see him work every day, we know that's no surprise. He's one of the best tackling safeties I've ever met in my life. For him to have 18 (tackles) is pretty crazy, but I don't doubt it, because he sticks his nose everywhere and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes in that realm." 

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Johnson is "one of those awesome guys who chose to stay (for five years) and here we are in Casino Del Sol Stadium on Senior Day and he has 18 tackles?"

Added Brennan: "Get out of here. That's how it should end. That's storybook." 

Arizona concludes the regular season this week, when the Wildcats face the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Friday at 7 p.m. on Fox. 

Extra points

— Arizona's 23 takeaways are tied for the sixth-most in college football this season. The Wildcats have 11 more takeaways this season than all of last year. Arizona's 23 takeaways are the most for the Wildcats since they forced 25 in 2017.  

— The Territorial Cup, which was created in 1899, is the oldest trophy in a rivalry game in the U.S. 

— Arizona has a 51-46-1 record in the all-time head-to-head series with ASU. 

— The Fox broadcasters for the Territorial Cup are Tim Brando (play-by-play), Devin Gardner (analyst) and Josh Sims (reporter). 

— The 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday is the latest kickoff time in the Territorial Cup since the game that kicked off at 8 p.m. in 2019.