News and notes from Arizona's 38-35 win over ASU at Arizona Stadium to reclaim the Territorial Cup.
Bourguet returns
For most of his life, Trenton Bourguet and his family attended Arizona football games sporting cardinal and navy blue gear.
Times have changed.
Bourguet, the first Tucsonan to start at quarterback for ASU in modern Territorial Cup history, completed 37 of 49 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns in his fifth career college start.
A contingent of roughly three dozen Bourguet supporters sat behind Arizona’s bench between the 30-and 40-yard lines, where the Zona Zoo normally sits. Their gold ASU gear stood out.
The big numbers
With Arizona’s season coming to an end, here is a look at notable statistics from this season:
3,685: Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 3,685 yards in his first season at the UA, placing him third behind Nick Foles and Anu Solomon for single-season passing yards.
85: Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing finished the season with 85 receptions, third-most in single-season history behind Bobby Wade (93) and Dennis Northcutt (88). Cowing’s 85 receptions moved him ahead of Austin Hill, Juron Criner, Stanley Berryhill III and Mike Thomas.
2: Arizona safety Jaxen Turner ended his junior season with two interceptions and forced fumbles. Turner bookended his 2022 campaign with interceptions: He intercepted a pass in Arizona’s season-opening win over San Diego State, then had another one in the first half against ASU. Turner forced fumbles against Mississippi State and ASU.
You can’t do that — or that, or that
Following Tyler Loop’s 29-yard field goal in the first half to give the Wildcats a 10-0 lead, the Arizona kicker was shown on the stadium Jumbotron flashing a “forks down” sign. He was immediately met by a game official who told him to stop.
Later in the game, ASU’s SB Nation reporter posted a video of Arizona mascot Wilbur T. Wildcat getting into a real fistfight with Sparky the Sun Devil, ASU’s mascot.
Arizona gained an extra 15 yards following their fourth-quarter fumble recovery when an Arizona State offensive lineman, furious over the turnover, kicked the ball downfield after Arizona’s Tia Savea placed it on the ground.
Ex-Cat Richardson wins Grey Cup
The 2022 season treated former Wildcats well north of the border. Ex-Wildcat Ka’Deem Carey was named a CFL All-Star after leading the league in rushing with 1,088 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Calgary Stampeders, and former Arizona cornerback Shaq Richardson helped the Toronto Argonauts win Sunday’s Grey Cup.
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft, Richardson played seven seasons in the NFL, mostly on teams’ practice squads. Richardson has spent the last four seasons with the Argonauts.
“I’m so grateful!” Richardson posted on Instagram. “Only God could have done this for me. Only God could’ve brought me this far. I’ve been cut more times than I could remember! I’ve had more surgeries than I can remember! To be a champion today is more than I knew I could accomplish!
“I’ve always felt like my career fell short of my dreams. But God always showed me that I am living my dreams!”
The biggest number: 2,191
Days between Territorial Cup victories for Arizona. Saturday marked the Wildcats’ first rivalry victory since 2016. In between: Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne accepted the same position at Alabama and was replaced by Dave Heeke; Khalil Tate generated national buzz as one of the most electric quarterbacks in college football; Arizona fired Rich Rodriguez as head coach; hired Kevin Sumlin as Rodriguez’s successor; fired Sumlin after he posted a 9-20 record in two-plus seasons; hired Jedd Fisch and posted the most losses in one season (11). Somewhere in the middle, there was also a global pandemic and a presidential election.
He said it
“As my college career comes to an end, I wanna say thank you to everyone who has supported me. These years of college have been so fun, and I’ve been blessed to attend the best universities in the world. … I had some ups, I may have had some bad days, but I’m glad that I made it through it all and I am here today. I’m glad God blessed me with another day to be happy and play this game of football. Football will end for everyone one day, whether you go to the league or not. If somehow I fall short of my goal, at least I can be proud and say I did it. The real win in life for me is the fact that I proved everyone wrong. Everyone who didn’t believe in me, who thought I couldn’t go ball, told me to quit, anyone who didn’t believe in my skills, look at me now!” — Arizona defensive end Hunter Echols, in a pregame Instagram post
Another big number:
49,865
Announced attendance for the Territorial Cup game on Friday.
