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Behind the Numbers: ASU football wins the Territorial Cup

The Sun Devils beat the Wildcats for the fifth time in the last eight meetings

Christian Sam Pressures Khalil Tate

ASU redshirt junior Christian Sam (2) pressures Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate (14) during the first half of the Territorial Cup on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. ASU won 42-30.


ASU football used a superior second-half performance to beat UA and bring the Territorial Cup back to Tempe on Saturday night in front of 59,385 at Sun Devil Stadium. 

Down seven after the first quarter and down 10 at halftime, the Sun Devils (7-5, 6-3 Pac-12) outscored the Wildcats (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) 21-0 in the third quarter and went on to win 42-30. Wildcats sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate did not play the majority of the second half and ASU took advantage.

With the win, the bowl-bound Sun Devils finished second in the Pac-12 South. Here is how ASU moved to 4-2 against UA under the recently fired head coach Todd Graham: 

165

Senior running back Demario Richard ended the game with 165 net rushing yards on 22 carries (7.5 average yards per carry) and two touchdowns. 

It marked the fourth-straight game Richard had run for at least 100 yards. 


151

Of Richard's total yardage output, 151 of his yards came in the second half. 

The Wildcats limited him to only 14 yards on eight carries in the first half, which helped them lead 24-14 after two quarters. 

11

ASU's offense converted 11 of its 15 third down opportunities on Saturday. 

The Sun Devils had a 73 percent success rate in converting third downs while the Wildcats had a 44 percent conversion rate (7 for 16). 

160

ASU's defense held Tate to 160 total yards. 

Tate did not play in the second half, but the Heisman Trophy candidate threw for 132 yards, and his total of 28 yards on the ground was far below his season average of 147.2 yards per game.

4.8

UA averaged 4.8 yards per carry, totaling 245 yards on 51 attempts. 

The Wildcats entered Saturday's contest as the only team in the FBS this season to average 7.0 yards per carry. 

2

Sophomore wide receiver N'Keal Harry caught two touchdown passes on Saturday, the first multi-touchdown game of his career. 

Harry only had four receptions for 43 yards, but he averaged 10.75 yards per reception. 


5

After ASU blocked a punt early in the third quarter, ASU is now tied for first in the country for blocked punts with five blocked punts this season. 


 Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.

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