Arizona dreamt of ending its disappointing season with an upset win over their red-hot rival Arizona State. Instead, the Wildcats got a nightmare in their 49-7 season-finale loss to the 16th-ranked Sun Devils on Saturday at Arizona Stadium.
The Wildcats lost the Territorial Cup for the first time since 2021. Saturday was the largest margin of defeat in the Territorial Cup game since Arizona lost 70-7 in 2020, the game before then-head coach Kevin Sumlin was fired.
After entering the year with Big 12 championship hopes, Arizona (4-8) ended its first season under head coach Brent Brennan with the fewest wins since the Wildcats went 1-11 in former leader Jedd Fisch’s first season in ’21.
The victory for ASU (10-2) put the Sun Devils in the Big 12 championship game in Dallas, where they’ll face 18th-ranked Iowa State on Saturday, nearly five months after ASU was voted to finish last in the Big 12 preseason media poll. In head coach Kenny Dillingham’s second season, ASU reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2014.
Brennan called the season-ending loss “soul-crushing.”
“I love these players,” Brennan said. “They fought their tails off all year. They went through extreme circumstances with injuries. … This was a really hard year. Hard year for everyone associated with the program, but I’m optimistic for the future. … I’m excited to move forward. This year was not fun. It was absolute misery. There were some fun moments, but not nearly enough. I feel bad, because I feel like I let down these players, I let down this community and I feel like I let down this university.”
ASU outclassed the Wildcats in every facet of the game. The Sun Devils out-gained Arizona 643-210 — 390-57 in the first half. Saturday marked the second-fewest yards for Arizona in Territorial Cup history. At one point in the first half, ASU had more penalty yards than Arizona had yards of total offense.
Arizona left tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, who suffered a leg injury last week against TCU, missed his first game as a Wildcat in three years. Redshirt sophomore Michael Wooten started in place of Savaiinaea, whose career was honored in the first quarter during a timeout break on Saturday; Savaiinaea is a projected high-round NFL Draft pick. With Savaiinaea missing his first game in 36 matchups, the Wildcats deployed their seventh different starting offensive line this season.
Savaiinaea was added to the laundry list of starters to miss a game this season, joining linebacker Jacob Manu, safety Gunner Maldonado and Treydan Stukes — who suffered season-ending leg injuries — among others. Stukes, Savaiinaea and Maldonado were captains for the pregame coin toss.
ASU jumped out to a 35-0 lead in the first half courtesy of the running back-receiver tandem of Cam Skattebo, who entered Saturday as the third-leading rusher in the Big 12, and Jordyn Tyson, who finished with seven catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. Skattebo, voted by media as Bob Moran Player of the Game for the Territorial Cup, had 21 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns.
Skattebo scored ASU’s first touchdowns lined up at quarterback in the “Wildcat” formation and took the snap for 2-yard scores. Arizona was outscored by a combined 108-58 in the first quarter of games this season.
Arizona’s most production in the first half was a 61-yard kick return by receiver and returner Jeremiah Patterson down to the ASU 37-yard line.
After two incomplete passes and a 5-yard completion from quarterback Noah Fifita to NFL-bound wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was also honored in the first quarter for his three-year Arizona career, the Wildcats settled for a field goal attempt. However, after only having 10 players on the field, Wooten jogged in during the attempt and drew a false-start penalty. Kicker Tyler Loop missed the 55-yard attempt.
ASU answered Arizona’s blunder with an 11-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Skattebo’s final touchdown of the day.
Arizona’s opening drive to begin the second half way was the only points on Saturday for the Wildcats, when Fifita connected with McMillan for a 28-yard touchdown for likely the final time in their careers.
Fifita and McMillan, teammates since the eighth grade, were a part of the 2022 recruiting class that helped the rebuild of UA football under former head coach Fisch. McMillan finished with six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. His last play was a dropped pass he lost in the sun.
After ASU missed a 21-yard field goal, the Wildcats trailed by four touchdowns with just under five minutes left in the third quarter and had the ball on the UA 43-yard line, but opted to punt. The decision to punt generated loud boos throughout Arizona Stadium.
we didn’t get it, we were going to give them the ball on the (Arizona) 43-yard line, and the series before, they went 75 yards. … It was fast,” Brennan said.
ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt subsequently threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Guillory to take a 42-7 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Sun Devils’ final touchdown was a 64-yard touchdown pass from Tucson native and former Marana High School quarterback Trenton Bourguet to ASU receiver Derek Eusebio — his first collegiate reception. On the previous play, Bourguet completed a pass to younger brother and ASU walk-on receiver Coben Bourguet for his first-career reception.
As the margin grew larger, Arizona fans slowly cleared out the stadium. By game’s end, “A-S-U” and “Let’s Go Devils” chants echoed throughout Arizona Stadium.
Former Arizona defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika, who transferred to ASU after the Wildcats’ Alamo Bowl last season, planted a pitchfork in the “Block A” logo midfield, causing a skirmish between the two teams.
“That’s our field. Just doing that is disrespectful,” said Arizona senior running back Quali Conley, who had 10 carries for 26 yards on Saturday. “The guys who stood up for us, I have the most respect for them. That’s just disrespect. … That’s just uncalled for.”
As Arizona enters the offseason, “these next couple of weeks will be chaos” with the early signing period for the 2025 recruiting class starting on Wednesday and the transfer portal opening on Dec. 9. Coaching staff changes are inevitable, too. Brennan said “every aspect of the program is under evaluation.”
“This thing starts with me looking in the mirror and doing a hardcore evaluation of the choices and decisions I made, and building that out with our entire program every step of the way,” Brennan said. “The evaluation process begins.”
Added Brennan: “The good news is, I’ve been through things like this before. I’ve been a part of a lot of staffs that have taken over programs.
“I’m not afraid of the challenges ahead. I’m actually excited about it.”
Extra points
• Arizona officially honored 13 seniors for Senior Day. The players who participated in the pregame Senior Day ceremony were center Josh Baker, running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig, running back Quali Conley, wide receiver Jaden Clark, defensive back Owen Goss, long snapper Justin Holloway, kicker Tyler Loop, defensive back CJ Flores, offensive lineman Joey Capra, defensive end Lance
Keneley, defensive back Treydan Stukes and defensive back Gunner Maldonado. Stukes and Maldonado can return next season following a medical redshirt year.
