Territorial Cup on the line for UA’s Rodriguez, ASU’s Graham
ASU’s Territorial Cup challenge: Containing UA’s Tate
Arizona State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett this week was asked about the first time he heard the name Khalil Tate.
“After the Colorado game,” Bennett said of the Oct. 7 contest in which the Arizona sophomore set an FBS quarterback rushing record with 327 yards.
“I still remember: Somebody told me he averaged 40-something yards per carry. I thought, ‘What the hell?’ ”
Actually, it was 23.4 yards per carry, but even so.
What the hell?
Tate’s emergence stunned the nation, reversed Arizona’s season and seven weeks later, it’s set to add an unpredictable element in Saturday’s 91st edition of the Duel in the Desert. Already, the annual rivalry – known as the Territorial Cup – has plenty at stake.
In addition to bragging rights, second place in the Pac-12 South is on the line for two programs that were picked to finish at the bottom of the division. Both bowl-eligible schools are trying to upgrade their bowl destination, and last but not least, ASU coach Todd Graham will take the field at Sun Devil Stadium with his job security in serious jeopardy.
When asked about his status, Graham this week declined to comment. ASU Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson last week greeted the coach after
ASU’s win at Oregon State by saying, “One more! One more!” but he has declined to say anything publicly about Graham’s future. With ASU coming off consecutive losing seasons, many within and around the program this season have thought the Sun Devils needed to reach seven regular-season wins for Graham to have a chance to return.
Only Anderson knows for sure. An understatement: To win, ASU needs to find a way to contain Tate, something only Oregon has done to this point. Last week, the Ducks bottled up the dual-threat quarterback, the first team to hold Tate under 100 rushing yards in seven contests. He finished with 32 on 14 carries.
To date, ASU has not fared well against elite playmakers. In Week 2, San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny rushed for 216 yards and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a 30-20 win. In Week 5, Stanford’s Bryce Love rushed for a school-record 301 yards in a 34-24 win. Later, quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen – both projected NFL first-round draft picks – led USC and UCLA, respectively, to wins over the Sun Devils.
That’s not to say ASU hasn’t had defensive success. The Sun Devils limited Oregon’s Royce Freeman (the nation’s 12th-leading rusher) and Colorado’s Phillip Lindsay (10th), but Tate is unique in that he can burn a defense with both his legs and arm. He might be the Sun Devils’ biggest challenge.
“We just want to box him in, not get up the field too much on him where he can create creases and he can easily fit through them,” senior rush linebacker/ defensive end Alani Latu said.
ASU’s defense feels it has an advantage because it often works against ASU’s “Sparky” formation in practice. In the Sparky, a running back or receiver takes a direct snap and finds a hole, which is how Tate often operates. This week, sophomore quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole – who played some last season as a true freshman – took on the role of Tate on the ASU scout team.
“No. 1, he’s very athletic,” Bennett said of Tate, “but also schematically ... Don’t kid yourself: What they do stresses you. When I grew up the guy that invented the wishbone was my college coach. A guy by the name of Emory Bellard. It puts certain positions in conflict between run and pass, and this is a version of it. There’s no doubt, it’s triple option.”
Graham this week talked about his early days on the ASU job. How during the course of 100-some-odd speaking engagements people kept bringing up this game, this moment, and what it meant to those who bleed maroon and gold. Former ASU great Whizzer White talked to him about it. So did legendary coach Frank Kush.
Nearly everybody.
Graham later realized he was spoiled. He won his first two Territorial Cups. It wasn’t until his third season – 2014 – that he tasted defeat in a game that mattered so much.
“Until you come up short in this game, you don’t really realize just how much it means,” he said. “You find out in a hurry. There’s one side you want to be on in this deal.”