Territorial Cup is major motivator for Arizona State
Let the shenanigans begin.
It’s that week with both the Arizona State and University of Arizona football teams trying to salvage losing seasons by beating each other in the annual Territorial Cup game, this season to be played at 1 p.m. Friday in Tucson. It will air on FS1.
Arizona struck the first blow with that school’s supporters climbing up “A” mountain on the school campus and painting the A in their colors of red and blue.
ASU interim coach Shaun Aguano made sure his players knew about that prank. He also had the rival school’s fight song playing during Monday’s practice to help the team get fired up and said it had the desired effect.
There are a lot of first-year players on the team who are new to the rivalry so Aguano made sure the week started with those players being briefed on just how important it is. The school’s video department made a video about the storied rivalry and Juan Roque, an offensive lineman from the Sun Devils’ 1996 Rose Bowl team spoke to the players.
Another video that had circulated, although many players had seen it on social media earlier, was one of a dust-up on the Arizona sideline during Saturday’s loss to Washington State between quarterback Jayden de Laura and wide receiver Dorian Singer.
“They like to say it’s personal,” Aguano said, referencing the motto the school has embraced since Jedd Fisch took over last year. “Well, it’s personal to us too.”
Arizona holds a 49-45-1 lead in the series but the Sun Devils have gotten the
better of the Wildcats, well, for quite a while. ASU has won 14 of the last 20 and takes a five-game win streak against their rival into Friday’s game. The run ASU is on now is its best since it won nine in a row from 1965 to 1973. Last year ASU was a 38-15 winner and the 70-7 win in 2020 was the most lopsided in the rivalry which dates back to 1899.
Last week ahead of the regular season home finale against Oregon State which the Sun Devils lost 31-7, senior linebacker Merlin Robertson said what his most memorable moment has been. He immediately singled out the 70-7 win over the rival.
“It was great just to be part of that team really,” he said.
Robertson, fellow linebacker Kyle Soelle and fullback Case Hatch form a core of players who have spent their entire college careers in Tempe and never lost to the Wildcats. The game is particularly personal for Soelle and Hatch who are both locals, Soelle out of Saguaro High School and Hatch out of Gilbert Perry.
“One thing I’ll say, it’s personal. It’s personal for sure,” Hatch said, mimicking the Arizona motto. “I haven’t lost to them yet and so hopefully we keep that going.”
The game will be a particularly special one for junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet, a one-time walk-on, turned back up, and now a starter. He hails from Marana, about 20 miles outside of Tucson. He saw some mop-up duty in the 2020 blowout which was also played in Tucson but he’ll be the quarterback in charge this time.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Bourget, who took over as starter four games ago after Emory Jones struggled.
While it is the Sun Devils that have had bragging rights lately, the two programs seem on different trajectories even though they have similar records. ASU (3-8, 2-6) last settled for a threewin season in 1994.
The NCAA investigation into illegal recruiting allegations is going on 18 months and shows no signs of being resolved any time soon. That has completely derailed recruiting efforts and resulted in nearly half the staff departing.
Head coach Herm Edwards parted ways with the program after the third game this season, with Aguano, previously the team’s running backs coach, handed the interim label.
Meanwhile Arizona (4-7, 2-6) landed a recruiting class ranked second in the Pac-12 and in the top 25 nationally with many of those newcomers already big contributors. The team may not have a winning record but the four wins are already a significant improvement over the one-win season in 2021.
Aguano says being the coach of the team for the Territorial Cup has special meaning to him because his roots are here. Before taking the ASU job four years ago he was part of a powerhouse program at Chandler High School.
Newcomers feel like they have been briefed about the game’s importance. Defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera came from the University of Miami, which had an in-state rival in Florida State. He’s ready.
“Every Arizonan talks about this game. It’s one of the biggest games around and it’s bragging rights for the state so that’s something I want, my lone year here. I definitely want to go up there, down there, wherever the hell they are, and do our thing.”