Wildcats hosting Sun Devils for 96th Territorial Cup

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (4-7, 2-6) and Arizona State Sun Devils (3-8, 2-6) will square off in the 96th installment of the Territorial Cup Friday at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be on FoxSports.1

Wildcat fans are encouraged to wear red as we Red Out Arizona Stadium.

The Wildcats lead the all-time series with their in-state rivals with a record of 49-45-1, but are searching for their first win since 2016 to return the Territorial Cup to Tucson.

A complete preview of the 2022 Territorial Cup can be found below.

NOTES

The Arizona Wildcats host the Arizona State Sun Devils for the 96th edition of the Territorial Cup this Friday afternoon at Arizona Stadium.
Friday’s rivalry contest will be nationally televised on FS1 with Adam Alexander (PxP) and Devin Gardner (analyst) on the call.
Arizona holds the all-time edge in the Territorial Cup with a record of 49-45-1 against Arizona State. The Sun Devils have cut into that lead in recent years, winning five consecutive matchups.
The Wildcats most recent home victory in the Territorial Cup came in 2016, a decisive 56-35 win over the Sun Devils in front of 50,000-plus fans.
For the first time in the StatsPass era (1996-current) Arizona has three receivers with 700+ yards. It is also the first time the Wildcats have sported two 1,000+ yard receivers in that stretch.
Two weeks ago Arizona took down then No. 9 ranked UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The victory over UCLA was Arizona’s first AP Top 25 win since beating No. 19 Oregon in 2018, their first road AP Top 10 win since beating No. 10 Utah in 2015, and their first AP Top 10 road win since defeating No. 2 Oregon in 2014.
Wildcat quarterback Jayden de Laura has logged 260 completions, 25 touchdown passes, and 3,485 yards this year, marks that rank t-6th, 6th, and 5th all-time on the program’s single-season leaderboards.
Arizona’s pass offense currently ranks fifth among all FBS programs with an average of 329.2 yards per game through the air. De Laura also currently ranks fifth nationally with an average of 316.8 yards per game.

BY THE NUMBERS

33 — TE Tanner McLachlan is rising the Arizona single-season tight end reception leaderboards. His 33 catches are second all-time behind Rob Gronkowski’s 47 in 2008.

5th — QB Jayden de Laura is 5th in season school history in passing yards (3,485) and 6th in TD passes (25). The school records are 4,334 yards and 28 touchdowns.

80 — WR Jacob Cowing is at 80 catches this year, tied for 7th-most in a season by an Arizona receiver. Stanley Berryhill had 83 last year. Last week he became the seventh player in UA history to catch 80-plus passes in a season.

702 — WR Tetairoa McMillan broke the UA freshman record for receiving yards last week, pushing his season mark to 702. Nate Phillips (696, 2013) held the record previously.

43 — WR Jacob Cowing has recorded 43 consecutive games with at least one reception, tied for the longest active streak among all FBS players.

GAME HISTORY

VERSUS ARIZONA STATE: The Arizona Wildcats are 49-45-1 all-time against in-state rivals Arizona State. Arizona has lost five in a row to ASU including a 38-15 loss at Sun Devil Stadium in 2021. Arizona’s last win in the series was a 56-35 victory on Nov. 25, 2016, in Tucson. The Wildcats are 31-21 all-time in Tucson including a 24-20 record at Arizona Stadium. The longest streak in the series is held by Arizona, 11 games from 1932-1948. Arizona scored its most points in a single game against ASU in 1946 with a 67-0 victory. The last MVP winner for Arizona was quarterback Brandon Dawkins in 2016. Dawkins ran for a season-high 183 yards with two touchdowns on only 12 carries, including a 71-yard scamper.

THE NATION’S OLDEST RIVALRY: The Territorial Championship Cup was first presented to Tempe Normal School after its 11-2 victory over Arizona at Tucson’s Carrillo Gardens field downtown on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 30, 1899. That makes it the oldest rivalry trophy game in America (Comparisons: Michigan-Minnesota/Little Brown Jug/1909; Indiana-Purdue/Old Oaken Bucket/1925). Carrillo Gardens was in a downtown park on a side street south of the current Tucson Convention Center in the Barrio Historico district. The Cup has been registered with the NCAA and thereby sanctions the game as the oldest trophy game. Early origins of the piece are unclear but the cup itself is silver-plated over base metal and was manufactured by Reed and Barton of Taunton, Mass., according to some reports, which also indicate a catalog price of $20. The lone inscription reads: “Arizona Foot Ball League 1899 Normal.” The Cup’s whereabouts for the next eight decades also remains unclear until its discovery among items found in the basement of a church near ASU in the early 1980s and then displayed in various ASU collections. In 2001, then ASU President Lattie Coor led the move to have it again presented to the game winner. Over the years the Governor’s Trophy (1953-1979) and a “Victory” sculpture by artist Ben Goo (1979-1997) were presented to the game’s winner. The Saguaro Trophy, a bronze piece commissioned from artist Dora Perry in 1998, also has been in the mix, and now goes to the winning coach each year. The Bob Moran Most Outstanding Player in the game, named in 2008 after the late sportswriter who covered both teams, earns the Ben Goo sculpture for his school’s hall of fame. The Cup on the sideline at the game itself is a replica, with the original piece requiring curator treatment for its hall of fame type display. The games themselves are not atypical of a state where the Territorial Legislature awarded one city (Phoenix) the initial economic prize, the state hospital, while the other town (Tucson) got the fledgling first state university. The games are competitive, territorial and a distinct matter of pride.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: Arizona fell to Washington State 31-20 on Nov. 19 at Arizona Stadium. The Wildcats are officially eliminated from bowl contention after dropping to 4-7 overall with a 2-6 mark in Pac-12 play.