The 99th meeting of the Territorial Cup was filled with hatred, rivalry and ASU's sloppy offense as they fell to UA 23-7 at Mountain America Stadium.
After four turnovers last week against Colorado, the Sun Devils turned it over five times Friday night. Redshirt senior quarterback Jeff Sims was intercepted three times and fumbled, with a team fumble rounding out the offense's poor performance. The turnovers proved to be the difference maker, with the Wildcats scoring 17 points off of them.
"You can't have five turnovers," head coach Kenny Dillingham said. "All the other stuff is kind of irrelevant … You're just not going to win games having five turnovers. The most fundamental thing in football."
The Sun Devils' offense struggled heavily against the Wildcats' defense. They were outgained 374-214 in the one-sided affair. Aside from the yardage difference, ASU also went 3-11 on third down compared to UA's 10-20.
One of the biggest difference makers in Friday night's game was the control the Wildcats showed. They dominated the time of possession 40:01-19:59 and ran 89 plays to the Sun Devils' 52. This made it difficult for the Sun Devil defense, but senior linebacker Jordan Crook believes they still needed to get the job done.
"It's a matter of acclimating, adjusting at the end of the day," Crook said. "Back against the wall, not letting them score. Regardless of whether we're out there 40 minutes, 20 minutes, 5 minutes, five plays, 60 plays."
The Sun Devils' lone touchdown came in the second quarter on a Sims-designed run. He ran for 43 yards on 10 carries. Through the air, he went 11-24 for 114 yards and three interceptions.
Reshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, in potentially his final game as a Sun Devil, played the first couple of drives before coming off with an injury. Redshirt senior wide receiver Malik McClain led all Sun Devil receivers with four catches for 57 yards.
With the entire offense struggling, redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer said they dug themselves too big a hole early on.
"We just had to get out of our own ways," Metayer said. "And another time, we kind of figured it out, it was too late. That's just the game of football. Got to capitalize early. We can't start slow."
Special teams struggled for both sides. The Wildcats missed two field goals and had another blocked by junior defensive back Keith Abney II. Redshirt senior kicker Jesus Gomez missed his lone field goal attempt of the night. Punting-wise, sophomore Kanyon Floyd had a tough night, with his punts averaging 35.8 yards.
The Sun Devils got some solid performances from the seniors on Senior Day. Along with McClain's performance, senior defensive lineman Jacob Rich Kongaika forced a fumble in the red zone in the first half, and Crook led the team with 11 tackles. Redshirt senior defensive lineman Justin Wodtly picked up a sack, marking his fifth straight game with at least one sack.
Dillingham was emotional when speaking of the veterans and their impact in the locker room.
"Very special group," Dillingham said. "Not many times in your life do you get the opportunity to change, from the bottom, to literally write your own story. And this team did."
The new Territorial Cup record stands at 52 wins for the Wildcats, 45 for the Sun Devils and one tie. This season comes to a disappointing close for the Sun Devil faithful, but Dillingham believes they are just getting started.
"The last two years have been unbelievable," Dillingham said. "It's only the beginning — that's the best part. When you start to sell out crowds, when you start to get excitement, not everything goes your way, but we're way higher than we were. And we're going to continue to build."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Henry Smardo and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at niall.rosenberg@gmail.com and follow @RosenbergNiall on X.
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Niall Rosenberg is a lead Sports Reporter at the State Press. He has previously worked with sports teams such as the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League. He is in his 2nd semester with the State Press with the chance to cover football and other sports.
