Grading Noah Fifita's Game in Victory Over ASU

No. 25 Arizona went up to Tempe and laid a whooping on No. 20 ASU in the 99th Territorial Cup.

Nov 28, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) after defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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.

Much like the 2023 season when Noah 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 a three-year period. Overall, UA has only achieved that mark for times in its history.

Dec 28, 2023; San Antonio, TX, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11) throws a pass in the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Wildcats will now await to see where they will be going bowling with the Sun, Holiday and Vegas bowl all being realistic possibilities for Arizona.

With the game in the books, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI put together our grade for quarterback Noah Fifita against ASU.

Noah Fifita State Line

• Against ASU, Fifita turned in another great road performance by stacking up 285 yards passing and recording seven touchdown passes on the road in the last three games while completing 70% of his attempts.

• Grade: A

Reason

• Leading the scoring 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.

CATS IN FRONT pic.twitter.com/DmBNgJXNt0

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 29, 2025

• 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.

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