Breaking Down No. 25 Arizona's Win Over No. 20 ASU
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Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics, giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.
Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.
At the beginning of the season, No. 25 Arizona (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) was looked at as one of the bottom teams in the Big 12 after going 4-8 the previous season in Year 1 of the Brent Brennan era. However, this offseason, Brennan mixed up the coaching staff and added new faces on the roster in hopes of turning things around.
Well, those changes worked and the Wildcats were 8-3 heading into the 99th Territorial Cup, which was the same case for No. 20 Arizona State despite injuries suffered throughout the season.
Saturday marked only the fifth time in Territorial Cup history that both teams came into the game ranked in the Top 25 and the first time since the 2014 season when then-No. 11 Arizona beat then-No. 13 ASU 42-35 to capture the Pac 12 South Title.
This game was all about the defense as two of the better defensive units in the Big 12 went head-to-head. But, it was the Wildcats that came up with just enough offense to secure the 23-7 win over the Sun Devils.
Overall, Arizona now leads the all-time series 52-46-1 over Arizona State, with the 100th meeting coming next season.
In a game that was dominated by the defense, Arizona’s defensive unit outshined the Sun Devils by holding ASU’s highly potent rushing attack to 100 yards on 27 carries. Overall, the Wildcats gave up 214 total yards and 114 yards through the air.
Not only was the defense stiff against the run for Arizona, but it also forced five turnovers, which turned away a couple of scoring chances for the Sun Devils.
This season, Arizona’s defense has forced 28 turnovers, which is 10 more than the previous year, showing the growth the unit has made under coach Danny Gonzales.
Although the defense was clicking, Arizona’s offense was able to piece together drives and finished one with a touchdown, which gave the Wildcats enough breathing room with how the defense was performing.
Leading those drives was none other than quarterback Noah Fifita, who put together a solid road performance with his 286 yards passing while going 28 of 45 on his attempts and tossing a touchdown.
This season, Fifita has been a monster on the road and in his last four road games, he has racked up 1,062 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. In those games, Arizona is 3-1 with the only loss coming against Houston.
Much like the 2023 season when Fifita took over the starting quarterback job, Arizona has ended the regular season on a winning streak and has now clipped off five-straight wins, putting the team one win away from a 10-win season.
If the Wildcats are able to win their bowl game, it would be the first time in program history that Arizona has had two 10-plus win seasons in three years. Overall, UA has only achieved that mark a for times in its history.
The Wildcats will now await to see where they will be going bowling, with the Sun, Holiday, and Vegas bowls all being realistic possibilities for Arizona.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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