Field Pass: Starters, key matchups and a prediction for Arizona vs. ASU

The Arizona Wildcats end their season with a battle for the Territorial Cup against in-state rival Arizona State. Here's a look at projected starting lineups, key matchups and a score prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears. 

No. 16 Arizona State (9-2) at Arizona (4-7)

When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Arizona Stadium

Watch: Fox

Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM 

Arizona State Sun Devils

Record: 9-2 (6-2 Big 12)

WHEN ASU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED): 

[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]

WR | 1 | Xavier Guillory | 6-2 | 200 | R-Sr.

TE | 7 | Chamon Metayer | 6-4 | 255 | R-Jr.

LT | 65 | Josh Atkins | 6-3 | 320 | R-Jr.

LG | 62 | Ben Coleman | 6-3 | 325 | Sr.

C | 79 | Leif Fautanu | 6-2 | 315 | R-Sr.

RG | 77 | Kyle Scott | 6-4 | 315 | R-Jr.

RT | 58 | Max Iheanachor | 6-5 | 315 | Sr.

WR | 5 | Melquan Stovall | 5-11 | 185 | Sr.

WR | 0 | Jordyn Tyson | 6-1 | 195 | R-So.

QB | 10 | Sam Leavitt | 6-2 | 200 | R-Fr.

RB | 4 | Cam Skattebo | 5-11 | 215 | Sr.

WHEN ASU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):

[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]

DE | 32 | Prince Dorbah | 6-2 | 240 | R-Sr.

DT | 99 | C.J. Fite | 6-1 | 295 | So.

DT | 98 | Jacob Kongaika | 6-2 | 290 | Jr.

DE | 10 | Clayton Smith | 6-4 | 240 | R-Jr.

WLB | 8 | Jordan Crook | 6-2 | 230 | Jr.

MLB | 44 | Keyshaun Elliott | 6-2 | 230 | Jr.

NB | 7 | Shamari Simmons | 6-0 | 195 | Sr.

CB | 12 | Javan Robinson | 5-11 | 175 | R-So.

FS | 4 | Myles Rowser | 6-1 | 185 | Jr.

SS | 2 | Xavion Alford | 6-0 | 200 | R-Jr.

CB | 1 | Keith Abney II | 5-11 | 185 | So.

ASU 2024 SCHEDULE

August

31 | WYOMING | W, 48-7

September

7 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | W, 30-23

12 | at Texas State^ | W, 31-28

21 | at Texas Tech | L, 30-22

October

5 | KANSAS | W, 35-31

11 | No. 16 UTAH* | W, 27-19

19 | at Cincinnati | L, 24-14

November

2 | at Oklahoma State | W, 42-21

9 | UCF | W, 35-31

16 | at No. 16 Kansas State | W, 24-14

23 | No. 14 BYU | W, 28-23  

30 | at Arizona

Home games in BOLD, * = Friday game, ^ = Thursday game

ASU 2024 STATS

PASSING

[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]

Leavitt | 163-265-5 | 2,153 | 18 | 68

Sims | 13-25-0 | 168 | 0 | 42

Floyd | 1-1-0 | 15 | 0 | 15

RUSHING

[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]

Skattebo | 226 | 1,221 | 14 | 5.4 | 122.1

Leavitt | 86 | 356 | 4 | 4.1 | 35.6

Brown | 58 | 238 | 2 | 4.1 | 21.6

Brooks | 29 | 125 | 1 | 4.3 | 13.9

Sims | 18 | 70 | 1 | 3.9 | 23.3

RECEIVING

[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]

Tyson | 67 | 958 | 9 | 14.3 | 87.1

Skattebo | 34 | 460 | 2 | 13.5 | 46

Metayer | 26 | 252 | 4 | 9.7 | 22.9

Guillory | 15 | 250 | 2 | 16.7 | 25

Brown | 9 | 131 | 1 | 14.6 | 11.9

DEFENSE

[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]

Rowser | 81 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0

Alford | 71 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0

McCullough | 65 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0

Simmons | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2

Elliott | 52 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0

Abney II | 43 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0

Crook | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0

Arizona Wildcats

Record: 4-7 (2-6 Big 12)

WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):

[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]

XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 212 | Jr.

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FWR | 2 | Jeremiah Patterson | 5-10 | 175 | Jr.

LT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 336 | Jr.

LG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 339 | R-So.

C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 300 | Sr.

RG | 60 | Alexander Doost | 6-7 | 332 | R-Fr.

RT | 53 | Joey Capra | 6-4 | 301 | Sr.

TE | 84 | Sam Olson | 6-3 | 241 | R-Jr.

ZWR | 16 | Chris Hunter | 6-1 | 192 | R-So.

QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 188 | R-So. 

RB | 7 | Quali Conley | 5-10 | 209 | Sr.

WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):

[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]

DE | 11 | Chase Kennedy | 6-3 | 220 | R-So.

DT | 46 | Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei | 6-4 | 280 | Jr.

NT | 47 | Stanley Ta'ufo'ou | 6-2 | 274 | R-Sr.

DE | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 270 | R-Jr.

MLB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 225 | So.

LB/S | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 202 | R-Jr.

Dime | 27 | Owen Goss | 6-2 | 202 | Sr.

CB | 20 | Marquis Groves-Killebrew | 6-0 | 185 | R-So.

CB | 1 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 190 | Jr.

NB | 12 | Genesis Smith | 6-2 | 203 | So.

FS | 13 | Jack Luttrell | 6-0 | 180 | R-Fr.

UA 2024 SCHEDULE

August

31 | NEW MEXICO | W, 61-39

September

7 | NORTHERN ARIZONA | W, 22-10

13 | at No. 14 Kansas State | L, 31-7

28 | at No. 10 Utah | W, 23-10

October

5 | TEXAS TECH | L, 28-22

12 | at No. 14 BYU | L, 41-19

19 | COLORADO | L, 34-7

26 | W. VIRGINIA | L, 31-26

November

2 | at UCF | L, 56-12

15 | HOUSTON* | W, 27-3

23 | at TCU | L, 49-28

30 | ASU (Senior Day)

Home games in BOLD; *=Friday game

UA 2024 STATS

PASSING

[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]

Fifita | 217-357-11 | 2,548 | 15 | 78

McMillan | 1-2-0 | 14 | 0 | 14

Tannenbaum | 1-2-0 | 3 | 0 | 3

RUSHING

[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]

Conley | 140 | 719 | 8 | 5.1 | 65.4

Reescano | 67 | 304 | 1 | 4.5 | 27.6

Croskey-Merritt | 13 | 106 | 1 | 8.2 | 106.0

K. Luke | 5 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1.8

Fifita | 62 | 15 | 1 | 0.2 | 1.4

RECEIVING

[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]

McMillan | 78 | 1,251 | 7 | 16.4 | 113.7

Hunter | 32 | 306 | 3 | 9.6 | 27.8

Conley | 36 | 220 | 1 | 6.1 | 20

Burnett | 18 | 217 | 1 | 12.1 | 27.1

Olson | 13 | 196 | 2 | 15.8 | 19.6

DEFENSE

[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]

Johnson | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2

Brown | 60 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1

Smith, G. | 53 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1

Goss | 49 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3

Smith, T. | 48 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1

Manu | 47 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0

Davis | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

Head to Head

7 Shamari Simmons vs. 4 Tetairoa McMillan

Simmons has played the most snaps out of the entire ASU defense with 1,488 combined snaps in the last two seasons. The Ashland, Alabama, native started his career at Hutchison Community College (Kansas) and transferred to Austin Peay at the FCS level, before landing in Tempe in 2023. Simmons led the Sun Devils in tackles last year and is one of ASU's top defensive players this season. 

McMillan added another milestone to his Arizona career when he set the all-time receiving yards record in last week's loss to TCU. Despite already setting the career receiving record and the Wildcats out of bowl contention, McMillan will suit up for Arizona on Saturday instead of opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft. McMillan is widely considered a Top 10 pick by several mock drafts. Saturday will most likely mark McMillan's final game as a Wildcat.    

4 Cam Skattebo vs. 3 Tre Smith

Skattebo became a diamond-in-the-rough pickup for the Sun Devils' offense after he transferred from Sacramento State last season. Between Sacramento State and ASU, Skattebo has 3,896 yards and 36 touchdowns, along with 1,241 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. In last season's Territorial Cup game, Skattebo had 108 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Skattebo is currently third in the Big 12 in rushing. 

After transferring from San Jose State, Smith leads the Wildcats in sacks. Smith had a sack in the last two games against Houston and TCU. The 6-5, 270-pound redshirt junior from Mesa will play in his first-ever Territorial Cup. Smith, a Red Mountain High School graduate, is one of many Arizona natives starting for the Wildcats on Saturday, along with defensive back Genesis Smith, linebacker Taye Brown and offensive lineman Alexander Doost. 

The matchup

When Arizona has the ball …  

The success of Arizona's offense could fall on the shoulders of left tackle Jonah Savaiinaea's health. The Arizona star has stayed relatively healthy during his three-year career, but limped off the field in the Wildcats' most recent loss to TCU. Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said his status for Saturday remains questionable. Without Savaiinaea, the Wildcats would be without both of their starting tackles. If Savaiinaea is healthy to play, expect backyard ball from the Wildcats led by the quarterback-receiver tandem of Fifita and McMillan. 

When ASU has the ball ... 

ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt rarely makes mistakes, with only one interception in the last four games. The Sun Devils have a well-balanced offense between Leavitt's ability to manage the offense, along with Skattebo as one of the top rushers in the Big 12 and the emerging sophomore wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who is sixth in the the league in receiving yards. The Wildcats will likely need a turnover or two if they want to knock off the Sun Devils.  

Prediction: No. 16 ASU 34, Arizona 30

In our simulation of the Territorial Cup Game in the College Football 25 video game, the Wildcats won 45-43 in triple-overtime fashion. Arizona rallied back from a 17-point deficit and sent the game into overtime with a Tyler Loop field goal. After two failed two-point conversions in double-overtime, running back Quali Conley scored the two-point conversion in triple-overtime, before Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei sacked Leavitt to seal the win. In a rivalry game, records are irrelevant. The Wildcats could play spoiler and party like it's 1986, when they beat ASU and ruined its national championship hopes. After losing the last two Territorial Cups and being on the cusp of a Big 12 championship game berth, ASU will be dialed in for this game, but expect a valiant effort from Arizona.