Arizona finally gets defensive and gets a victory over ASU
TUCSON – They fooled us with that first half Friday, didn’t they?
Arizona State and Arizona, I mean, by playing good defense. Arizona State limited the Wildcats to three points on two possessions inside the ASU 10. Arizona, recorded its third interception of the year and recovered a fumbled punt.
What we saw from two of the Pac-12’s worst defenses was competence, at least for a half, with ASU leading, 14-10.
It wasn’t sustainable, not by Arizona which was giving up 36.6 points a game entering the 96th Territorial Cup, 11th in the conference. And not by ASU, which was giving up 30.8 points a game, ninth in the Pac-12.
Arizona Republic
The second half was an Arena League game, only outdoors, but with the same general principle in play: A defensive stop was reason for celebration and likely to win you the game. That’s how it played out. Arizona forced turnovers on ASU’s final two possessions and held on for a 38-35 win.
ASU committed five turnovers. Arizona had one. That was the ball game.
ASU’s final turnover came with 1:16 left when quarterback Trenton Bourget’s arm was hit as he threw, resulting in an interception. That played touched off a brief melee, which resulted in players from both teams being ejected.
The possession before, ASU trailed 38-35 and was driving to another score when Jacob Manu sacked Bourget and forced a fumble. Arizona recovered.
The Sun Devils made a defensive stand, finally, giving its offense one more chance. It moved to midfield but pressure again from Wildcats forced the turnover, ending the game.
There were seven touchdowns in the second half, including five in a wild third quarter.
The teams combined for 1,017 yards of offense (537 for ASU, 480 for Arizona). Bourget passed for 376 and three touchdowns. Arizona running back Michael Wiley rushed for 214 yards on just 12 carries and scored three times.
Defenses took long sabbaticals in the game.
The only possession in the third quarter to not end in a touchdown was a fumble by ASU running back Tevin White. Two plays later, running back Wiley took the ball up the middle, met no resistance and went 72 yards, nearly untouched, for the touchdown to give Arizona a 31-21 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
The game officially marked the end of an era at Arizona State, ending five years of rule by Herm Edwards and the remnants of his staff, led by interim coach Shaun Aguano.
A new one could begin as soon as Sunday. That’s when the school could announce its next coach. If rampant speculation is true, it will be Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.
Dillingham has a reputation for being an offensive wizard, the guy who tutored and nurtured quarterback Bo Nix, who moved from Auburn to Oregon and became a Heisman Trophy candidate.
This is probably all well and good. Dillingham is probably as good as the Sun Devils could do, and he’s supposedly an offensive whiz.
But if Saturday’s game taught us anything, it’s that defense is important, too. Fixing ASU’s defense won’t be easy, but doing so is a requirement for exiting the bottom of the Pac-12 standings.
One day, maybe, the Territorial Cup game will mean something outside the territorial borders. It’s hard to imagine a less consequential game than the one played Saturday between the 3-9 Sun Devils and the 5-7 Wildcats.
But if you live in Arizona, or matriculated at one of the above fine institutions, their 96th meeting on the football field meant something. And if you’re a Wildcat it was especially significant.
Arizona not only broke a five-game losing streak to ASU, it also won its fifth game. That’s four more than a year ago, putting Jedd Fisch’s program on a path toward relevance.
Despite the hate the two sides feel for each other, they are blood relatives when it comes to the state of their football programs. Both are trying to rebuild after bottoming out. Or least they hope they have bottomed out.
The Wildcats lost to ASU, 70-7, in Tucson two years ago. They won five games this year, including a victory over ASU. That is progress.
ASU’s problems this season are welldocumented. The Sun Devils are under NCAA investigation. They finished with their fewest victories since 1994. The school is behind in creating NIL opportunities for players, which impacts recruiting
The new coach has a full plate of problems to worth through. Finding a way to stop the other team from scoring is among them.