Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and coach Jedd Fisch watch the last minutes of the fourth quarter of the rout in Tempe on Saturday. Fisch has gone from one win to five to nine in his three years.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

TEMPE — Bill Norton jogged off the field with Arizona’s Turnover Sword in tow. Three footballs had been punctured, one for each Wildcats takeaway.

The red-and-blue-clad fans in the northeast corner of Mountain America Stadium roared their approval. Even UA athletic director Dave Heeke exhorted the elated throng.

Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.

No. 15 Arizona took the party up I-10 Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats thumped their rivals, blasting Arizona State 59-23.

Arizona closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak. The Wildcats are 9-3 as they await their first bowl berth in six years.

Here are my top five takeaways from Arizona’s latest victory:

1. Business time

The Wildcats took care of business on the field. Now it’s time for Heeke and Robert Robbins to do the same and do right by Jedd Fisch.

Extend his contract. Give him a pay bump. Make him happy. Keep him in Tucson.

Fisch has proved to be more than a home-run hire. More like a walk-off grand slam.

Arizona can’t let him walk away. Not now. Not with the program soaring — and more good times ahead.

Noah Fifita (leading passer), Tetairoa McMillan (leading receiver), Jonah Coleman (leading rusher) and many other prominent Wildcats are still in their second college seasons. Arizona already has ascended into the Top 15. The UA will be a preseason Top 15 team next year if Fisch returns with that player core intact. The Wildcats will have a legitimate chance to make the expanded College Football Playoff.

With Jonathan Smith taking the Michigan State job, Texas A&M looms as the only legitimate threat to reel in Fisch as of this writing. Media have linked Fisch to College Station. Texas A&M has resources galore. It’d be tough to turn down that SEC money.

Arizona can’t match what Texas A&M conceivably could offer. But the UA can make Fisch feel wanted.

Arizona extended Fisch’s contract last December. It needs to happen again.

“We’re gonna do everything we can,” Heeke said as he walked to the UA locker room. “We want him here for a long time. We’ve told him that.”

When apprised of those comments, Fisch smiled broadly. “It sounds good to me,” he said.

With no Sun Devil in sight, Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan hauls in a pass for a touchdown against Arizona State last month in Tempe. McMillan caught 11 passes for 266 yards in the Wildcats’ 59-23 win to retain the Territorial Cup.

2. Chemistry best

It’s hard to imagine any quarterback and receiver in America having better chemistry than Fifita and McMillan.

The two have been playing together since middle school. On the latest episode of the UA’s “BearDown Podcast,” Fifita revealed that McMillan was a quarterback when he joined the Orange County Buckeyes youth team. One problem: Fifita was already the quarterback, and his dad was the coach. So McMillan moved to receiver. The rest is history.

The two were in absolute lockstep during the first half Saturday, putting an aerial display not seen in Tempe since ... the previous week vs. Oregon.

The Ducks’ Bo Nix — who has jumped to the front of the pack for the Heisman Trophy — threw six touchdown passes in the first half last Saturday at ASU. Oregon had 444 total yards and a 42-0 lead at the break.

Think 70-7 is bad? The Sun Devils have been outscored 80-7 in the last two first halves in their building.

Fifita’s 357 first-half yards were the most by a UA quarterback in any Territorial Cup game. He finished with a school-record 527 yards and five touchdowns.

Fifita completed 19 of 29 pass attempts in the opening 30 minutes, including seven for 162 yards to McMillan. Six of those catches resulted in first downs. He finished with 11 grabs for a career-high 266 yards and one score.

Shifting to receiver to team up with Fifita was a pretty good idea.

“That’s just them,” tailback Michael Wiley said. “That’s their connection. It’s special.”

Arizona State tight end Jalin Conyers (12) can’t hurdle over Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes (2) in the second quarter of both team's final Pac-12 game ever, Saturday in Tempe.

3. Desperate Dillingham

Injuries at quarterback and on the offensive line have made it difficult for ASU to put a functional offense on the field at times. Making matters even worse Saturday: QB Trenton Bourguet was sick and couldn’t play; freshman Jaden Rashada reportedly was benched to start the game because he was late for a meeting; and top receiver Elijhah Badger was also out.

That forced Kenny Dillingham to again dig deep into his bag of tricks. He installed big, athletic tight end Jalin Conyers as a “Wildcat” quarterback — although, given who the Sun Devils’ biggest rival is, we probably need a different name for that. Dillingham also deployed versatile tailback Cameron Skattebo in that capacity (the “Wild-Skat”).

It worked. Until it didn’t.

ASU scored with relative ease on its opening drive, going 75 yards in seven plays. Every play was a rush by Conyers or Skattebo.

The Sun Devils didn’t score again until 4:04 remained in the third quarter. At that point, Arizona led 52-7.

This wasn’t the first time Dillingham had used Conyers and Skattebo in that manner. You know what they say about desperate times.

Rashada entered the game late in the first quarter. He looked rusty, as expected; he hadn’t played since Sept. 9 because of injuries.

The four-star recruit flashed his potential in the fourth quarter with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Troy Omeire. Rashada is clearly talented. He’s someone the Wildcats will have to worry about for years to come.

Saturday, not so much.

Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado (9) hushes the Arizona State student section, after his interception and return against Arizona State in the third quarter of the 97th Territorial Cup last year in Tempe.

4. ‘Johnny Sandbags’

Some of us in the UA media corps have taken to calling defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen “Johnny Sandbags.” We came up with the nickname because, on several occasions this season, the Wildcats have surrendered an early touchdown — only to shut down the opposition from that point forward. Sandbagging. Get it?

Anyway, it happened again Saturday. Before extended garbage time kicked in in the second half, ASU went eight consecutive possessions without scoring. Three of those drives ended in turnovers.

No unit in the Pac-12 has improved more than Arizona’s defense. It’s gone from a sieve to a strength.

“I can’t believe he’s not one of the 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award,” Fisch said of the honor given to the nation’s top assistant coach. “I’m not sure 15 guys have done a better job than he’s done.”

Agreed. It’s a joke that Nansen didn’t make the cut.

“He’s that guy. We love him,” said safety Gunner Maldonado, who had 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. “We just love how he coaches, his energy. ... I’m pretty sure he tackled one of our guys on the sideline after a big play today.”

Nansen had to make some quick adjustments Saturday. The Wildcats knew what Dillingham might do, but it’s still a shock to the system to have a 6-4, 270-pound tight end running downhill at you.

Fisch said Arizona changed its fronts, used some five-man lines and brought the deep safety closer to the line of scrimmage.

The Sun Devils pieced together a pair of scoring drives in the second half. But by that point, the outcome had been decided.

Arizona running back Michael Wiley (6) brushes his way into the end zone around a diving Jordan Clark (1) of ASU during the second quarter of the 97th Territorial Cup matchup Saturday in Tempe. Wiley had three all-purpose touchdowns on the day.

5. Old reliable

Running back DJ Williams was out Saturday because of injury. Coleman got hurt late in the first half and had a noticeable limp as he made his way to the locker room.

Two backs down? No problem. Arizona still had Wiley. No one on the team has been more reliable the past two seasons.

I dubbed Wiley the most underrated player in the Pac-12 before the season, and it’s probably still true — even after he scored three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ showcase game for the second straight season.

The senior finished with 101 scrimmage yards on 14 touches — modest numbers compared to Fifita and McMillan’s exploits. But Wiley was the closer when Arizona put the game away, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive UA possessions as the Wildcats expanded their lead from 17-7 to 38-7.

Wiley isn’t one to brag; he’s a humble, soft-spoken Texan. But you could definitely sense a feeling of satisfaction as he answered questions in the postgame interview room.

Wiley has seen this program at its worst. He’s helped it become the best version of itself.

The Star's Justin Spears and Michael Lev analyze and recap No. 15 Arizona's 36-point win over Arizona State in Tempe to win the Territorial Cup and end the regular season 9-3. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star

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Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @michaeljlev