Redshirt tight end De'Marieya Nelson punches in a touchdown against UA on Saturday, Nov. 30. ASU defeated UA 58-21 and clinched a home field advantage for the Pac-12 championship. (Photo by Dominic Valente)Five days from now, when No. 13 ASU football marches down to Tucson to face No. 15 UA, it will be the first Territorial Cup matchup between two ranked teams since 1986.
That's a factoid that's been floating around a lot recently. It's neat. But it doesn't really delve into the rivalry.
It's heated, no doubt. The Territorial Cup doesn't need any added implications to make it each teams' most anticipated game of the season. Whether the Sun Devils or Wildcats are in the Pac-12/10 title race, or even the national championship race, it only adds heat to the already smoldering fire.
This is ASU coach Todd Graham's third Territorial Cup, and he's known the severity of it since the moment he stepped on campus.
"You can be 11-0 and lose this one and have an unsuccessful season," he said. "That was explained to me when I got here by our fans, and that's exactly how we approach it."
He continued: "You don't have to barrage me with text messages or voicemails or any of that. This is the game that we go in there in my staff room, it's starred on the wall. It's the most important game of the year."
That's the attitude toward the game each season, but with both teams having a 9-2 record and being ranked inside the top 15, there are added implications to the game.
Both teams are still alive for the Pac-12 South, though each needs help. If Stanford beats UCLA, the Territorial Cup becomes a battle for the division crown. To add even more intensity to it, the two games kick off at the exact same time: 1:30 p.m. Surely there will be some scoreboard watching in Arizona Stadium.
Even if the Bruins knock off the Cardinal as expected, the Sun Devils and Wildcats will still be battling for meaningful bowl position, a 10-win season and potentially a top-10 ranking.
Never have the two rivals played each other with a Pac-12/10 title on the line. Even if UCLA wins, this will be the closest the game has ever come to deciding the conference.
The only game in which the teams combined for a better winning percentage entering the game was that much talked about 1986 showdown. But ASU's season was so dominant, even the 7-2 Wildcats were out of contention for the conference title. They upset the No. 4 and then-undefeated Sun Devils, but ASU still went on to win the conference.
From 1994 to 2011, there was only one Territorial Cup — 2006, when both teams were 6-5 — in which both teams even had winning records entering the game.
That didn't make it any less heated, though. Five times in that span, the team with the worse record won the game, which could only have contributed to the Territorial Cup becoming the "most intense" rivalry in college football, according to a study by Dr. Joe Cobbs of Northern Kentucky and Dr. David Tyler of Western Carolina.
This could be the most closely contested Territorial Cup in recent history, too. ASU averages 10.8 more points than it allows (37.2-26.4) and UA averages 11.6 (36.2-24.6). Both teams have more on the line than just bragging rights, setting Friday up to be the most intense matchup of the the most intense rivalry.
For your viewing pleasure, brought to you by ASU SID extraordinaire Doug Tammaro, every outcome of the Territorial Cup since 1978 (when the universities entered the Pac-10).
Year UA Record ASU Record Site Final Score
1978 5-5 7-3 UA ASU 18-17
1979 5-4-1 6-4 ASU UA 27-24
1980 5-5 6-4 UA ASU 44-7
1981 6-4 8-2 (No. 18) ASU ASU 24-13
1982 5-4-1 9-1 (No. 6) UA UA 28-18
1983 6-3-1 6-3-1 ASU UA 17-15
1984 6-4 5-5 UA UA 16-10
1985 7-3 8-2 ASU UA 16-13
1986 7-2 (No. 14) 9-0-1 (No. 4) UA UA 34-17
1987 4-4-2 6-4 ASU 24-24
1988 6-4 6-4 UA UA 28-18
1989 6-4 6-3-1 ASU UA 28-10
1990 6-4 4-5 UA UA 21-17
1991 4-6 5-5 ASU ASU 37-14
1992 6-3-1 (No. 16) 5-5 UA ASU 7-6
1993 8-2 (No. 19) 6-4 ASU UA 34-20
1994 7-3 3-7 UA UA 28-27
1995 5-5 6-4 ASU UA 31-28
1996 5-5 10-0 (No. 4) UA ASU 56-14
1997 5-5 8-2 (No. 17) ASU UA 28-16
1998 10-1 (No. 7) 5-5 UA UA 50-42
1999 5-5 5-5 ASU ASU 42-27
2000 5-5 5-5 UA ASU 30-17
2001 4-6 4-6 ASU UA 34-21
2002 4-7 7-5 UA ASU 34-20
2003 2-9 4-7 ASU ASU 28-7
2004 2-8 8-2 (No. 18) UA UA 34-27
2005 3-7 5-5 ASU ASU 23-20
2006 6-5 6-5 UA ASU 28-14
2007 5-6 9-2 (No. 13) ASU ASU 20-17
2008 6-5 5-6 UA UA 31-10
2009 7-4 4-7 ASU UA 20-17
2010 7-4 5-6 UA ASU 30-29 (2OT)
2011 2-8 6-4 ASU UA 31-27
2012 7-4 6-5 UA ASU 41-34
2013 7-4 9-2 (No. 13) ASU ASU 58-21
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @statepresssport
