Redshirt junior quarterback Taylor Kelly takes a moment to contemplate the victory that the Sun Devils had over UCLA Saturday, Nov. 23. The Sun Devils face their rivals, the Wildcats, on Saturday. (Photo by Dominic Valente)Saturday’s Territorial Cup bout between No. 12 ASU football and UA seemed destined to be much bigger than a meeting between two rival schools.
Both schools head into this matchup with at least seven wins for the first time since 1986 and are each fresh off landmark wins. The Sun Devils (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) clinched the Pac-12 South title on a 38-33 win over No. 22 UCLA, while the Wildcats (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) are coming off a shocking 42-16 upset over No. 13 Oregon.
Much more is at stake this year than last year. ASU must win in order to host the Pac-12 Championship Game in Tempe against No. 8 Stanford on Dec. 7. UA, meanwhile, looks to erase a 41-34 loss to the Sun Devils at Arizona Stadium the last time the heated rivals met and wants to position itself for a favorable bowl game.
Even with home-field advantage for the conference title game on the line for ASU, retaining bragging rights over the Wildcats seems just as important.
And ASU coach Todd Graham knows it.
“The only game that people talked about was this game, so this is a pretty important game,” Graham said. “The game.”
UA junior running back Ka’Deem Carey averages the second-most rushing yards per game with 155.9. Carey closely trails ASU senior running back Marion Grice for the Pac-12 lead in all-purpose yards and points scored.
The Sun Devils’ defensive game plan every week is to stop its opponent’s best player, and Graham said the Sun Devils will lock in on Carey.
“He’s not a guy that anybody can shut down,” Graham said. “You have to do a great job tackling him and be disciplined in your run fits.”
The Sun Devils can’t just worry about Carey alone. Senior B.J. Denker lines up under center for the Wildcats as a mobile passer and ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in rushing yards as a quarterback, averaging 73.7 yards per game. Denker has thrown just four interceptions for the year and has 14 passing touchdowns as well.
Carey and Denker make up a huge part of the Wildcats’ triple option, challenging the Sun Devils this week to stop both players in that scheme
“We got to make sure someone is on the pitch and someone is on the running back,” said ASU redshirt senior defensive back Osahon Irabor. “Everybody just needs to do what they’re coached to do and execute the game plan. It’s what we’ve been doing the last six or seven weeks. It’s been paying off for us, so we’re not too worried about it.”
As for UA’s defense, the Wildcats give up just 21.6 points per game, which is the fourth-lowest in the Pac-12 and is also fourth in interceptions with 15. Last week, UA forced three turnovers against the Ducks. Like any other week, ball security will be key for ASU’s offense.
“UA’s defense is a lot better than last year,” said ASU senior tight end Chris Coyle. “They have a lot of athletes. They do a good job of doing their assignments in each and every play. They took advantage of turnovers, so Oregon was losing the ball. UA did a good job of capitalizing on Oregon’s mistakes.”
UA leads the all-time series 47-38-1. The road team has won the last four matchups coming into this year’s game in Tempe, so it’s no secret that virtually anything can happen in these games.
The Territorial Cup rivalry has no shortage of bad blood and heated moments in its 114-year history. Graham’s Sun Devils shook hands with the Wildcats after winning last year’s game, and ASU wants to continue to show class and respect amid any tension.
“We want to be known as a classy team,” Coyle said. “Coach Graham said we’re not going to be dancing. We’re not going to be hooting and hollering. If we win, we’re going to come in and show the respect they deserve, but at the same time, they’re our rival, and we’re going to play harder against them than we have any other team.”
Additional note
– As of Tuesday, Graham has listed Grice as day-to-day for Saturday’s game.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
