ASU vs. UA big rivalry
Ex-Wildcat and Sun Devil players and a coach tackle the Territorial Cup.
Jake Plummer, Glenn Parker and Rick Neuheisel know the Arizona State-Arizona rivalry as well as anyone. Once upon a time, Plummer and Parker lived it. Plummer, a quarterback, was at ASU from 1993-96. Parker, an offensive lineman, played for UA from 1988-89.
Neuheisel, before he got into coaching, grew up in the Valley, attending Tempe McClintock High School. He attended ASU games from the time he was 5 and didn’t stop until he left for college. He was in Sun Devil Stadium for John Jefferson’s catch in 1975, one of the bigger plays in this rivalry.
Today all three work as college football analysts for Pac-12 Networks. Interviewed sepa-
rately, they offered their thoughts on Saturday’s Territorial Cup:
Question: If ASU wins, they get to host next week’s Pac-12 Championship Game. How does that change this game?
Neuheisel: It certainly grabs the attention of the fans, and now that it’s a sellout, I go back a long time watching Arizona State games, and when it’s a full house, we may not have had anything at all to do with Arizona State victories, but we sure felt like we did. That crowd will be juiced. For all the players, it should be a fun environment, especially since it doesn’t happen as often as it once did.
Parker: It provides motivation for both parties. It’s a rivalry game, so emotions will run high. You have a lot of kids — not as many in the past — but a lot of kids on both teams who are from Arizona. You got a lot on the line for Arizona State. They want that home-field advantage. That will be motivation for Arizona, too. They can make it much more difficult for the Sun Devils to reach their ultimate goal.
Plummer: It’s a sidebar to a rivalry and what the old Territorial Cup stands for. It divides a state. There are families that will be split up on Saturday because some went to ASU and others went to U of A. It’s definitely a nice touch. I keep thinking about my senior year when we clinched the Pac-10 and then we had to play U of A down there. For us, it was a chance to stay in the hunt for the national title, so we went down there and put a beatdown on them.
Q: UA’s Rich Rodriguez and ASU’s Todd Graham are in their second seasons. Are you surprised at their early success?
Neuheisel: I’m not — and not to take anything away from Todd Graham and Rich Rodriguez, who obviously are both really good coaches. But both these programs had players when they got there. Certainly, both staffs have done a nice job of augmenting with their own recruiting, but Rich Rodriguez got there with a guy by the name of Matt Scott and a guy by the name of Ka’Deem Carey. That’s a good start. And Todd Graham, there were lots of good-looking players walking around at Arizona State that are playing terrifically for him. And again, I want to emphasize both these coaches deserve credit, but it’s not surprising that things have happened quickly.
Parker: Last year I was more surprised by Rich Rodriguez. I knew who Matt Scott was, but the rest of the team, I didn’t think there was much talent there. This year, I’ve been more surprised by Coach Graham. They had a lot of talent last year, but they went out and recruited some guys this year that just makes you go, “Wow.” To find (receiver) Jaelen Strong. To find (tight end) De’Marieya Nelson. To incorporate an offense that puts Marion Grice and D.J. Foster on the field at the same time with Chris Coyle at tight end. … Then they have played a tough schedule, and to fight their way through that and get better each week has been pretty unbelievable.
Plummer: I know (previous ASU coach) Dennis Erickson was a great recruiter, and he left some quality players when he left. ASU just needed more of an attitude change. College kids need guidance and they need direction, and I don’t think there was enough of that when Erickson was there. And Graham has steered that ship in the right direction and … he gets his players to play hard.
Q: What impresses you most about ASU?
Neuheisel: They’ve picked up from where they left off last year. There was a point when they were struggling and they found a way to get bowl eligible. They went to Tucson and found a way to win the Territorial Cup and then they went and won a bowl game. They parlayed that into great recruiting success, going out and getting guys like Strong and Zane Gonzalez, who is a good, quality kicker. They got just what they need now on both sides of the ball.
Parker: They’ve never lost sight of their goal. Not to be good. Not to go to a bowl game. Not to beat this opponent. They’re trying to win a championship. To me, that’s everything. When I was in the NFL, every team I played on we thought we were going to go to the Super Bowl and win it. Professionals didn’t get there by thinking they might do OK. Professionals get there by thinking they’re the best player possible and they’re going to win it all. That’s exactly what the Sun Devils have thought.
Plummer: They got an Idaho boy (in Taylor Kelly) playing QB, which is awesome to see. He’s just a real cool, calm kid out there that guides that offense. And they just have a lot of weapons. It’s fun to watch. It’s not just all dink and dunk. They’re moving the ball down the field and taking their shots.
Q: What impresses you most about Arizona?
Neuheisel: I went and watched U of A in fall camp, and they did not seem to have what I would call “eye-popping athletes.” That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, they were just kind of a smaller team. They were going to have to be really quick and efficient. But the way they played against Oregon last week, that was a standard-setting game for them. To have seven wins and a chance for a quality bowl game and a chance to reclaim the Territorial Cup, this is a huge game for them.
Parker: The grind-it-out mentality. They don’t have a lot of talent. They don’t have a lot of speed. They just consistently try to do the right thing every play, every game. They really fell down against Washington State, and the fact they could rebound against a team like Oregon speaks a lot of the coaching staff and of the older guys on that team who said, “We’re not going to let it end like this.”
Plummer: I love watching (quarterback) B.J. Denker. He’s a kid that’s been told all his life, “You’re too small. You’re not good enough. You can’t do it.” He struggled early and all that rain of hate came down on him, and he just pushed through. Now he’s playing extremely well. He’s like a gunslinger, flying around. And he’s just tough as nails. That team just follows his lead.
Q: A key that will decide this game:
Neuheisel: Which defense can stop the opposing quarterback from running. If you can make B.J. Denker just a thrower, you’re going to have an advantage. If you can make Taylor Kelly throw from the pocket, you’re going to have an advantage, because that’s not their forte.
Parker: The quarterbacks. That may be a cop-out, but that’s always the way it is. ASU’s defense is much better than Arizona’s. No doubt about it. ASU’s offense is much better than Arizona’s. That being said, it always comes down to quarterback play. If Taylor Kelly struggles, Arizona State will struggle. If Denker can’t complete a pass, they’ll become onedimensional and they’re going to struggle.
Plummer: Turnovers and tackling. Both teams have explosive players, guys that are able to make things happen in space. Whichever team tackles the best will have the best opportunity, because you can’t give up big plays and those extra yards in a game like this.