Three BOLD Observations From No. 25 Arizona's Win Over No. 20 ASU

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.

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

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.

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 three observations from Arizona’s win over ASU.

Three Observations

Noah Fifita

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..

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.

Kris Hutson

Dating back to the BYU game, Arizona wide receiver Kris Hutson began to establish himself as the No. 1 receiver for the Wildcats and the go-to target for Fifita.

Hutson totaled 106 yards and a touchdown against BYU and most recently had 100+ yards in back-to-back games against Cincinnati and Baylor.

Nov 28, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Kris Hutson (4) celebrates a first down against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half during the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In that span, Hutson has either totaled 100 yards or caught a touchdown in four of six games heading into this week.

Hutson closed the regular season with another strong performance in the Wildcats win over the Sun Devils with 95 yards on seven receptions to lead Arizona.

Rushing Defense

Nov 28, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive back Genesis Smith (12) celebrates a fumble recovery with defensive lineman Leroy Palu (95) in the second half against 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

The Wildcats rushing defense was a suffocating one that stuffed nearly every attempt the Sun Devils had, allowing just 100 yards on the ground through four quarters.

The rushing attack of the defense only got stronger as the game went on. In the first half, the Wildcats allowed 77 yards on the ground. In the second half, just 23 yards were yielded.

Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales and his crew of relentless defenders held Raleek Brown to 63 yards on 14 carries while also keeping Jeff Sims at bay with 43 yards on 10.

The Wildcats also forced two fumbles on quarterback run plays and recovered both of them, which helped the Arizona offense gain even more momentum towards the final whistle.

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