Here's a look at Saturday's lineups and key matchups — and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
No. 15 Arizona (8-3) at Arizona State (3-8)
When: Saturday
Where: Mountain America Stadium
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Arizona’s Tiaoalii Save (98) happily lumbers up the field with a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter to seal the win over ASU last season.
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 8-3 (6-2 Pac-12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 210 | So.
FWR | 2 | Jacob Cowing | 5-11 | 175 | Sr.
LT | 77 | Jordan Morgan | 6-5 | 325 | Sr.
LG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 340 | R-Fr.
C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 305 | Jr.
RG | 79 | Raymond Pulido | 6-6 | 335 | Fr.
RT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 330 | So.
TE | 84 | Tanner McLachlan | 6-5 | 245 | R-Sr.
ZWR | 5 | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 6-2 | 200 | Jr.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-11 | 194 | R-Fr.
RB | 6 | Michael Wiley | 6-0 | 215 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
KAT | 90 | Isaiah Ward | 6-5 | 225 | R-Fr.
DT | 98 | Tiaoalii Savea | 6-4 | 305 | Jr.
NT | 45 | Bill Norton | 6-6 | 325 | Sr.
DE | 11 | Taylor Upshaw | 6-5 | 270 | Grad.
WLB | 59 | Jacob Manu | 5-11 | 225 | So.
MLB | 10 | Justin Flowe | 6-2 | 225 | R-So.
STAR | 2 | Treydan Stukes | 6-2 | 195 | Jr.
CB | 7 | Ephesians Prysock | 6-4 | 190 | So.
CB | 23 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 195 | So.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 200 | R-So.
FS | 9 | Gunner Maldonado | 6-0 | 195 | Jr.
Offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, left, signals a first down behind ASU linebacker James Djonkam in the fourth quarter at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022.
UA 2023 schedule
September
2 | N. ARIZONA | W, 38-3
9 | at Mississippi State | L, 31-24 (OT)
16 | UTEP | W, 31-10
23 | at Stanford | W, 21-20
30 | No. 7 WASHINGTON | L, 31-24
October
7 | at No. 9 USC | L, 43-41 (3OT)
14 | at No. 19 Washington State | W, 44-6
28 | No. 11 OREGON STATE | W, 27-24
November
4 | No. 19 UCLA | W, 27-10
11 | at Colorado | W, 34-31
18 | No. 22 UTAH | W, 42-18
25 | at ASU | TBD
Home games in Bold
UA 2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 187-254-4 | 1,988 | 18 | 69
de Laura | 89-128-5 | 1,120 | 10 | 55
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Coleman | 118 | 834 | 4 | 7.1 | 75.8
Williams | 79 | 345 | 4 | 4.4 | 31.4
Wiley | 51 | 226 | 1 | 4.4 | 28.3
Luke | 32 | 152 | 1 | 4.8 | 13.8
de Laura | 21 | 121 | 3 | 5.8 | 17.3
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 69 | 976 | 9 | 14.1 | 88.7
Cowing | 74 | 539 | 10 | 7.3 | 49.0
McLachlan | 35 | 440 | 2 | 12.6 | 40.0
Coleman | 23 | 282 | 1 | 12.3 | 25.6
Lemonious-Craig | 26 | 282 | 3 | 10.9 | 25.6
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Manu | 100 | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 0
Johnson | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Maldonado | 62 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Prysock | 54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Flowe | 42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
Players and fans reach for the Territorial Cup after Arizona defeated Arizona State at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Record: 3-8 (2-6 Pac-12)
WHEN ASU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 2 | Elijhah Badger | 6-2 | 190 | R-Jr.
TE | 12 | Jalin Conyers | 6-4 | 270 | R-Jr.
LT | 64 | Sean Na'a | 6-3 | 300 | Fr.
LG | 65 | Aaron Frost | 6-5 | 310 | Grad.
C | 79 | Leif Fautanu | 6-2 | 320 | R-Jr.
RG | 55 | Cade Briggs | 6-3 | 310 | R-Jr..
RT | 69 | Joey Ramos | 6-6 | 315 | R-Sr.
WR | 6 | Gio Sanders | 6-0 | 185 | Grad.
WR | 9 | Troy Omeire | 6-4 | 215 | R-Jr.
QB | 5 | Jaden Rashada | 6-4 | 185 | Fr.
RB | 4 | Cam Skattebo | 5-10 | 225 | Jr.
WHEN ASU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 35 | B.J. Green | 6-1 | 270 | Jr.
DT | 99 | C.J. Fite | 6-2 | 315 | Fr.
DT | 0 | Dashaun Mallory | 6-1 | 275 | Grad.
DE | 3 | Clayton Smith | 6-4 | 230 | Jr.
LB | 82 | Tre Brown | 6-2 | 245 | Grad.
LB | 24 | Tate Romney | 6-2 | 220 | R-Fr.
CB | 9 | Ro Torrence | 6-3 | 200 | R-Jr.
NB | 1 | Jordan Clark | 5-10 | 185 | R-Sr.
SS | 5 | Chris Edmonds | 6-2 | 215 | Sr.
FS | 7 | Shamari Simmons | 6-0 | 185 | R-Sr.
CB | 4 | Demetries Ford | 5-9 | 180 | R-Sr.
ASU 2023 schedule
August
31 | SOUTHERN UTAH | W, 24-21
September
9 | OKLAHOMA STATE | L, 27-15
16 | FRESNO STATE | L, 29-0
23 | No. 5 USC | L, 42-28
30 | at Cal | L, 24-21
October
7 | COLORADO | L, 27-24
21 | at No. 5 Washington | L, 15-7
28 | WASHINGTON STATE | W, 38-27
November
4 | at No. 18 Utah | L, 55-3
11 | at UCLA | W, 17-7
18 | No. 6 OREGON | L, 49-13
25 | No. 15 ARIZONA | Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Home games in Bold
ASU 2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Bourguet | 151-248-4 | 1,486 | 1 | 66
Rashada | 34-60-1 | 403 | 3 | 65
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Skattebo | 147 | 680 | 8 | 4.6 | 61.8
Brooks | 42 | 220 | 3 | 5.2 | 55
Brown | 21 | 91 | 0 | 4.3 | 8.3
Bourguet | 26 | 54 | 2 | 2.1 | 6.8
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Badger | 65 | 713 | 3 | 11 | 64.8
Conyers | 27 | 351 | 0 | 13 | 35.1
Skattebo | 24 | 286 | 1 | 11.9 | 26
Guillory | 21 | 226 | 1 | 10.8 | 25.1
Stovall | 18 | 207 | 0 | 11.5 | 18.8
Omeire | 17 | 185 | 2 | 10.9 | 23.1
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Edmonds | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Simmons | 65 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0
Romney | 50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
McCullough | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
Brown | 46 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Running back Michael Wiley signals fans after scoring during the first quarter of Arizona State at Arizona football at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022.
Head to Head
6 Michael Wiley vs. 35 B.J. Green
In the Territorial Cup game last season, Wiley was named the Bob Moran MVP after rushing for a career-high 214 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Wiley has the second-most rushing yards in a Territorial Cup game and he became the first Wildcat to log 200-plus yards in a game since J.J. Taylor in 2018. In Arizona's rout of Utah, Wiley set a season-high with 68 receiving yards and two touchdowns — his third game with multiple receiving touchdowns in the last two seasons.
Green is tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with 11.5 tackles for loss. The Atlanta native also leads the Sun Devils with six sacks and 10 quarterback hits. Following his four-tackle and 1.5-sack performance in ASU's win over Washington State, Green was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week.
After throwing an interception to Arizona’s Jacob Manu, Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes saves a touchdown by tripping up Manu in second quarter of the Wildcats’ 42-18 win over the Utes in the final Pac-12 game at Arizona Stadium.
5 Jacob Manu vs. 4 Cam Skattebo
Manu is the first Wildcat to have at least 100 tackles in a season since Colin Schooler in 2018. Manu currently leads the Pac-12 in tackles and is on pace to become the first Arizona player to lead the conference in tackles since Scooby Wright's All-American campaign in 2014 that earned him multiple national defensive awards. As a true freshman last season, Manu helped Arizona hold off ASU, sacking Trenton Bourguet alongside teammate Jalen Harris, forcing a fumble on the play that the Wildcats recovered. On the final drive of the game, Manu hit Bourguet's arm on a pass, forcing the ball to flail and leading to a win-securing UA interception.
Prior to his career at ASU, Skattebo was a Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns while leading Sacramento State to an 11-0 record in the regular season in 2022. Skattebo is ASU's quarterback for the "Wildcat" formation and has taken 56 snaps at quarterback this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Arizona lineman Jonah Savaiinaea lifts up running back DJ Williams after Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter against Arizona State at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita hasn't thrown an interception in back-to-back games for the first time since taking over as the starter. In Fifita's run, he's completed over 70% of his passes in five games started. Fifita's poise and calming demeanor should help the Wildcats offense settle into the emotional rivalry game. If the Wildcats don't have any turnovers and force ASU to drive on long fields, Arizona will have the advantage.
When Arizona State has the ball …
The Sun Devils enter this week ranked last in the Pac-12 in total offense, averaging 323.7 yards per game. With numerous injuries and a lack of depth in head coach Kenny Dillingham's first season at the helm, the Sun Devils have gotten creative with their play-calling and often use a "swinging gate" formation, which has most offensive linemen (except the center) and tight ends flexed out on one side with a running back in the backfield and a wide receiver on the opposite side.
Prediction: No. 15 Arizona 38, Arizona State 17
Arizona is favored to win the Territorial Cup for the first time since the 2017 season. Despite quarterback Khalil Tate's magical run that year, the season ended with two setbacks on the field, and one off: Arizona lost to ASU and then Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl, followed by the dismissal of then-head coach Rich Rodriguez. The 2023 Wildcats are already bowl-bound, but how the Wildcats will be remembered this season comes down to this matchup with ASU, then the bowl game. It starts Saturday with a three-touchdown victory over ASU, the first win in Tempe since 2011. It would be the first time Arizona won back-to-back Territorial Cups since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch discussed the 15th-ranked Wildcats' Territorial Cup matchup with Arizona State in Tempe. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
